The Process

Balsamic vinegar starts with grapes, handpicked in Modena. The grapes are crushed and cooked into grape must, then poured into a series of progressively smaller barrels called a battery. Over hot summers, one-fifth evaporates, concentrating the must and partially emptying the barrels.

Each year, vinegar is bottled from the smallest barrel, then refilled using the next barrel in size, repeating the process up the chain. This ensures the vinegar matures for at least 6 years, developing a sweet, tangy flavor, thick texture, and wood-infused complexity.

About the Barrels

Each barrel has unique bacteria and wood flavors, essential for converting sugars to acetic acid. Guided by a Mastro Acetaio, this careful fermentation enhances the vinegar’s value over time, unlike wine barrels that degrade with age.

A Little History

Balsamic production in Modena dates back to the Middle Ages. Traditionally made in attics, a vinegar battery was often started at a girl’s birth and given as part of her dowry.