Ryan | 28 July 2009

I consider myself to be pretty savvy, I usually spot scams a mile away. A lot has to do with traveling; visit enough far off places and you end up seeing just about every game in the book. Getting taken for a ride on your home turf is less likely... but after my recent trip to Italy, I feel like I've been duped back at home for years!

Turns out, most balsamic vinegar, and nearly everything available on the world's retail shelves, is nothing more than a cheap knockoff. Surely, though, that bottle with the dusty looking finish and the Italian flag must be the good stuff... right, I mean it does say Modena on the label? Come on, just look at those expensive looking bottles, fancy labels, and authentic sounding names, they must stand for quality! Despite what the marketers would have us think, most of what is on the market is nothing more than an industrial produced imitation. A combination of grape juices, vinegar, & caramel colors that attempt to replicate a product that has been painstakingly produced in small quantities since the Middle Ages.

The real traditional balsamic vinegar goes by the name that most of us struggle to pronounce, let alone remember Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. Aged a minimum of 12 years, this vinegar spends it's life moving among a "battery" of 8 wooden barrels, which each impart complex flavors of chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry & ash into the final product. Every bottle produced must meet the approval of a panel of 5 expert tasters in order to receive it's official designation status.

I was lucky to be able to spend the day with Andrea Bezzecchi, lawyer turned 3rd generation producer of this amazing stuff at Acetaia San Giacomo. After a little scheduling mix up, although I'm not pointing fingers :) I met Andrea and learned about his passion for producing balsamic and the differences between the real deal and the stuff most of us buy in the stores. Andrea produces within the consortia of Reggio Emilia (the Modena consortia being the only other). It is easy enough to spot the Balsamico Tradizionale of Reggio Emilia based on the distinctive bottles and labels. I'm guessing the consortia also controls the packaging, because it seems you can find similar looking boxes around each producer's product.

Here's the cheat sheet:
Red label = vinegar aged at least 12 years
Silver label balsamic vinegar = aged at least 18 years
Gold label balsamic vinegar = aged over 25 years!

Given the time and care going into each bottle of Balsamico Tradizionale, I was not surprised to learn that the price of a small bottle will run more than 10x that of a bottle of the industrial stuff. At this point, I started to panic, as a self-proclaimed Foodie, I knew I had no place in my life for the industrial knock-off.. but given my liberal daily usage of balsamic on salads, cheeses, etc. I grew concerned that the authentic product would break me financially.

I asked Andrea about how the locals overcame this problem and was relieved to discover the traditional product is actually used very sparingly and only on special occasions (although who can't find a reason to make every day one of those). It is best  enjoyed as a drop on a piece of Parmigiano, a small spoonful spread on fish or meat dishes, a dribble on ice cream or fruits, even a drop warmed naturally and licked directly off of the hand (see picture below). What about those salads then... surely this trend wasn't started outside of Italy! Andrea enlightened me to the beautiful option available for those every day uses... like the dousing I give to my salad, bruschetta, etc.

Several producers of the traditional product also create a wonderful (and more affordable) product for every day use. This version, referred to as Condimento Balsamico is made in the same traditional way as the real stuff, but with a shorter aging period and without any official oversight from the consortia. As such, it retains many of the great properties that come from time spent in the battery of wooden barrels but it is much less precious than the Balsamico Tradizionale which is released in extremely limited quantities each year.

While there are several producers of Balsamico Tradizionale, I would be happy to source my lifetime consumption of balsamic (in all its forms) from Andrea. After spending a full day with him, I can honestly say that he is probably the coolest producer of Balsamico Tradizionale anywhere in the world!

He is equally loved in his neighborhood. I was able to enjoy an amazing lunch with him at one of his favorite neighborhood restaurants (which stayed open late just for him as we showed up after the lunch crowed had gone). He was enthused to introduce me to the specialties of the region (which I was of course even more enthused about!). A starter of a fried hollow pastry that formed a pillow shape, which was punched out and stuffed with Parma ham! (I can't remember the name of this one) Delicious ravioli stuffed with something similar to spinach & drenched with fantastic olive oil. And a closing of cafe flavored ice cream... I initially passed on dessert but felt a carnal need to prove something after being told I was too skinny by the Italian woman serving us:)

Andrea is a very active and positive figure in his region. I was extremely lucky to be visiting on a day when a organic champagne tasting was arranged at his place, attended by several wine / salumi producers and other friends of his from the area. I couldn't possibly pass up the invitation! It was a once in a lifetime experience for me, after getting a 2 hour intro to champagne in what sounded like Italian (by apparently an extremely well known Italian wine critic), it was flight after flight of champagne accompanied by course after course of amazing Italian food. I really couldn't believe my fortune to share in this experience!

My favorite part of this evening was watching Andrea pull out a bottle of Balsamico Tradizionale resulting in a swarm of attendees clamoring for a tiny drop to be placed on their hand. You can see the picture of that below along with other photos from my visit.

Visit Andrea's profile and story here on gourmetKAZOO.

Feel free to engage him in questions or comments at the bottom of his profile, I'm sure he'd be happy to enlighten anyone on the product that he is truly passionate about!



UPDATE: You can now reserve a balsamic vinegar tour with Andrea right here on gourmetKAZOO.