We had planned a day trip outside Padua – I wanted to go to Eataly World in Bologna (about 90min drive away), and Mr FPJ wanted to check out the Ferrari museum in Modena (about a further 30 mins from Bologna). Modena is famous for its balsamic vinegar (you might notice the labels on some balsamic vinegars at the supermarket may state it’s from Modena). My aunt asked if we wanted to stop by one of the vinegar cellars on the way. We were happy for a little detour and stopped by Acetaia Angelo.
My aunt had rung ahead to see if the cellar was open for tastings so that they knew we were coming.
First, we were taken to the back and shown all the barrels that the balsamic vinegar is stored in and were given an information session (in English!). It’s really interesting and I never realised how balsamic vinegar was made.
It’s basically like wine – pick the grapes, cook it in a large vat, and then all the liquid is left to age in large barrels. Except these barrels have an opening at the top – you’ll see that it’s covered in a gauze-like material so that it can breathe. Slowly over time (we’re talking years), the liquid evaporates and the barrel becomes less full. The liquid then gets transferred into smaller barrels with an opening covered in gauze at the top. You’ll see these black barrels in the photo below are all different sizes. As the balsamic vinegar evaporates, it’s a constant process of transferring to a smaller and smaller barrel until you get a nice thick syrupy vinegar.
Similar to wine, the type of wood in the barrel (cherry, juniper etc) will also affect taste and flavour. Acetaia Angelo sells 10 year, 20 year and 25 year old balsamic vinegars and generally only use oak, though they did have a limited edition juniper barrel balsamic vinegar available at the time.
We were so lucky that the manager there spoke some English and was able to tell us about the process and answer some questions. After this tour, we went back inside and sat at a table to start the tastings.
We each get a plastic tea spoon, and he starts off with the younger 10 year vinegars and pours a few drops of balsamic vinegar in each spoon. What is noticeably different to Australian balsamic vinegars is how thick and oozy the vinegar is. There are three types of vinegars produced – regular (black tops), potent (gold tops) and sweet versions (red tops). We taste all three in the 10 year range. Then we move up to the 20 year old vinegars in the same range (just aged twice as long). This is a lot thicker, richer, glossy and has a lot more punch to the flavour. Of course, the 25 year old vinegars in the same range are even better! It comes out of the bottle like a syrup with a more intensified but balanced flavour. There was also a 25 year old juniper-barrel infused balsamic vinegar – quite herby and refreshing but we preferred the other ones.
Then it was a matter of deciding what to buy and bring all the way back to Australia. All balsamic vinegars come in glass bottles so weight was a major factor. We decided on a 25 year old 200ml regular balsamic (39€), and a 20 year old 200ml sweet balsamic (16€). But we also purchased some for family. All up we brought home about 6kg of balsamic vinegars (including the glass weight) but it all made it back safely with bubble wrap.
Acetaia Angelo also sells the traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena DOP (denomination of controlled origin) range for sale. To qualify as a Modena DOP, the seven native varieties of grape must has to be grown in Modena and there are a few other conditions. We’re told that these balsamic vinegars are a mix of all the different qualified acetaias in the region so that it does not favour a particular one.
These are far more expensive than the cellar’s own range so there were no tastings of this. The range starts at 45€ for a younger balsamic or 70€ for the 25 year old (extra-vecchio).
If you’re ever in the region, it’s definitely worth checking out one of the many vinegar cellars and doing a tasting. The taste is so different to what you buy from the supermarket in Australia. Even though supermarket brands will say it’s from Modena, if you read the ingredient label, it might only be 5% balsamic from Modena, and the rest is food colouring, artificial flavouring and topped up with white vinegar which gives you that sharp sourness.
We learnt so much about the process of how balsamic vinegar is made. Well worth a day trip!
Other posts from Italy
Some other posts from around Padua that you might enjoy:
- Eating in Italy (Padua) – Patisseries and Gelato
- Eating in Italy (Padua) – Trattoria al Bigolaro
- Eating in Italy (Padua) – Ristorante Pizzeria El Gaucho
- Eating in Italy (Padua) – Locanda Bel Fiore
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