From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Not a wine, but a cooking condiment widely used in Asian cooking, made using a fermentation process involving yeast which transforms the sugars from glutinous rice into alcohol. Not to be confused with sake; although sake is a rice wine, the two are made very differently. When making rice vinegar, the fermentation process goes one step further, adding bacteria to turn the alcohol into acid. Rice vinegars are generally made from the lees (dregs) of the wine. Both, especially those from Japan, tend to be mild and sweet, and add a bit of acidity to dressings and cooking. The Chinese red and black varieties are also used as condiments, but still are characterized as mild vinegars. There are also Korean varieties, some of which are much stronger. See also rice vinegar.
