 As the demand for vinegar for culinary, medical, and sanitary purposes increased, vintners quickly learned to use other organic materials to produce vinegar in the hot summer months before the grapes were ripe and ready for processing into wine.This method was slow, however, and not always successful, as the vintners did not understand the process.One of the first modern commercial processes was the "fast method" or "German method", first practised in Germany in 1823.