One of the reasons we chose to stay in Bologna was to visit some of the surrounding towns made famous for their products. One of these is Modena. Even Americans know the name Modena as balsamic vinegar has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. Modena is not just the balsamic vinegar capital of Italy, it is the only community authorized to produce aged balsamic vinegar, known as Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP. DOP stands for “Denominazione Origine Protetta” and means “Protected Designation of Origin”. About 138 products carry the DOP designation. This means that Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena must use grapes grown in Modena and the product must be produced in Modena. But more about balsamico later.
Cinzia planned our itinerary which started with getting ourselves out of bed and out of the apartment in time to walk to the nearby train station and onto the 08:28. Modena is a short 25 minute train ride to the west and the 2nd stop on the train headed to Piacenza. Like many Italian towns it’s designed in a circle with the main church and piazza in the center and a ring road encircling the city, usually around the original fortifications. The station was a short 9 minute walk to the town center. Modena is a very picturesque small town. They have many well maintained porticos with beautiful terrazzo floors. They also have a lot of churches. What they do not have are estates that produce balsamico. The estates are located outside of the town of Modena but within the community of Modena.
The first church we looked inside was San Giorgio which was built in the 1600’s. As you might expect in a town with a high standard of living like Modena, the church is well appointed with its share of gold and marble. We did find a few unusual items. First we noticed that the side alters all had electronic candles which you could “plug in” for €0,50. Second, if by some unusual circumstance you left your home without your rosary beads, they had spares you could use laid out on a side table. Third, was this painting of St. Lucia, holding a plate containing a pair of eyes. Saints are sometimes displayed holding a plate containing a reference as to how they were tortured and eventually martyred. (Remember St. Agatha holding a plate of her breasts from our trip to Italy in 2011?) Apparently St. Lucia had her eyes gouged out.
We headed along the porticos looking at the fabulous shop windows. Many contained various cured meats, pasta, wines, chocolates, and other goodies. All sold balsamico.
We eventually made our way to the piazza which was gearing up for this weekend’s festival. All these towns seem to have 4-day festivals every weekend. This festival was simply called La Bonissima, or a festival celebrating the tasty products of Modena. Many of the vendors were ready to go and handing out samples. One vendor, called Gigi, was advertising il cicciolo d'oro (cracklings of gold) and was passing out samples. In addition to these crispy cicciolo they also make soft cicciolo (check out their website for more info: http://gigisalumificio.it/en). We tried everything and it was amazingly delicious. They won an award earlier for the best cicciolo and were making some onsite. Pieces of pancetta (pork belly) are slowly cooked in a huge pot with a little water. After 4 hours the pieces are put into a press where they are squeezed and dried. The resulting disc is sold in chunks. Obviously all of their products are very healthy.
Some of the other more unusual products at the festa included: a crepe filled with a thin smear of melted lard and a jam called Al Savor made from a mix of pear, apple, cherry, and other fruits. Cinzia also tasted some wines and cheeses.
Some of the other more unusual products at the festa included: a crepe filled with a thin smear of melted lard and a jam called Al Savor made from a mix of pear, apple, cherry, and other fruits. Cinzia also tasted some wines and cheeses.
After looking through the beautiful Basilica San Geminiano (built in 1099) we decided to climb the Torre Ghirlandina. Well worth the €2. We could see the whole town and the piazza below. Like many old towers it's tilting. They started measuring the tilt with a plumb line on 22
December 1898 and now use electronic measures so they can make corrections as needed.After grabbing a bit of pizza we caught the 731 bus to La Busa where Cinzia had set up a private tour of Villa San Donnino. This was rated as one of the best balsamico tours/tastings in Modena. We were met by Davide who led us through a 1 hour tour of his balsamico production. Each “battery” of barrels (usually 6), is used in the production. Each barrel may be made with a different wood. Davide uses chestnut, oak, cherry, and others. On the very first winter, grape must is slow-cooked for 24-hours until it loses 35% of its volume. After it is cooled it’s poured into the 1st barrel of the battery. This is the largest barrel. Batteries must be stored in the attic, or 2nd floor, so the natural temperature variation, hot in the summer and cold in the winter, can act upon the barrels. Barrels are not closed, but a small whole in the top is covered with a piece of cloth. During the next year the grape must will lose 10% of its volume. During the 2nd winter grape must from the 1st barrel is transferred to top off the 2nd barrel (which is slightly smaller), and the 1st barrel is refilled with newly cooked grape must. This process continues until, after 6 years, the process that is repeated each winter goes like this. Each winter all 6 barrels have lost 10% of their volume. The 6th and tiniest barrel only holds 10 liters. It’s lost 10% of its volume over the previous year. One liter is removed and readied for bottling. Liquid from the 5th barrel (2 liters) is transferred to into the 6th barrel to top it off. Liquid from the 4th barrel is transferred into the 5th barrel to top it off. Liquid from the 3rd barrel is transferred into the 4th barrel to top it off. On it goes until newly cooked grape must tops off the 1st barrel. But it doesn’t stop there. After doing this for 12 years you can submit your product (1 liter per battery) to the balsamico counsil where a panel of blind tastings occur. If your product passes, the consortium performs the bottling and labeling, then returns the filled bottles for you to provide the packaging. Product that does not pass can be reintroduced into the battery or discarded. As you can see, the final product taken from the 6th barrel contains a mix of previous year’s balsamico. This 12+ year old balsamico is labeled as Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP. When your battery reaches the 25 year point your product gets the Extra Vecchio designation. This means that Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP can be from 12 to 24 years old and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP Extra Vecchio will be 25 years or older (some are 100+ years old). So, true balsamico is identified by 4 factors:
1. The only ingredient is grape must.
2. The label will say Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale and have the DOP designation.
3. The Extra Vecchio gets a gold label and the other gets a white/cream colored label.
4. It will be packaged in the 100ml bottle designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the famous automobile designer.
That’s it. If your balsamico isn’t in this 100ml bottle and does not say Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale and does not have the DOP designation it’s not the real thing. Also, note that the bottles never say the number of years that the balsamico was aged – it’s either 12-24 years or 25+ for the Extra Vecchio.
1. The only ingredient is grape must.
2. The label will say Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale and have the DOP designation.
3. The Extra Vecchio gets a gold label and the other gets a white/cream colored label.
4. It will be packaged in the 100ml bottle designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the famous automobile designer.
That’s it. If your balsamico isn’t in this 100ml bottle and does not say Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale and does not have the DOP designation it’s not the real thing. Also, note that the bottles never say the number of years that the balsamico was aged – it’s either 12-24 years or 25+ for the Extra Vecchio.
Ok, enough about balsamico. If you want to see Davide discuss the process and tour his villa, check out this video of Villa San Donnino. We bought a bottle of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP from San Donnino for €40 (plus a bottle of his Nocino liqueur for €20) and at the festa bought a bottle of the Extra Vecchio for €80. The smaller bottles contain percentages of balsamico or are not produced/approved in the traditional manner and we’ll use those for salads or to eat with cheese while we’re here in Bologna.
After taking the bus back to Modena we ate at a very nice restaurant in town. I had ravioli made in the “old Modena” style and served with a sauce of balsamico. We knew that the festa would wrap up before we finished dinner, so we did all of our shopping beforehand and had some gelato topped with balsamico. (Check our Gelato A Day listings to find out the unusual flavors.) The train got us back home by 23:00. We were both tired after the long day trip but had some tasty items to show for it. On the next road trip we'll have to remember to bring along a shopping bag!