This Sweet Red Wine Vinegar Dressing is beautiful in flavor with just the perfect sweet and tangy balance. All you need are six fresh ingredients and those fresh greens never had it so good.
Red Wine Vinaigrette is a classic salad dressing that can add a delicious flavor to your salads, vegetables, and other dishes. It is a perfect combination of tangy, sweet, and savory flavors, and it is easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients.
Let’s explore what red wine dressing is, how to make it, and some tips for using it in your cooking.
This is a recipe we made in Culinary School and the best Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette recipe I’ve found.
Table of contents
What Is Red Wine Vinegar Dressing?
Technically this is a red wine vinaigrette, a salad dressing made from red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a few other ingredients. The vinegar gives the dressing its tangy flavor, while the olive oil adds richness and body. Other ingredients, such as Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, and herbs, can be added to enhance the flavor and complexity of the dressing. This is a red wine vinegar dressing that includes a little honey to bring a perfect blend of flavors that aren’t too sour or tart.
Dressing with Red Wine Vinegar makes a classic salad dressing. Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: It wouldn’t be a vinaigrette without olive oil.
- Honey: Honey adds just the right amount of sweetness to this dressing.
- Red Wine Vinegar: Tangy, fruity and acidic. It’s the star of the show.
- Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed. Lemon juice is famous for brightening flavors.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Chefs prefer Kosher salt due to it’s natural salty flavor.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Honey: Agave Syrup is a good substitute for honey. I don’t recommend using Maple syrup as the complex flavors of caramel and vanilla will change the entire profile of this dressing.
- Olive oil is customary when making vinaigrettes. However, if you’re in a pinch and find you don’t have any, you can always use a neutral oil. Canola oil and vegetable oils are considered neutral oils.
Step by Step Instructions, It’s Easy!
I recently heard someone say they were intimidated to make their own vinegar dressing. Too many ingredients, it feels complicated, there’s that emulsification thing.
Yes, I’ve slow drizzled oil into a whirling food processor until my arm ached, to make sure my dressing was blended in that oh-so professional emulsified way.
But more times than not, a whisk or a mason jar will work very well. Simplest is always best, because you’ll make it more often. And homemade is always better than a jar from the store.
This recipe has a couple more ingredients than just oil and vinegar, but hardly enough to be considered complicated.
- Step 1: Place all of the ingredients in a Mason Jar.
- Step 2: Place the lid tightly on the jar and shake it for about a minute or until the ingredients are well blended and emulsified. Or combine ingredients in an oversized bowl and use a whisk to blend ingredients.
Red wine vinegar and red wine vinaigrette are two different things. Red wine vinegar is made by fermenting red wine. It’s popular for use in Mediterranean style recipes such as marinades and vinaigrettes. Red Wine Vinaigrette is made by using red wine vinegar along with olive oil and sweetness to make fresh salad dressing.
There are a lot of choices when browsing the vinegar aisle. You can’t go wrong with a high-end expensive brand from a vinegar specialty store, however, I always keep a bottle of Pompeian brand. It’s affordable and readily available at your local grocery store. I like this article from Saveur Magazine to help you decide.
This red wine vinegar dressing is naturally healthy. It’s gluten free, grain free, and dairy free.
Tips for Success
- I like tender red leaf lettuce for this red wine vinegar dressing. Beautiful in color and soft in texture, it will welcome the flavor.
- Don’t dress the salad ahead of time. The acid in the lemon juice and the red wine vinegar will wild those tender leaves. Dress the salad just before serving.
Variations
- Add in one or two tablespoons of Greek yogurt to make this a creamy red wine vinaigrette.
- Add two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese for that cheesy feel.
- Add a teaspoon of Italian Seasoning to give it an extra punch of flavor.
How To Use Red Wine Vinegar Dressing
There’s more to vinaigrettes than just a dressing for your favorite salad. Here are some more uses. So what are the best ideas for red wine vinaigrette?
- Use is as a marinade for grilled chicken, steak or even shrimp.
- Toss vegetables with red wine dressing before roasting.
- Use it to dress a pasta salad.
- It’s great on a homemade Italian Sub Sandwich.
Storage
Store any leftover vinaigrette in the same Mason jar you used to blend it. Red wine vinaigrette will last in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Red wine vinegar is a versatile dressing that can add flavor to a variety of dishes. It is easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients, and it can be customized to suit your taste preferences.
Give it a try and see how it can elevate your cooking!
With all that said, here’s the recipe for the Sweet Red Wine Vinegar Dressing. A perfect blend of sweet and tangy. Fresh and healthy and waiting for that next perfect salad.
More Popular Salad Dressings
And if you’re in the salad mood, don’t miss my Salad Category, you’ll find a ton of great salad recipes, dressings and vinaigrettes. Including the most popular salad recipe on my site for Old Fashioned Taco Salad Recipe Made with Catalina Dressing.
And don’t miss the most popular salad dressing on my site for Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing. With hundreds of five star ratings, this is one you’ve got to try.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Sweet Red Wine Vinegar Dressing (Red Wine Vinaigrette)
Equipment
- 1 Mason Jar
Ingredients
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 ½ Tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix ingredients well, either with a whisk in a large bowl, or in a large mason jar fitted with a tight lid. Shake the dickens out of that mason jar. Serve immediately over your favorite greens.
Notes
- I like tender red leaf lettuce for this vinaigrette recipe. Beautiful in color and soft in texture, it will welcome the flavor.
- Don’t dress the salad ahead of time. The acid in the lemon juice and the red wine vinegar will wild those tender leaves. Dress the salad just before serving.
Nutrition
Sweet Red Wine Vinegar Dressing … It’s What’s for A Great Salad.
From the Kitchen of Lea Ann Brown, Cooking On the Ranch
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
So, I can’t grow anything. But I am great at eating and this salad dressing is really worth eating.
That salad really pulls the meal together. Wait, I sound like The Dude.
🙂
They do indeed deliver in my area!
Good! Thanks Rachel.
What a lovely salad! I’ve failed miserably at trying to grow lettuce here. Perhaps next season I’ll try a large container.
I’ve never grown it! So you can imagine I’m pretty proud of that pot of beautiful greens.
Thanks for coming by foodyschmoody. I’m now following you via Google+. I love this salad idea. I, too, am growing that type of lettuce and have been running out of ideas so the timing of this post is perfect!
We really liked that sweet version of the Vinaigrette. And of course the fresh mozzarella and olives made for a great combo.
LeaAnn your salad looks delish! You mustalso have a green thumb! It has been so hot and dry this summer that everything I’ve planted looks worse for the wear. I usually had giant basil plants in NY by this time in summer, but the ones I planted here are puny, despite planting them in Miracle Grow soil and frequent watering. I think it may be the cool night temperature that is stunting them–but maybe that helped your lettuce grow so well?
I will definitely look further into the Covenant Ranch Trucking service! It’s good to know they deliver to CO. Love the give away!
Growing up on a farm, I better have a green thumb! It has been a little hot this season, but I think the wind has taken it’s toll. Good to hear from you Pat. We need to plan lunch.
I love fresh from the garden leaf lettuce and best salad he ever had is way impressive. A few plants can provide lots of lettuce. I believe I could eat the scallops and remoulade as well.
I am so excited that you have lettuce in July! My lettuce crop is starting to bolt and rather than mourn, I am going to plant a container on my patio NOW. I’ve always thought it was sad that the lettuce bolts just as the tomatoes are getting ripe. Love this idea! Also, if Bob said this is the best salad he’s ever had, I am making this Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette! And finally – I did go to their website and they don’t come near Montana. :-/ But I’d love to win the giveaway.
I am a huge fan of red wine vinaigrettes – love how tangy they are. The salad looks lovely… can’t beat homegrown veggies!
Gorgeous salad Lea Ann. At the beginning of the summer Whole Foods was selling pots of assorted lettuce and I have regretted not getting one ever since. This post makes me regret it even more. The dressing sounds wonderful.
Your lettuce from your garden is so pretty. We tried growing lettuce once in our herb garden, but planted it too late and it bolted. Think you have better growing conditions.
Sam
Of all the gardening I’ve ever done (and I owned a nursery for about 6 years), I’ve never grown lettuces. That will change this winter. Yours is beautiful and inspires me even more.
Lea Ann, Your lettuce looks beautiful! This is my first year growing lettuce and I have three different kinds also growing very fast and healthy to my surprise. Covenant ranch Does deliver to Longmont! I will check them out some more and would love that book. I started gardening this year with four raised beds I bought from the ace hardware. Also to my surprise most everything is growing as it should. I love red wine vinegar! I will be learning to make mozzarella this Thursday in Longmont. Can’t wait. Happy Summer;)
I love red wine vinegar! I will definitely give this salad a try with those first few precious salad greens from the garden.
I went and looked to see if there is a delivery drop near me, and, of course, there isn’t! The only problem with living in the middle of nowhere is that no one knows you’re here!