Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena

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Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP is one of the most extraordinary condiments in the world and one of the most misunderstood — a product with almost no connection to the cheap 'balsamic vinegar' found on supermarket shelves. Tradizionale is made from a single ingredient: cooked grape must (mosto cotto) from Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes grown in the province of Modena. This must is cooked down to roughly half its volume, then begins a decades-long journey through a batteria — a series of progressively smaller barrels made from different woods (oak, chestnut, cherry, juniper, mulberry, ash, each contributing different aromatic compounds). The smallest barrel may be 10 litres, the largest 60 or more. Each year, a small amount is drawn from the smallest barrel, which is topped up from the next larger, and so on — a solera-like system that ensures each bottle contains traces of must from decades past. The minimum ageing for DOP Tradizionale is 12 years. The 'Extravecchio' designation requires 25 years minimum. Some family batterie contain vinegar over a century old. The result is a thick, syrupy, intensely complex liquid — sweet and sour in perfect balance, with notes of fig, cherry, chocolate, wood, and a richness that defies description. It is used by the drop, not the splash: a few drops on a chunk of 36-month Parmigiano-Reggiano, on fresh strawberries, on vanilla gelato, on grilled meat, on a fried egg. It is never used in salad dressing — that is the job of industrial balsamic vinegar (IGP), an entirely different product. The DOP Tradizionale is bottled only in 100ml bottles of a specific shape designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, sealed by the Consorzio after tasting and grading. It costs €40-150+ per bottle and is worth every centesimo.

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