A Visit To A Four Generation Old AcetaiaLocation: Modena, ItalyLeonardi Balsamic Vinegar, founded in

A Visit To A Four Generation Old AcetaiaLocation: Modena, ItalyLeonardi Balsamic Vinegar, founded in 1871, is one of the largest producers making D.O.P. balsamic vinegar in the Emilia Romagna region of Northern Italy. When I arrived, it was early Fall, and the Lambrusco and Trebbiano grapes were long gone from the vines. We felt the changing of the seasons, a crucial aspect of the life of vinegar. In Modena, humid, hot summers, great for fermentation, are followed by cold winters, a time when the vinegar cultures get some much needed dormancy. Vinegar is placed in barrels and stored in the attic, windows open to the elements, welcoming that shock in temperature come winter. Leonardi is a closed loop system – the grapes are grown here, and pressed immediately. Unlike wine, the skins are not used in the making of vinegar, but there are more than enough people in this area willing to take the skins of their hands. The skins are used to make the Italian liquor grappa. Unlike wine, the barrels are never changed out, but passed down to the next generation as a priceless heirloom. The older the barrel the better. As we walk down the dark aisles of mysterious vinegar production, we see labels that reach back to the 17th century. The barrels ooze with sticky black sweetness, arranged in a particular sequence of diminishing size, and varying wood varietals. This set is called a “battery,” and it is definitive of the balsamic process. As the vinegar reduces each year, and is transferred slowly from the largest barrel down to the smallest, to be topped off with fresh grape must from the newest harvest, and bottled at the end of the line. The process is one that connects generations. A bottle of vinegar will have been started by grandpa, and bottled by grandchild. This is a four generation old business, a living breathing practice that defines this place, and its people.  -- source link

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