Italian Red Wine Vinaigrette with Fresh Herbs

This Italian red wine vinaigrette combines fruity vinegar with extra-virgin olive oil, mustard, and plenty of fresh Mediterranean herbs. It is bold enough for radicchio and endive but equally useful with tomatoes, beans, pasta salad, and grilled vegetables.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smooth mustard
• A tiny pinch of sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Fine sea salt
• Finely chopped oregano, rosemary, basil, and/or a small amount of sage

How to make Italian vinaigrette

1. Build the dressing

Whisk the red wine vinegar with the mustard, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Slowly add the olive oil in a two-parts-oil-to-one-part-vinegar ratio, whisking until combined.

2. Add fresh herbs

Stir in a generous amount of finely chopped oregano, rosemary, or basil. Sage is powerful, so use it more sparingly.

3. Taste and adjust

Add more vinegar for brightness, oil for softness, or salt to bring the flavors together. Let the dressing stand for 10 minutes before serving so the herbs can infuse the oil.

Turn it into tomato dressing

Squeeze the juice from one or two fully ripe tomatoes into the vinaigrette. The tomato juice adds body and makes a dressing that is particularly good with bitter greens such as radicchio and Belgian endive.

Ways to use Italian dressing

• Toss with tomatoes and mozzarella
• Dress white beans or chickpeas
• Season grilled zucchini, peppers, or eggplant
• Use in pasta salad
• Spoon over roasted chicken or fish

Explore vinegars for homemade dressing

Browse the Gölles collection for Austrian wine and fruit vinegars, or use Gölles Tomato Vinegar for the tomato variation.