Balsamic Vinegar

As dense as honey, as dark as chocolate, with a range of unique and refined aromas. We are talking about Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, a special product in the world, which only two provinces of Emilia-Romagna can boast: Modena and Reggio Emilia. This gem of our local food and wine is the result of a long and complex work, still closely linked to tradition. The process begins with the reduction of pressed Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes and gives birth to a thick syrup, called mosto cotto; then, it is left to age for a minimum of 12 years in barrels of different woods such as chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry, ash and juniper. The result is balsamic vinegar, a dark-brown liquid whose flavour balances the natural sweet and sour elements of cooked grape juice with hints given by the wood barrels. The common ground between the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO and that of Reggio Emilia is certainly the fermentation process (which takes at least 12 years) and the ingredient from which they are obtained, the cooked grape must. However, they differ for the different organoleptic characteristics (which change according to the territory), for the cooking time of the must, for the choice of the barrels and for the degree of acidity. The origins of balsamic vinegar date back to the era of the Roman Empire, even though the term ‘balsamic’ was introduced only in 1747; perhaps, the name derives from the therapeutic use of the product, employed for its refreshing and softening effect. The producers of vinegar of Modena spread in the XIX century and after the Second World War they began to sell the condiment all over the world under the name of Balsamic Vinegar.
