Spilamberto, home of balsamic vinegar

After a visually intense visit to the Galleria Ferrari, our group of four decided to make the most of what had been a two hour drive south to visit some other sites in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Since we were just outside of Modena, we drove into town to grab a quick lunch. Since it was Christmas weekend, nearly everything was closed but we did managed to get some pasta and AMAZING hot chocolate at a cafe near the center of town. This hot chocolate appeared to be nothing more than a melted candy bar - who needs milk? On the way back to the car, we passed a bakery selling all sorts of treats. My favorite was this Chantilly cake with a Nativity scene set up on top.


The Modena region is particularly know for being the home of basalmic vinegar. However, in order to learn more about the manufacturing procedure, we had to drive to a little town called Spilamberto. This small and picturesque town centered around a castle is probably worth a trip on it's own (though in warmer weather than what we experienced!).


We quickly found the museum and discovered that we were the sole visitors at this small facility. After watching a short introductory video, the museum clerk/guide gave us a personal tour of the museum. She was incredibly accommodating, answering all of our questions and explaining to us how pretty much all families in her town made their own traditional balsamic vinegar in their attics.

We learned the difference between traditional vinegar and "the rest". All other forms of balsamic vinegar (and pretty much anything you'd ever buy in a grocery store, even in most of Italy) is mass produced in machines. The traditional production, however, takes places in the attics (always the attics) of homes and places of business in the Modena region. Using a set of nine wooden barrels that decrease in size, the vinegar is aged (in the barrels) for a minimum of 10 years in order to reach the "traditional" standard. The best vinegars are produced in barrels that are aged themselves, as barrels can and should last several generations. Each spring, the liquid in poured from the larger barrels into the proportionately smaller, with the smallest getting drained. Only a small amount of the liquid can be used so this production is on a small scale.


Our guide explained how her family produced their own vinegar for personal use and how she basically serves as a sommelier for balsamic vinegar and helps to judge the yearly tasting contests. Using the below score sheet, each judge tastes and rates four vinegars (out of 70 total vinegars entered). The vinegar produced by (and in) the museum we were visiting won the contest several years ago and still receives consistently high scores.


Once a vinegar has attained the standards to be labeled "traditional balsamic vinegar", it is bottled into (small) 100ml containers and sold for a government regulated price of 42 euros for the 10 year aged and 70 euros for the 25 year aged. Naturally, vinegars can sell for more. In a store across from the museum, I saw a bottle retailing for 150 euro (still just 100 ml) since the 25 year vinegar had been aged in 100 year old barrels. This store also allowed our group to taste several different types of balsamic vinegars. We began with a six-year, mass-produced version which didn't seem so bad....until we tasted the ten-year! Just a drop on the spoon, this vinegar had a thick and almost creamy appearance with a much less pronounced tartness (i.e. the acidity) to the aftertaste. But the twenty-five year was the clear winner, no contest, especially in comparison. The sweet and acid were perfectly balanced and created an amazing flavor. The shopkeeper had us taste another mass-produced version afterwards and it was striking how inferior the quality was.

After our friends bought vinegars to take home with them, we headed out for a quick gelato. Both of our friends tried the gelato flavored with traditional balsamic vinegar and one of them even let me have a taste. Delicious! It is pictured below on the right, with pistachio.


After our delicious day, we settled back into the car for our return to Milano. Passing Parma, we lamented how short the day was (not enough light in the winter) and abbreviated schedules around Christmas-time. I supposed we'll have to visit the home of Parmesan cheese and prosciutto another day....