The World of Balsamic Vinegar

Later this year we are introducing a beautiful collection of vinegars in an exclusive box from the Giusti Family; the oldest producer of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Lo Scrigno, as the box is called, was produced for a charity auction at the special request of Luciano Pavarotti. The sale of Lo Scrigno was a huge success at the auction and Oil & Vinegar is fortunate to have, later this year, a limited edition, numbered replica of the original. I’ll tell you more about Lo Scrigno another time, but I wanted to let you in on a conversation I had with Claudio Stefani Giusti, 17th generation Giusti about the art of Balsamic Vinegar.

At Oil & Vinegar we have the good fortune of meeting the best producers of oils, vinegars and artisan food products from around the world and our franchisees and their staff reap the benefits by sharing their knowledge and passing it along to the guests in our stores.

There are a lot of Balsamic Vinegars out there, with a vast range of quality and a wide variety of prices which can be confusing to say the least and we receive a lot of questions on a regular basis.

My conversation with Claudio should help clear things up and introduce you to the complex and intriguing world of Balsamic Vinegar. I will publish the introduction of our conversation this week and will continue publishing our interview next week.

The first question most people ask is what makes a balsamic a balsamic, so that is where I started my conversation with Claudio.

D: What makes a Balsamic a Balsamic?

C: There are three registered products that are recognized as Balsamic Vinegar.
Balsamic Vinegar of Modena which also recently received IGP certification. (Indication of Protected Origin)

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena which is DOP, tasted by a panel of Consortium members and bottled only by the Consortium. (Denomination of Protected Origin)
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia which is DOP (Denomination of Protected Origin)

All three recognized Balsamic Vinegars must be made from Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes and must have 6% acidity.

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is always bottled in the same 100ml bottle (designed by Giugiaro in 1897), by the Consortium of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, regardless of the producer. Only the label will change according to who the producer is.

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia is also bottled in the same 100ml bottle regardless of the producer by the Consortium of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia, but not the same bottle design as the Modena bottle.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (not labelled traditional) must be bottles in 250ml or 500 or 750 or 1 litre or superior. The choice of the bottle is free.

Balsamic Vinegars that are labelled Traditional, whether from Modena or Reggio Emilia are VERY expensive products, (more than 100 euros per 100ml bottle), and are also extremely protected with a DOP. The rules imposed by the DOP are quite severe and having your balsamic judged and bottled by the Consortium is very costly.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (not labelled traditional) can be very cheap, or very good. In fact the rules are much less severe, as they only require that the balsamic ages at least 60 days in wood, which is hardly anything and therefore the product can be very cheap. This is why you find in supermarkets large bottles of Balsamic Vinegars of Modena for a very low price.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena can also be very good; in fact, there is a broad range of quality Balsamic before arriving at the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. A producer can still do a great Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and bottle in their own 250ml bottle. In the case of our Giusti Balsamics, for example, our same bottle has been on the market for more than 100 years, so we were not interested in doing only the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena in the 100ml Giugiaro bottle, because our 250ml Giusti bottle is recognized as it is.

To be continued next week...