Incidentally, soured white wine is my favorite way to catch flies that have already moved into my kitchen (too many bananas left out on the counter again, oops). Put about an inch of white wine into a shallow ramekin, secure plastic wrap over it with a rubber band, then poke a bunch of tiny holes in the plastic with a toothpick.They crawl through the holes and drown their stinky little heads in the wine when they're unable to get back out!
I agree with all the advice here. But maybe leaving it outside lightly covered with cheese cloth or a mesh 'spatter guard' could let it pick up some wild yeast which would be filtered out in your home ac system. Just a couple of hours in the morning would let some natural yeasts find a home.
When I make vinegar from left over wines, I just put a loose bit of paper towel in the top and ignore it for a few month. Admittedly, I tend to do with Beaujolais nouveau which WANTS to be vinegar anyway and will turn even in a stoppered bottle after a few months.
Thanks very much, everyone! After a couple of parties and housewarmings, I have quite an inventory and it's likely some of it is better off as vinegar. A Christmas gift idea is forming...
MrsKeller, if she had open vinegar, she would, whether she intended or wanted to, or not. They're really tiny, by the way. You wouldn't know you had them until you saw their corpses floating on the top of your vinegar. They even work their way through whatever open spaces they can find in your cheesecloth. ;o)
If you leave your jars open, as Ms. Stewart suggests, you will soon have vinegar full of vinegar flies, tiny little insects that drink a bit of vinegar and then die right there, in it (or so it seems). What was she thinking?? You need to, at least cover the jars with a couple layers of cheesecloth. Then put them in a dark cupboard. And I'd add some live vinegar (one in which a mother is growing), or if I wasn't sure if what I had was or not, a bit of unpasteurized organic cider vinegar. You can get good vinegar mother from the Oak Barrel wine making supply store in Berkeley, CA. They sell it online. I also highly recommend adding a bit more champagne every few weeks, to feed the vinegar. (if you don't have more champagne, a touch of white wine will do.) The vinegar will be really good in a few months. I find most vinegars too harsh if not left for at least that long. A year or more is ideal. ;o)
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When I make vinegar from left over wines, I just put a loose bit of paper towel in the top and ignore it for a few month. Admittedly, I tend to do with Beaujolais nouveau which WANTS to be vinegar anyway and will turn even in a stoppered bottle after a few months.
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http://www.marthastewart.com/273289/champagne-vinegar