Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and the Three Year Old Balsamic Connoisseur
Cavedoni balsamic Vinegars made here
I sat at the table in Restaurant il Cappero alle Mura in Modena waiting for Lambruscco to be opened and watching 3 year old Alessandro eat his tortellini in a creamy parmesan sauce. I was seated next to him. Between mouthfuls he paused to stare at me. Clearly there was something wrong with me. I wasn’t talking very much to anyone and I didn’t speak to him but I did make little faces. He was unsure whether to laugh at first but soon moved on from my shortcomings as a conversationalist and we just made faces and kind of played handsies. The thing that impressed me most about Alessandro was that he is a balsamic connoiseur. After he finished his tortellini his Dad offered him a teaspoon. He held it out to be filled with balsamic condiment which he slurped, smacked his lips and smiled. “benne”. I wish I could speak Italian!
Cavedoni storage oak barrels
Alessandro has his own row of balsamic. In fact everyone in his family does and has for as long as they can remember, since the beginnings in 1860.
The sightly blurry Alessandro. He was wary of me taking photos in a dark restaurant. The three year old balsamic connoisseur
Little Alessandro is out to dinner with his Dad, Marcello and his granddad Paolo who run Antica Cavedoni Acetaia de Modena. His Mum is a professional Gymnast and is away working, so the little fella has stepped up and is attending his first business dinner. Between sips of lemon squash he tests the Balsamic.
Here is Marcello, Alessandros’ Dad
The world of balsamic is a complex one with many rules governing it’s production. Needless to say there are vinegars claiming to be balsamic’s made not just in Italy but all over the world and this is why there is so much confusion with price and quality. “Traditional ” balsamic has been made in Modena and Emilia Romogna for hundreds of years, here balsamic is made by hand “Traditionale” balsamico is the forbear to all others and is protected by a consortium.
Modena
Rules include the shape and size of the bottle, the grape variety it is made with, the area the grapes are grown, the length of time it has spent in barrels, and to keep it fair producers can only produce an approved amount each per year.
Cavedoni old barrels
Cavedoni different decantings ( or years)
To simplify, there are two types of Balsamic vinegar. Aceto Balsamico Traditionale and then all of the other stuff. Only Traditionale is DOP (consortium approved) regulated, so there is a lot of other balsamic vinegars for sale that vary from commercially mass produced to combinations of both.
Cavedoni young barrels
” Aceto Balsamico Traditionale” is not even a vinegar in the usual sense . It is a delicate condiment made from the reduced juice of local Trebbiano and sometimes Lambrusco grapes. This is boiled down to a sweet thick syrup called “must”. For now it’s called “musto cotto ” also known as “Saba & Vincotto”. The must is divided amongst a “batteria” of different wooden barrels (usually 5) that vary in size and different woods. It is left to naturally evaporate and ferment for 12 years minimum. There are natural and harboured bacteria’s in the barrels that cause it to aciditfy. No wine vinegar is ever added to a traditional balsamic. Each year after they reach they’re 12th birthday they are “decanted”. A tincture is taken from the smallest barrel and bottled then a small amount is taken from each barrel along the line in the batteria. Fresh “must” is added to the youngest (biggest ) barrel and a small amount from the preceding barrel added to the others
Cavedoni ageing with traditional cloths for evaporation
I had forgotten about this when we visited the attic where all the precious balsamic was stored. It’s above the producers apartment in the building second from the corner (first picture above). I kept saying to The Entrepreneur “but this is just in their attic!!. Aren’t they worried? What if there’s a fire?. Oh look spider webs…… and the attic window is open!.”
Cavedoni attic
But this of course is the point. Without temperature variations there will be no evaporation nor fermentation. Apparently this is how it has been produced since…….forever.
Cavedoni history
And all the other balsamic?. Well that can fall into two rough categories. Commercial grade balsamic. This is made with wine vinegar, caramel, colour and thickeners. Hundreds of litres a day can be produced. The other type is condimento grade. This is a murky depth of delicious balsamic confusion. Some of this can range from a mixture of commercial grade balsamic and traditional. It could also be made traditionally but without consortium approval. It could be aged less than 12 years and have no consortium labelling. It can have an IGP stamp, meaning it is made traditionally but for a shorter period than 12 years. Oh the wonderful confusion.
cavedoni vineyards
These grapes will one day be Balsamic
We all walked to the restaurant through the beautiful old village. All except for Alessandro and his Dad. because they were already at the restaurant. A three year old has to have some concessions
Il Cappero alle Mura is in a stunning old castle.
The village
The restaurant in Modena
The garden at the restaurant in the light
il cappero alle mura at nightThere are definitely not many photos of the food because I was busy making faces at Alessandro. But we did have a beautiful mushroom ravioli with a parmesan cream sauce drizzled with …..Cavedoni Balsamic.
Mushroom ravioli with Balsamic
il cappero alle mura
This must be the naughty corner
meats
1950’s were a good year
NEXT Organic wineries and a passion for the land…. and a road trip with My Kitchen Stories and 3 Italians coming up.
What a gorgeous story Tania! And a three year old balasmic expert no less. I can only imagine how he’ll grow up! 😀
We absolutely loved our time celebrating our anniversary in Italy, your post reminded me of so many memories and flavors we brought back with us. Beautiful stories and photos!
Wow I’d love to travel to Modena one day. The food and scenery look spectacular too!
Damn Tania, makes me want to get my passport out tomorrow and whisk myself away to the land of all good things. I’m going to have to settle for some balsamic out of my kitchen cupboard and maybe I’ll get Mr Chocolate to whisper a few words in Italian to me…sigh.
(ps. Someone I follow on instagram made your apple and macadamia cake recently, crediting your good self for it…looked delicious!)
I am shocked at how much I didn’t know about Balsamic Vinegar!! Thank you so much for sharing all that knowledge and he gorgeous pictures, it was an amazing story.
what an awesome experience this post is! i still want to travel tho… just more 😛
Dear Tania,
This is such an insightful post about a beautiful place. Italy is truly an amazing country with such a rich food history and culture that Italian is truly one of the greatest cuisines of the world.
This post was fascinating to me. I once took a course focusing on balsamic vinegar, where we got the history, lore, and best of all, the chance to sample a large range of vinegars from the standard grocery-store type to some that cost $450 for a tiny bottle. Heaven! I have never looked at it the same way since!
Wish I was sharing the table, the trip and the Cavedoni stories!
Thanks for the dreams!
This is really impressive. I know little about balsamic and this post has been really educating for me. Thanks, Tania.
What an amazing story you’ve wound into this post – I loved reading it! It was also good to hear more about balsamic vinegar, which I love, but know very little about.
i’ve ever told that there’s no such a expired date for traditional balsamic vinegar…
That’s why my friend told me to purchase the nearly expired tagged balsamic since it aged at least 5 years in the bottle…..
What a fabulous trip you had. That was interesting about the vinegar and I love the way you told the story about Alessandro.
The good, the bad and the marvellous 🙂 ! The good: what a thorough lesson on balsamic vinegar I have so appreciated!! The bad: methinks half the time what is on my kitchen shelves could bear the nomenclature of ‘commercial’ 🙁 ! The marvellous: Alessandro taking his first steps in an art to be learnt and followed all his life – my darling father first took me to opera and ballet and symphony at that age . . . so I can kind’of foretell . .
It’s all stunning. What a gorgeous place to live – and visit! I certainly wasn’t slurping balsamic at three. I don’t think I had any notion of the word until I was at least a teenager. The restaurant looks amazing. My sister has just returned from Italy and couldn’t stop raving about all the incredible food xx
I loved this post and how you made faces at Allesandro. I knew a bit about balsamic but not this much. Thanks heaps for improving my day. 🙂
p.s. that mushroom ravioli must be at my house soon. I love that idea.
I had no idea that Balsamic was so tightly regulated, or confusing 🙂 Alessandro is just divine, no wonder you were distracted by him – I would have been too! What an amazing legacy he is going to grow up with. I’m totally jealous… of a 3 year old… oh dear!
Look at that meat platter Tania, wow! It’s great that the little fella is learning an early appreciation for good food, and I bet you both had fun pulling faces 🙂
I have a little bottle of balsamic with truffle that I treasure- oh so good!!! x
Oh you took me on a fabulous journey. What an amazing collection of photos from your trip. Thanks also for the balsamic information, that was very interesting indeed
Thanks so much for the balsamic lesson Tania! I’m going to keep my eye out for a bottle of the real stuff now. Wouldn’t it be nice if all three year olds were that mature and could sit up at the table eating properly?!