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Home > Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena/Reggio Emilia Italy
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena/Reggio Emilia Italy
Obtained from cooked grape must (juice) directly over an open fire with typical grapes of Modena or Reggio Emilia regions in Italy. It is then casked in batteries of different woods in ever decreasing sizes in the attic where hot summers and cold winters add to the flavor. The continual transferral from one cask to the next produce this aged, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from (Modena or Emilia Romagna) Italy.
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Italy are regulated and supervised by the Consortium.
It is the original product which dates back centuries. Its production takes place in wooden barrels of different sizes, lasts at least 12 years and passes through different types of wooden barrels (Chestnut, Mulberry, Oak, Juniper etc).
Soon after grape squeezing, in a small number of towns around Modena where the grapes are grown, growers carry a part of the must obtained to the Vinegar Makers. The must is from the late harvest of Trebbiano, Occhio di Gatta and Lambrusco grapes. It is cooked for hours over a direct, slow fire until a brown, syrupy liquid with a good grape smell is obtained.
The must is then poured in a series of wooden barrels called batteria and is "contaminated" with acetic bacteria (the Italian "mother") which starts the fermentation.
While wine barrels are kept in cool cellars, the barrels containing fermenting, cooked must are placed in attics, right under the roof so they are fully exposed to the very strong seasonal temperature changes. The heat of summer and cold of winter, together with a constant high humidity level makes each barrel "drink", absorbing a part of its content and more easily giving the must the aroma of its kind of wood.
After one year, before the temperature gets too warm (usually around March), the must left which is now already partially fermented, is passed into a smaller cask made of a different wood to continue its turn into vinegar and to enrich its flavor. In the first barrel, the Master Vinegar Maker will add the cooked grape must obtained from the latest harvest, and so on. This system of topping up is called the Solera System.
This process will be performed each year for a minimum of 12 years before having a real Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Then it is evaluated by a Committee of Master Tasters inside the Consortium. It is scored on taste, color, viscosity and flavor. If it passes, it can be sold only in 100ml bottles with the Consortium label, box, book and seal.
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Price: Call if interested in ordering.
Modena, Italy
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