Aceto Balsamico di Modena - I.G.P. - Folonari 0.5l

Preparation of balsamic vinegar
The production of balsamic is very expensive.
The must of late-reading, light Trebbiano grapes is thickened by boiling until only about 30-70% of the volume remains.
An alcoholic fermentation does not take place. The syrup is filtered - now a portion of at least ten years old balsamic vinegar, and ten percent of a fresh wine is added to the fermentation.
The product is then stored for several months in different wooden barrels.
This process goes on for many years, so that the vinegar is increasingly concentrated by evaporation of the water in the barrel.
The thicker the vinegar, the older it is.
The different types of wood and the fermentation give the balsamico its peculiar taste and its color.
The various types of wood (oak, sweet chestnut, bird cherry, ash and mulberry) of the barrels and their order in storage play a very important role.
The barrels are stored in attics, they must always contain a proportion of air and are exposed by the storage location extreme temperatures in summer and winter.
The high temperatures in the summer provide further reduction, the cold in winter drops turbidity.

A portion of the older vinegar is always added to the younger one.
Due to this recirculation and the years of thickening only a relatively small amount remains in the end.

The production process of the genuine balsamic vinegar is very susceptible to disturbances.
The bacterial culture (the so-called "madre dell'aceto" - "vinegar nut"), which is responsible for the fermentation, can be destroyed by insects or by infection with other bacteria.
In such a case, the preparation of the balsamic vinegar is interrupted for a long time, since all infected barrels must be emptied and sterilized.

The balsamic vinegar sold in supermarkets is usually a mixture of ordinary wine vinegar and thickened grape juice, colored brown with sugar couleur.
For better supermarket varieties, a small amount of real "balsamic vinegar" is added.
The term "balsamic vinegar" is not protected and can therefore be used by any vinegar manufacturer.