Short answer
Yes, in the Hanafi school. Once wine has fully turned into vinegar it is a new, pure substance, so white and red wine vinegar are halal, whether the wine soured by itself or was made to. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools accept it only when the wine turned into vinegar by itself.
Wine that has completely become vinegar is pure and halal, whether it turned by itself or through treatment, and making vinegar from wine is permitted. It must be fully vinegar: a sauce that lists wine as a separate ingredient is not covered.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Wine that turns into vinegar by itself is pure; if something is added to it to make it turn, it stays impure and haram.
- Hanbali
- Deliberately making vinegar from wine is not allowed, and the main view is that such vinegar is not halal; vinegar that formed by itself is halal.
- Maliki
- The vinegar is pure and halal even when the wine was made to turn, though some Maliki scholars disliked doing it.
Explanation
White wine vinegar is made by letting bacteria turn the alcohol in white wine into acetic acid. When the process is complete, the liquid no longer intoxicates: it is sour, not alcoholic. It is common in mayonnaise, salad dressings, pickles, mustard and hollandaise sauce.
The Hanafi school treats this as istihala (transformation): a substance that changes completely into something new takes the ruling of the new thing. Wine is impure and forbidden, while vinegar is pure and good, and the Prophet ﷺ praised vinegar as an excellent thing to eat with bread. The Hanafi texts allow vinegar from wine whether it turned by itself or was helped to turn, for example by adding salt, vinegar or a culture.
The other schools rely on a hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ was asked whether wine could be made into vinegar and said no. So the Shafi'is and Hanbalis accept wine vinegar only when the wine soured on its own. Most commercial wine vinegar is made by adding a vinegar culture, so followers of those schools often ask a scholar before using it. Hanafi scholars understood that hadith as a strict measure from the time when wine had just been forbidden.
What to check: the label should say wine vinegar, not wine. Red wine vinegar and champagne vinegar take the same ruling. A dressing that lists both vinegar and wine contains real wine, which is haram (see food cooked with wine). Other vinegars are covered in balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:67
وَمِن ثَمَرَٰتِ ٱلنَّخِيلِ وَٱلْأَعْنَٰبِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْهُ سَكَرًۭا وَرِزْقًا حَسَنًا ۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَةًۭ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٦٧﴾
And from the fruits of the palm trees and grapevines you take intoxicant and good provision. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who reason.
The same fruit can give an intoxicant or a good provision; the ruling follows what it has become.
Sahih Muslim 2052
Sahih... فإن الخل نعم الأدم ...
"Vinegar is an excellent condiment."
Vinegar is praised as a good food, with no distinction by source.
Sahih Muslim 1983
Sahih... عن الخمر تتخذ خلا فقال لا ...
"He was asked about wine being made into vinegar and said: No."
The evidence the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools use against deliberately making wine vinegar.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Ashriba. Wine that becomes vinegar is lawful, whether it turned by itself or by something put into it.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, on impurities. Wine that becomes vinegar by itself is pure; if something is put in it, it is not.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Ashriba. The Hanbali view against deliberately turning wine into vinegar.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.