Red wine vinegar substitutes
Red wine vinegar substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called wine vinegar, red vinegar, vinaigre de vin rouge
Use White wine vinegar
Same amount as the red wine vinegar
White wine vinegar is the same 6-7% strength and the same kind of vinegar, so it goes in tablespoon for tablespoon with nothing else to change - the dressing simply comes out pale instead of rosy. Cider vinegar also works, at 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon, because it is weaker at 5%.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Use the same amount. The strengths match, so nothing else in the recipe moves.
- Best for —
- any recipe where the pink tint was incidental
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the red wine vinegar doing?
Pick your caseIs the wine flavour and the colour part of the dish, or do you just need something sour?
Match the strength and stop there. White wine vinegar goes in tablespoon for tablespoon; cider or distilled white vinegar needs 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon. Worked through at for salad dressing and for cooking.
Notes on white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Same amount
Rebuild rather than replace: 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar plus 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon gives you the acid, the wine flavour and the colour. The chimichurri case is at for chimichurri.
Notes on distilled white vinegar + red wine or sherry vinegar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp wine
Use distilled white vinegar at 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon, or plain rice vinegar at 1 ½ tbsp, or lemon juice at 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp. This is covered in detail at halal red wine vinegar.
Notes on apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp + 1 tsp per tbsp
Do not swap anything. Use the exact vinegar the tested recipe names, at 5% acidity or higher, undiluted, because there the acid level is a safety control rather than a seasoning.
Decide whether you need sourness or a wine note. If it is only sourness, match the strength: white wine vinegar tablespoon for tablespoon, a 5% vinegar at 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp, rice vinegar at 1 ½ tbsp. If the dish is named by its wine flavour - chimichurri, Greek salad, pickled red onions - rebuild it with 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar plus 1 tsp red wine, which is the only option here that also brings the colour.
Red wine vinegar is a strong 6-7% acid with a dry-wine flavour and a red pigment. In a vinaigrette it supplies the sharpness; in chimichurri or a braise it also supplies the wine note and the colour.
Acidprimary
At 6-7% acetic acid it is one of the strongest vinegars sold, so pouring a 5% vinegar in at equal volume leaves a dressing that tastes underseasoned rather than bright.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
It keeps a dry, faintly tannic wine flavour that stands up to garlic, oregano and raw onion, which is why Greek salads and chimichurri are built on it rather than on cider vinegar.
Browning & colorsecondary
Grape pigment survives into the dish: a tablespoon turns pickled onions bright pink and a pale potato salad rosy, and that colour cannot be cooked back out.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tbsp red wine vinegar| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tbsp red wine vinegar | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White wine vinegarany recipe where the pink tint was incidental | 1 tbspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Apple cider vinegarslaws, lentils and pork dishes | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegarTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Distilled white vinegar + red winechimichurri, Greek salad and other dishes named by their wine note | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp red wineTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Sherry vinegardressings for bitter leaves, roast vegetables and lentils | 1 tbspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Balsamic vinegarwhen you want sweet-tart balance rather than a clean sharpness | 2 tsp + 1 tsp waterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Rice vinegargentler dressings and cucumber salads | 1 ½ tbspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Lemon juicedressings for fish, chicken and green leaves | 1 tbsp + ½ tsp lemon juiceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Red wine | not an acid swap — 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp red wineNot for this | Not for this |
White wine vinegar
marginally lighter and less tannic
The same product made from white grapes: the same 6-7% acid, the same dry-wine flavour, none of the colour.
- Covers
- Acid
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Misses
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Best for
- any recipe where the pink tint was incidental, dressings for pale salads and potato salad, when you want similar acidity without colour
- Taste
- marginally lighter and less tannic; in a dressed salad almost nobody could pick it out
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- the dish stays pale - pickled onions come out ivory instead of pink, and a bean salad looks cleaner
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use the same amount. The strengths match, so nothing else in the recipe moves.
The closest swap on the page, and often an improvement in anything that looked better pale.
Apple cider vinegar
fruitier and rounder, without the tannic edge
A 5% vinegar with a fruity apple note, so it needs a little more volume and pulls the dish away from the Mediterranean.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Best for
- slaws, lentils and pork dishes, cooked sauces and braises where the apple note burns off, the bottle most kitchens actually have open
- Taste
- fruitier and rounder, without the tannic edge; noticeable raw, invisible once simmered
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- a light amber cast instead of red, so a dressing looks golden rather than rosy
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon, since 5% is about a quarter weaker than 6-7%.
- In a garlicky dressing, go easy on any honey - the cider vinegar already reads sweeter than red wine vinegar.
The everyday answer. The apple note is a feature in a slaw and a distraction in chimichurri.
Distilled white vinegar + red wine
very close - dry, sharp and winey, if slightly rawer than an aged vinegar
The rebuild: the white vinegar supplies the 5% acid, the splash of wine supplies the flavour and the colour the vinegar lacks.
- Covers
- Acid
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Browning & color
- Amount
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp red wine for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Then
- stir them together and let them sit five minutes before using, so the wine loses its raw edge
- Best for
- chimichurri, Greek salad and other dishes named by their wine note, pickled red onions that should look pink, when there is an open bottle of red in the fridge
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- the same rosy tint as red wine vinegar, which is what the plain vinegars cannot give you
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Contains
- alcohol
- Keep the ratio at 3 parts vinegar to 1 part wine. More wine than that and the mixture is no longer sour enough.
- Any dry red works. A sweet red will make the dressing taste jammy, so drop any sugar in the recipe if that is all you have.
This is the only row here that covers all three of red wine vinegar's jobs at once.
Not for canning or shelf-stable pickles: the mixture's final acidity is not a tested figure.
Sherry vinegar
nuttier and more complex
An aged wine vinegar of similar or slightly higher strength, with a nutty, oxidised flavour of its own.
- Covers
- Acid
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Misses
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Then
- if the label reads 7% or higher, use 2 ½ tsp and top up with ½ tsp water
- Best for
- dressings for bitter leaves, roast vegetables and lentils, Spanish dishes and anything with smoked paprika, using up a bottle you already own
- Taste
- nuttier and more complex; a good dressing, and a slightly grander one than the recipe intended
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- amber-brown rather than red, so a pale salad looks tanned instead of rosy
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Check the percentage on the bottle. Sherry vinegar often runs a little stronger than red wine vinegar, and 2 ½ tsp plus water is the correction.
Sits below the household options because it is not a better swap than white wine vinegar, only a more expensive one.
Balsamic vinegar
sweet and jammy where red wine vinegar is dry and tannic
Also a grape vinegar at about 6% acid, but it carries a lot of grape sugar, so it sweetens and darkens everything it touches.
- Covers
- Acid
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar + 1 tsp water for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Then
- cut any sugar or honey in the recipe by about ½ tsp per tablespoon replaced
- Best for
- when you want sweet-tart balance rather than a clean sharpness, marinades for red meat, mushrooms and roast vegetables, tomato dishes that are already dark
- Texture
- slightly thicker, so a vinaigrette clings more to the leaves
- Look
- dark brown rather than red - a pale salad or potato salad goes muddy
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 2 tsp plus 1 tsp water, and take about ½ tsp of sugar out of the recipe per tablespoon replaced, or the dressing tastes syrupy. The dilution is for the sugar, not the acid - the two vinegars are close in strength.
- Do not use it in chimichurri or a Greek salad. Those dishes want dry sharpness, and balsamic makes them taste like a glaze.
Often recommended as a straight swap. It is not: the sugar is the difference, and it needs correcting.
Robust or already-dark dishes only, and never where the vinegar is the main seasoning.
Rice vinegar
soft and faintly sweet, with none of red wine vinegar's bite
The mildest vinegar sold at 4-4.5% acid, so it takes half again as much and still lands softer.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Best for
- gentler dressings and cucumber salads, dishes that should stay pale, an acid that never involved wine
- Taste
- soft and faintly sweet, with none of red wine vinegar's bite - a Greek salad made this way tastes shy
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- pale and clear, so nothing takes on colour
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free
- Use 1 ½ tbsp per tablespoon. A level tablespoon leaves the dressing tasting flat.
- If the label says seasoned, drop about ½ tsp of the recipe's sugar per tablespoon used.
Fine when you want the dish softer, wrong when the vinegar is meant to cut through garlic and oil.
Not for canning or shelf-stable pickles, where 4-4.5% is below the required 5%.
Lemon juice
bright and lemony rather than dry and winey; a good dressing, a different one
About as sour as a 5% vinegar, with a citrus smell that changes the character of the dish rather than hiding in it.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp + ½ tsp lemon juice for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Best for
- dressings for fish, chicken and green leaves, finishing a cooked dish off the heat, when there is no vinegar in the house
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- pale; bottled juice can leave a clear dressing slightly cloudy
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free
- Use 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp per tablespoon of vinegar.
- Add it at the end of cooking - simmering drives off the citrus smell and leaves only the sourness.
The best choice when you need an acid with no wine in its history and no vinegar in the cupboard.
Red wine
flat and faintly sweet, with none of the sharpness the dish was built on
The raw material rather than the product: table wine holds well under 1% acid, roughly a tenth of the vinegar's sourness.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Acid — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp red wine for 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Then
- use the wine for flavour and colour only, and let the vinegar do the souring
- Best for
- adding the wine note back alongside a real vinegar, deglazing a pan, which is what wine is actually for, seeing why the two bottles are not interchangeable
- Taste
- flat and faintly sweet, with none of the sharpness the dish was built on - a vinaigrette made with wine tastes oily
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- the same rosy colour as the vinegar, which is exactly why the mistake is not obvious until you taste it
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Contains
- alcohol
- Combine instead of substituting - the mixture in the row above is the fix.
- Going the other way, vinegar in place of wine in a braise, use 1 tbsp vinegar plus 3 tbsp stock or water per ¼ cup of wine.
Vinegar means sour wine. The wine itself has not yet had the acid made in it.
Never on its own where the acid has a job: no dressing, no pickling, no soda-leavened batter.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- SafetyCanning, or pickles you intend to keep on a shelf.Use exactly the vinegar the tested recipe names, at 5% acidity or higher and undiluted, and follow a current tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
- Reaching for balsamic tablespoon for tablespoon.Use 2 tsp balsamic plus 1 tsp water, and take about ½ tsp of sugar out of the recipe per tablespoon replaced. In chimichurri or a Greek salad, do not use balsamic at all.
- Using red wine instead of red wine vinegar.Use 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar plus 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon. That gives you the acid, the flavour and the colour.
- A dish whose whole identity is the wine note - chimichurri, a Greek salad, pickled red onions served for their colour.Mix 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar with 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon called for. If there is no wine in the house, use white wine vinegar and accept a pale version, or make something else today.
Safety
2 notes- Canning
Never change the acid in a tested canning, pickling, fermenting or curing recipe. Use the exact vinegar named, at 5% acidity or higher, undiluted and unmixed - acidity is what keeps a sealed jar safe. Follow a current tested recipe.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)
- Alcohol
Red wine vinegar is made by fermenting the alcohol in wine into acetic acid, and a trace of alcohol can remain. If you need an acid that never involved wine, use distilled white vinegar, plain rice vinegar or lemon juice at the amounts given above.
If it went wrong
3 fixes- The dressing tastes sweet and looks brown after you swapped in balsamic.Balsamic carries grape sugar as well as acid, and it went in at full volume.Add 1 tsp more of any plain vinegar plus a pinch of salt to bring the sharpness back, and leave out any honey the recipe wanted. The colour will not come back.
- The salad or marinade tastes oily and flat.You used red wine rather than red wine vinegar, so there is almost no acid in it.Add 2 tsp of any vinegar per tablespoon of wine you used, taste, and adjust the salt. It recovers well.
- The dressing is too sharp after swapping vinegars.A 6-7% vinegar went into a recipe balanced for a 5% one, or you added extra to be safe.Work towards 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, a tablespoon of oil at a time, then add 1/8 tsp sugar. Oil and sugar are reversible; acid is not.
Measure it
6 measures- Red wine vinegar acidityusually 6-7% acetic acidThe same range as white wine vinegar, and stronger than the 5% vinegars - which is why most swaps here need slightly more volume.
- Acid strength, strongest firstwine vinegars 6-7% > balsamic about 6% > distilled white and cider vinegar 5% > lemon juice 5-6% citric > rice vinegar 4-4.5% > orange juice about 1%The percentage is what decides the amount. Per 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar: 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of a 5% vinegar, or 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar.
- Rebuilding the flavour1 tbsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp red wineThree parts vinegar to one part wine. More wine than that and the mixture stops being sour enough to dress a salad.
- Standard vinaigrette3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar3 tbsp oil to 1 tbsp vinegar. Adding oil is the quickest way to pull back a dressing that came out too sharp.
- Wine is not vinegartable wine holds well under 1% acid, wine vinegar 6-7%Roughly a tenfold difference in sourness between two bottles that look and pour alike.
- 1 tbsp vinegar3 tsp = 15 ml
Questions
6 questionsWhat's the best substitute for red wine vinegar?
White wine vinegar, tablespoon for tablespoon, because it is the same kind of vinegar at the same 6-7% acidity - the only difference is that the dish stays pale. If you have no wine vinegar, use 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp of cider or distilled white vinegar per tablespoon, since those are 5%.
Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar?
Only with a correction. Balsamic is close on acid but carries a lot of grape sugar, so use 2 tsp balsamic plus 1 tsp water per tablespoon and take about ½ tsp of sugar out of the recipe. Expect a darker, sweeter dressing, and keep it out of chimichurri and Greek salad.
Can I use red wine instead of red wine vinegar?
No. Table wine holds well under 1% acid against the vinegar's 6-7%, so it cannot sour a dressing or preserve anything. The workable version is 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar plus 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon, which gives you the acid, the wine flavour and the colour.
What can I use in chimichurri if I have no red wine vinegar?
Mix 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar with 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon called for; that keeps the dry, winey sharpness the sauce depends on. If there is no wine, use white wine vinegar tablespoon for tablespoon and accept a paler sauce. Do not use balsamic - it makes chimichurri taste like a glaze.
Does red wine vinegar contain alcohol?
The fermentation converts the alcohol in the wine into acetic acid, and only a trace can remain. If you need an acid that never involved wine, use distilled white vinegar at 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon, plain rice vinegar at 1 ½ tbsp, or lemon juice at 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp.
Is red wine vinegar gluten-free?
It is made from grapes, so plain red wine vinegar contains no gluten. Flavoured blends can include other ingredients, so read the label if you are avoiding gluten strictly.
Tips for substituting red wine vinegar
6 tips- Red wine vinegar is 6-7% acid, so a 5% vinegar needs 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp per tablespoon and rice vinegar needs 1 ½ tbsp.
- White wine vinegar is the same strength and the same kind of vinegar, so it swaps tablespoon for tablespoon - the dish just comes out pale.
- To keep the wine flavour and the pink colour, mix 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar with 1 tsp red wine per tablespoon called for.
- Balsamic is not a straight swap: it is similar in acid but heavy in grape sugar, so use 2 tsp plus 1 tsp water and cut the recipe's sugar by ½ tsp per tablespoon.
- Red wine and red wine vinegar are not interchangeable. Wine holds under 1% acid against the vinegar's 6-7%.
- The standard vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and more oil is how you rescue a dressing that came out too sharp.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)