The Italian provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia are the only places in the world where Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI can be produced.
It’s a special place where the climate and the soil combine to produce grapes with just the right balance of sugars and acidity.
It’s our home — and there’s nowhere quite like it.
Location
44.6471° N, 10.9252° E
Temperature
6°C / 42°F - 22°C / 71°F
Humidity
Avg. 76%
Season
Autumn
The summers are hot and the winters are cold — and it’s that great variation in temperature, together with the year-round high humidity that comes from being beside the slow-flowing Po river, that helps make our Balsamic vinegar so special. The vinegar ‘rests’ during the chilly winter months and then evaporates and concentrates in the intense summer heat, helping the vinegar to better absorb the complex woody flavours of our barrels.
Only 7 grape varieties can be used to make Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI – Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Albana, Ancellotta, Fortana and Montuni – and that’s all we use. The Italian climate does the rest.
Harvest time comes in late summer. The grapes are picked by hand then gently pressed together to create a sugar-rich juice. Known as grape must, this sweet liquid is without doubt our most important ingredient. We cook and concentrate the must over a very long period until it’s reduced to a thick and flavourful syrup, which we then blend with our own premium wine vinegar.
After nature’s work is done, our job starts in earnest. Our blended recipes are all closely guarded family secrets, but every balsamic vinegar is different. It’s a patient process, but this is where our craftsmanship shines through. With hand-crafted wooden barrels the blending begins.
After the blending process is complete, the law decrees that the liquid has to rest patiently in these wooden barrels, for up to 3 years in order to be named Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI. Our invecchiato Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is aged even longer, spending more than 3 years in smaller barrels — and the most patiently-aged variety of all is our prestigious Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena PDO, which matures for 12 or 25 years in barrels made from woods such as Oak, Chestnut and Juniper.
Good things come to those who wait, and now that the patient maturation period is over, the contents of our barrels must be officially certified as PGI or PDO compliant. Once that is complete, it’s on to the bottling – and to the start of many continent-crossing journeys to kitchens in every corner of the world.
Across our range, our products have status as both Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) and Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO). These certifications are each proof that every drop in every bottle is crafted in compliance with the most strict certified processes. In the case of PGI this means that the final product originates only from the protected province of Modena and Reggio Emilia and is made using only a blend of grape must and wine vinegar, in compliance with the processes and rules set out in the ‘Disciplinary’ that ensures authenticity to the time honoured approach that Italian’s have followed for centuries.
When a product is classed as PDO, it is even more exclusive and means that the entire sourcing and production happens only in a region designated as unique to the quality and provenance of the product. Our Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena can only be made using the single ingredient of Grape Must, sourced from local vineyards, using only specified grape varieties and adhering to a strict aging and bottling process.
We’re also proud members the Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena which is a group of producers who work together to protect the provenance, history and culture of these PGI products so that only the very finest vinegars reach our customers.
At Mazzetti we are proud members the Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena which supports and celebrates this unique and precious product.
