Production
Product
Natural raw materials
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is the result of the particular peedoclimatic characteristics and the variety of grapes typically grown in Modena, together with the art of cooking musts and the loving procedures of annual beams among the barrels of the vinegars. After pressing the grapes and even before starting fermentation, the musts are cooked in open-air boilers, at room pressure, until they reach a concentration of 30 to 50 %, (as necessary in the acetaia regime). After a long period of decanting, cooked must begins a natural and simultaneous reaction of fermentation and acetic biossedation by yeasts and acetobacteria. The product then undergoes a processing phase called maturation that is of fundamental importance for the formation of the typical balsamic scents. Then follows the aging phase during which the characteristics of the product gain optimal aging.
Production
Tradition and respect for the methods of implementation
The three phases take place in series of barrels of different woods (mostly oak, chestnut, mulberry, cherry and juniper) and of decreasing volume and varying from 75/100 liters to about 10/liters. Each wood gives vinegar a particular feature: tannin-rich chestnut will contribute to the dark color, mulberry will concentrate the product faster, juniper will yield resinous essences, cherry will sweeten the flavor while oak, precious wood for already ripe vinegar, will give it a typical vanilla scent. The difference between the capacity of the barrels is required by the need to carry out the annual beams appropriately. These consist of bringing the barrel liquid back to level with that of the barrel above, respectively, to compensate for the withdrawal of the finished product and the annual decrease due to evaporation. These operations require competence and judiciousness in respecting the evolutionary state of the product, to ensure its optimal development in the centuries to come.
Features
Peculiarity
It is famous and appreciated all over the world. It obtained DOC protection in 1986 (L.93 of 03/04/86). It was recognized as a PDO by the European Community on 17/04/2000.
Raw materials: must of typical Modena grapes, mostly Trebbianoe Lambruschi, Spergola and Berzemino, without addition of other substances.
Processing: direct heat cooking in open-air boilers, natural fermentation and acetification of cooked must, subsequent transfer between barrels, slow aging under the watchful eye of the manufacturer.
Use: product of great versatility. Preferably used raw, it is best expressed together with Parmigiano Reggiano and strawberries. Delicious with Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the salad. It goes wonderfully with roasts and boiled. It enhances the aromas and flavors of every dish. Excellent if taken as a digestive.
Age: the Certification Body and the Commission of Expert Tasters certify the two quality levels available:
Refined, aging minimum of 12 years*
Extravecchio, minimum aging of 25 years* (gold capsule)
(*: no reference to the production vintage, or the alleged age of the product, as determined by the Specification, may be declared on the packaging; only the citation "Extravecchio" is allowed, for the product that has been aged not less than 25 years).
Features: dark brown color, charged and shiny. Appreciable density in a correct, smooth syrupiness. Perfume, characteristic, fragrant, complex but well amalgamated, penetrating and persistent, of evident but pleasant and harmonious acidity. Characteristic, sweet and sour and well balanced flavor, with appreciable acidity, alive, frank, full, velvety, intense and persistent, in good harmony with the olfactory characteristics that are its own.
The typical bottle, spherical in shape with a rectangular base in solid glass, is mandatory for all manufacturers, as required by the Rules of the Production Specification.
The bottle is sealed by numbered marking.
