Is the wine/liquid used to make rice wine vinegar actually sake, or are they 2 different products?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
As I understand it, rice vinegar is derived from fermented rice or sake, a fermented beverage actually closer to beer than wine in terms of the process employed. There are recipes online explaining how to make rice vinegar at home with the introduction of fermentation yeast to the liquid obtained after soaking uncooked rice in water (sugar is a key component as well).
It may be helpful to remember that the English word "vinegar" comes from the French "vinaigre," literally sour wine. Wine which has not been filtered and/or is not stabilized with sulfur dioxide - as is the practice with 99% of the wine in the world - will have a tendency to become vinegar as the ethanol (alcohol)is converted into acetic acid. Of course, I'm leaving a few details out to keep this pertinent to your main question.
