BALSAM: Premium Balsamic Vinegar - product of Italy
Method
A long aging process: the method
A unique aspect of our Balsamic articles is the system used in the ageing process. The system employed consists of multiple rows of wooden kegs (made from Durmast Oak, Cherry, Chestnut, Mulberry and Juniper) ranging in size from 225 to 20 litre kegs. Each wooden keg is filled with Balsamic similar in characteristics but differing in age. The initial 225 litre kegs have all been previously used to store premium quality Italian wine, allowing the wooden kegs to absorb many of the components that are ultimately passed on to the vinegar during the ageing process, giving our Balsamic product its distinctive flavor, color and aroma. The oldest Balsamic is found in the bottom row of kegs, called the “Terminal Kegs”, from which modest quantities of vinegar are drawn from time to time for bottling and sale. The row of kegs immediately preceding the “Terminal Kegs” contains Balsamic slightly younger in age. It is from these kegs that necessary quantities of Balsamic are drawn to replenish the “Terminal Kegs”. Preceding kegs are likewise replenished by Balsamic drawn from the other kegs all the way back to the initial 225 litre kegs containing the youngest cooked grape must.
Filtering the vinegar from keg to keg
This ageing process, consisting of filtering the vinegar from keg to keg starting from the youngest vinegar contained in the initial 225 litre kegs down to the oldest Balsamic in the 20 litre “Terminal Kegs”, is what assures the characteristics, consistency and quality of our Balsamic from year to year.
Temperature issue
The extremes in temperature (– 20° C to + 40° C) to which our area is subjected on a yearly basis allows the Balsamic to become clear and dense naturally through decantation and evaporation while ageing in the wooden kegs. After being filtered from keg to keg and mixed harmoniously within the different wooden kegs, the Balsamic from each wooden keg gives off its own distinct bouquet.
Why are our Balsamic products so unique and extraordinary? Our articles are not just other cooked and acetified grape must products, but mature, complex balsamics, aged to perfection with an incomparable taste, fragrance and color.