All About Aceto Balsamico
Some months ago, I visited Bologna and took a side trip to Modena for the sole purpose of doing a balsamic vinegar tasting. You might be thinking, Hang on, vinegar? But you do wine. You do Turkish wine. And yet, here we are. To be fair, balsamic vinegar is fermented grape juice, so I’m not all that far off my usual topic!
I’ve known balsamic vinegar for what seems like ever. I cook with it, make salad dressings, splash it in oil for dipping bread…but it wasn’t until this trip that I realized I have never actually had balsamic vinegar. Modena certainly is the place to be to try it! There are lots of fattoria around Modena if you want to go to where it’s actually made. However, if you’re like me and you don’t drive, Modena offers multiple tasting opportunities. I booked a tasting with La Consorteria 1966.
Armed with my notebook and a bare modicum of information, courtesy of the Italian Wine Scholar program, my one hour/five vinegar tasting turned into 90 minutes, seven or eight vinegars, and the single most expensive shopping experience of my entire trip.
What is balsamic vinegar?
You might think you know the answer to this. Heck, I thought I had a good idea. But I was really surprised by some of the things I learned.
Like wine and cheese, balsamic vinegar has to follow a number of rules to be considered a ‘real’ balsamic. Also like both wine and cheese, there are a number of quality classifications. the two most common being IGP (protected geographical indication) and PDO/DOP (protected designation of origin). A traditional product of Modena, balsamic vinegar has to be at least partially produced in the area to receive even the basic IGP classification. And in the case of earning the IGP Modena label, it literally only has to be labeled in Modena province.
I found that quite shocking. I may have audibly gasped.
“Real” balsamic, on the other hand, is labeled as tradizionale and is a PDO, meaning the entire production is done in Modena. Much more proper!
Other key notes that must be followed (by the PDO balsamics) include:
- Must be aged a minimum of 2 years
- Invecchiato (aged) indicates at least 3 years ageing
- Vecchio (old) indicates 12+ years ageing
- Extra Vecchio 25+ years
- Ingredients should include mosto cotto (cooked grape juice) and wine vinegar
- Acidity should be 6 – 8%
Also, there is no such thing as WHITE balsamic vinegar. And I will admit that I both own several bottles and they were made in Italy. But as soon as my tasting guide said this, it made total sense that this cannot be a thing. Why not? Well, let’s look at how balsamic vinegar is made.
How is it made?
This is really involved, so I’m going to try to break it down to its basics.
Balsamic is made primarily with Lambrusco (all varieties) and Trebbiano grapes, but there may be other grapes involved (e.g. Ancellota). The grapes are harvested mid September into October and immediately pressed with no maceration. The resulting juice then gets cooked for a minimum of 30 minutes at max 90 F – no boiling! –the surface is cleaned of scum when it rises, until there’s been 20-30% reduction. What is left is then transferred to open vats where it oxidizes throughout the spring, thereby taking on color (ergo NO WHITE balsamic!) while it acidifies. Any alcohol created during the fermentation process gets eaten up by the acidification process. If that is taking too long, there’s a “mother dough” of grape bacteria aceto makers may add to speed the process.
Still with me?
Aceto is stored in batteria (barrels) in attic-like places where it is fully exposed to heat & temperature fluctuations. The barrels are often left uncorked during the summer to help evaporation and are topped up only in the winter. They work like a solera system: after 12 years (for the vecchio), a mere 2 liters can be removed from the smallest (10 l) barrel. That one then gets topped up with vinegar from the next largest barrel which gets topped up with vinegar from the next largest and so on. Newly made vinegar tops up the largest barrel.
Vinegars can be aged in a single wood (for example, aged only in mulberry), or blended to increase complexity. Multiple types of wood are used for aceto barrels including: oak, juniper, chestnut, cherry, mulberry, ash, and acacia. Each add their own something to the vinegar’s flavor. If oak is used, it’s usually the last barrel used. These barrels tend to be family objects that are generational. They’re never emptied, never thrown away, and can live for hundreds of years.
Before anything can be labeled tradizionale, vinegar has to pass lab tests and be tasted and approved by master tasters. Which are a thing that requires years of training! At the end, only the consorzio can actually bottle the vinegar.
Cantine Motta, IGP
When I got home, I wanted to do a little tasting of the vinegars I bought. I threw in this Cantine Motta, which I purchased locally at Carrefour, as a kind of starting point. A basic grocery store available balsamic vinegar, what most of us probably associate with balsamic vinegar. Its ingredients include (in order) grape vinegar, mosto cotto, and caramel. It’s very thin, runs as a easily as water, and doesn’t really coat the surface of the bottle or the spoon.
It smelled like “balsamic vinegar” but with a big emphasis on the vinegar. Similarly, it tasted harshly acidic. Whatever this nonsense is, it was definitely of the “only got labeled in Modena” kind of balsamic. I was told that you should never actually cook balsamic vinegar. After having tasted some of the good stuff, I can see what a sin that is. But something like this? Yeah, go ahead.
I would include a suggested retail price here, but since it’s an imported product purchased in Turkey, whatever the locally paid price was, it was outrageously inflated, not indicative of what most people would pay, and therefore pretty immaterial.
La Secchia di Righi Lorenzo, IGP
Another IGP, this bottle that I bought at La Consorteria 1966 was as different to the Fattoria Estense IGP as day is to night. Ingredients here were only mosto cotto and grape vinegar. Appearance-wise, it was moderately viscous and coated the glass bottle and the spoon.
Had the tang of vinegar on the nose but with a balancing hint of sweetness. Tongue-coating with flavors evocative of figs and raisins. Sweet but with mouthwatering levels of acidity. Much nicer and more elegant than the previous. Use this in vinaigrettes or to lightly dress heavier, fatty foods.
SRP: 35 Euros
Pedroni Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP “Italo”
As an invecchiato, a tradizionale, and a DOP balsamic, the Pedroni was aged at least 12 years and made entirely within Modena. This one is only mosto cotto and aged in chestnut and oak barrels. Appearance-wise, it was moderately viscous and coated the glass bottle and the spoon.
Thick and delicious with flavors of nuts, dried dates, figs, and raisins wrapped in caramel with a dusting of freshly ground coffee beans. Maybe even a touch of chocolate on the palate! Sweet and mouthwatering with a nice bite on the back palate. Use this beauty sparingly (i.e. just droplets) on aged cheese, fruit, or desserts.
Of them all, this was my favorite!
SRP: 50 Euros
Consorteria di Spilamberto Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena PDO
Finally, the extra vecchio Consorteria di Spilamberto, aged for a minimum of 25 years. Like the above, this contained only mosto cotto. It was highly viscous, thickly coating the bottle and spoon.
Rich, nutty, caramel, dried fruits, smooth and spiced with brown spices like cinnamon and clove. Similarly to the Pedroni, use this one in little droplets on aged cheese, fruit, or desserts. 
SRP: 90 Euros
What to look for when you’re shopping
Now that I’ve broken your brain with all this information that you didn’t ask for in the first place, and assuming you’re still with me, you may be asking yourself, how do I tell what quality I may (or may not!) be getting when I buy balsamic vinegar? I am glad you asked! There are a few things to look for.
- Check the label. IGP balsamics can be a toss up, look at the difference in the two I had above. But if you see “DOP/PDO” or any of the key words like tradizionale, vecchio, etc, those are clear indications of higher quality.
- Bottle shape and size is key. The bigger the bottle, the bigger the chances of lower quality, especially if it seems like a “good” price. Balsamic is a highly concentrated vinegar meant to be used in smaller quantities, therefore quality balsamics tend to come in smaller bottles. And that cute little shape of the two PDO balsamics I had? That is reserved only for these aged vinegars.
- Do what I call the “honey” test and check its viscosity by turning the bottle upside down. The longer it takes that little air pocket to travel up the bottle, the more viscous the liquid inside is and the higher the quality.
- Ingredients should include mosto cotto and wine vinegar: the higher % of mosto cotto the higher the quality, conversely if you see caramelle it indicates lower quality and/or it was not aged in wood.