How One of the World's Best Balsamic Vinegars Is Made - Vendors

At Acetaia del Cristo in Italy, 2,000 barrels are dedicated to aging 120,000 liters of balsamic vinegar. It is one of the only producers that follows the traditional method of making balsamic vinegar by handling the entire process from harvesting grapes to processing the juices to barrel aging.
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Credits:
Producer: Gabriella Lewis
Field Producers/Directors: Anna Muckerman, Mohamed Ahmed
Camera: Anna Muckerman, Mohamed Ahmed
Editors: Anna Muckerman, Mohamed Ahmed
Executive Producer: Stephen Pelletteri
Supervising Producer, Operations: Stefania Orrù
Supervising Producer, Development: Gabriella Lewis
Audience Engagement: Frances Dumlao
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[@stephen129]

I've tried the real DOP stuff and it is indeed an incredible product. I went on a tour of an acetaia in Modena. If you're into food you need to try this stuff.

[@SanTM]

I've been to Modena twice now. Great little city, so serene and great little eateries and bars all over. Very much worth a visit and trying the gelato with Balsamico and Modenese Lasagne

[@Slazenger]

Thanks for another great entry in this series!

[@herrrorschach590]

Guys I live there - I would let you see the panorama from my window right now, I live in front of one of those vineyards 🤩 Balsamic vinegar was always been made at home, it was a "family thing", you can't imagine the family wars for things like the barrel's property, the "family mother yeast" kept secret from the others... In the past it was seen as medicine, due to its rich and elevated organic compound refined by aging. And it's true!

[@CUpuffs420]

Him sucking the tube at the end while also talking about contamination and human error was hilarous and disgusting at the same time

[@BSGSV]

There is definitely a bit of Italian spit in every bottle. PCR would be able to detect it if the acid doesn't hydrolyze all the DNA.

[@TakeaSwigofTheJuice]

​@@BSGSV the ingredient we didn't ask for or know we needed, but is essential?

[@BSGSV]

@@TakeaSwigofTheJuice Extra fermentation for that Italiano flavor.

[@NeillNorcal]

Found the 'murican. Stick to McDs

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

I'm sorry if this makes you smile, it affects my professionalism and the company results achieved. The soul of this product is linked to craftsmanship and as such built on people, on their knowledge and awareness, on their work and on their precision in doing so. They are distinctive qualities; it is a pride to be able to do them successfully rather than damage a centuries-old heritage. In all this I find profound seriousness and admiration, certainly not hilarity and disgust. Each one can appreciate or not the hand of a surgeon, of an artist or of a tailor precisely in the care and precision of their work.

[@JtrainMedia]

I'd love to see more videos with the chef at the end.

[@drealgrin]

That's the problem with American capitalism. Everything is rushed to shelf. It has destroyed any pride or craftsmanship

[@KelvinsKitchen]

0:00: 🍇 Family-owned company produces traditional balsamic vinegar using 4 types of grapes, with a focus on quality and climate challenges. 4:54: 🍇 Traditional balsamic vinegar production process involves slow cooking, fermentation, and long aging in wooden barrels. 9:55: 🍇 Balsamic vinegar production process and differences between traditional and IGP varieties.

[@SonGChaNSaO]

08:48 Am I the only one annoyed by the siphoning process? Tradition is one thing, being unhygienic is another.

[@suminshizzles6951]

I thought i was weird cos i drink the stuff like a sipping whiskey. Balsamic vinegar is so damn tasty.

[@f_r_e_d]

i don't like vinegar but this makes me want to try that chef's dish

[@Galexlol]

This is balsamic not vinegar try it

[@Omega_SM]

​@@Galexlolit's balsamic vinegar, its still vinegar but has a completely different flavour from the normal one

[@affexxe]

​@@Omega_SMworth to note there is a big difference in "regular" balsamic vinegar and 12 years, 18 years & 25 year old ones. At first its very acid but with the years it gets sweeter and sweeter

[@Omega_SM]

@@affexxe I'm Italian, I know something about it. I also love balsamic vinegar so much I eat it in spoons if it's very good. You have to be careful because the cheaper ones contain a caramel colorant to achieve the "black with brown afterglow" kinda color

[@affexxe]

And here in sweden wood expands in winter due to the cold temperature and shrinks in springtime. How cold does it get there? 15°C?😂

[@thetemptedvida8650]

The average temperature during winter is around 0 at night but it is very humid too.

[@dannybrown5889]

I want to try this so badly.

[@geeohard]

Around $200 per bottle, and I think it’s worth it.

[@jtorola]

Naw

[@MonkeyDLuffy-nj2px]

When I was in Italy I got two bottles for 30€ each

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

@@MonkeyDLuffy-nj2px there are various quality levels and ageing

[@woolfy02]

I'll just stick with the wal-mart brand

[@marcustoney7762]

They can take that same liquid after fermentation, distill it and make cognac!

[@Dexterity_Jones]

what a beautiful product.

[@rajibali2151]

I really really want to know the recipe for that risotto!!

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Please directly ask to friend Luca Marchini Chef and Owner of the "Erba del Re" restaurant in Modena.

[@sazcxieo]

Balsamic vinegar authentico tastes so good you can drink 😊

[@MsTJPink]

Yikes you lost me when the guy stuck his mouth around the pipe!!

[@theoptimisticmetalhead7787]

"It's not created, it's raised like a child" I watched a video of a Japanese black vinegar maker and he said the exact same thing. And I get it, I'm a home maker of alcohol, and when you're aware of the living quality of the thing you're creating you wanna take care of it. Give it all the right conditions, be patient with it, allow it to mature, and respond to each individual case's specific needs as they arise. You want to take care of it so that when you finally reach the point where you want to consume your product, it takes care of you.

[@monteceitomoocher]

Just bought a bottle of extra old, the cost was more than i could justify but it's going to be fabulous on strawberries and the fresh asparagus grown locally here in Evesham.

[@MOHAMED.BOMEDIEN]

Brother, please, what is the capacity of the bottle and what is its price?!

[@monteceitomoocher]

@@MOHAMED.BOMEDIEN 100ml, not much for the money I'm afraid, i was VERY lucky to get it for 36 gbp which is about a third of the average price.

[@suminshizzles6951]

One of the two bottles they featured can be had here in the UK. I could not believe that the very bottle i had in front of me that i was sipping was shown. It was the left one, the blue bottle. This can be had at Lidl. I paid just under 2 pounds. Ive been sipping it off and on since yesterday.and out of 250ml there is only 125 left. I thought i was weird for sipping balsamic vinegar but as it turns out this is actually quite normal.

[@YouTubetail]

Yeah si

[@donthetrader]

25 years in a barrel…long time.

[@spoilerkiller]

8:50 The "sterile nature" of vinegar can be called into question when you are literally sucking on the tube!?

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Absolutely no, I sucks only air without touching vinegar, otherwise vinegar protect himself both from "me" and others bacterias maintaining steril himself, he's got a BIG shield😉

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Sorry if it let's think so... It does not😊

[@MrPaulichon]

How about using an aquarium pump for an easy air flow to make the vinegar come easily so you don’t need to suck the tube ? Then again, if it’s sterile and you are ok with it, let’s goooo, beautiful product.

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Thanks for the suggestion, pipe and sucks is the ancien and romantic method still working mainly for family use of course we have hot a peristaltic pump that works very well and in a care, safe and steril way. Anyone should be worried 😊

[@emeraldbonsai]

@@GilbertoBARBIERI you may suck only air but bacteria is still being left by your mouth on and in the tube that the vinegar then flows across. now as long as you heat treat the vinegar later it doesnt matter to much

[@melbanahi_]

That’s a big word for Elmo.

[@infinitehealth2024]

💪💪💪😘😘💚👍👍👍

[@simonstergaard]

i want it !

[@anthonyedwards285]

I want it. How can I purchase some?

[@geeohard]

Go to google search. At My panier look for Del Cristo traditional gold seal balsamic vinegar at least 25 years aged. (Extra veechio) 100 ml.

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Acetaia del Cristo has got on-line shop

[@peterhe9225]

Hey, just three questions from a layperson to the potential experts in the comments. 1) When seeing the rotten grapes being part of the harvest and having in the back of my head that mould contains quite a few toxins, I asked myself, if they in any way impact the quality of the final product? 2) Could someone please summarize the scientific literature on IGP vs DOP, regarding health benefits? If there is a substantial body of evidence on that topic... 3) Are there any animal-based products used in the production of DOP?

[@FilipeSena15]

My understanding of it is: 1) Every fermented and produced product (such as wines, vinegars, juices) have in some capacity rotten or extremely ripened fruit. It would be humanly impossible to extract these and the end product wouldn't be significantly different. By boiling the must as they do, and skimming the foam and impurities from the top they remove the bugs, leaves, and everything that the harvesting process introduced to the liquid, while sterilising it by use of heat 2) IGP is Indicazione Geografica Protetta, or Protected Geographical Indication. It's a certification that guarantees that the product is, at least in part, produced within a certain region. DOP is Denominazione d'Origine Protetta, translated to Denomination of Protected Origin, which means that every aspect of the product is produced within a specific region. There are no health benefits, as it is not a health certificate. Another example is Port Wine, which the grapes can only be harvested, fermented and bottled in Porto. Therefore it's a certified DOP region and the Port Wine is a certified DOP product of that region. 3) Since this is not a health or vegan certificate, it's a nonsensical question. For those, check for a "Vegan" or alternative labels o IGP or DOP products. Hope that this clears your questions :)

[@Slainte.Mactire]

@@FilipeSena15 thank you for the information!

[@peterhe9225]

@@FilipeSena15 Thank you for your response! 1) My limited understanding about poisonous mycotoxins in foods with high water contents was that they do not disappear, but their growth (of most spores at least) just stops when heated up. After the skimming and filtering their concentrations likely drop to very low levels, making the derived products safe for consumption - was just curious about that. Always happy to be corrected, when wrong! :) 2) The distinction was relatively clear to me (with it not being a health certificate). I was just curious, if e.g. the longer fermentation or other differences have any (positive) health implications? If there is any data on that (in the best case not fully funded by the producers themselves :D)? Under many videos I'm often delighted to find answers of experts of a particular field. Was just looking for something similar here. 3) Veganism for most people is not just about health. Many vegans see it as a moral or ethical question. Having the fining agents used in wine (blood and bone marrow, gelatin and isinglass (from bones and fish bladder membranes), milk protein, chitin (fiber from crustacean shells) and fish oil) in the back of my had, the question didn't seem far-fetched to me. Some traditional products are 'by accident' all vegan - e.g. because the processes did not change much over the centuries. For other products there are different versions. I was just wondering about that aspect. My question wasn't precise enough - sorry about that. From what I've found, the traditional version is generally vegan. :)

[@naomi5418]

Yummy

[@TakeaSwigofTheJuice]

Also works well as a cologne

[@daneurope9167]

chinese black vinigar is the best..

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

of course, everyone has got their favorites

[@gqas1247]

They are both great and made from different sources.

[@roninnder]

Speaking of human contamination, I’d have loved to have seen a siphon with a pump instead of homie sucking the tube with his dirty Italian spaghetti access point.

[@parkwayconcepts8758]

How much do yall pay these people to bring up climate change?

[@ricardocosson1105]

really? you operate a business on a global level and you can't be bothered to speak english?

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

obviously we could have also spoken in English, this probably would not have enhanced an artisanal production like ours; director's choices. it can be considered as an architect's sketch compared to a technical drawing, a tailor's scissors cut compared to an industrial shears' mold. I believe it is a clear and important message

[@Uncle-Ruckus.]

Why dont u speak mandarin spannish or french then, there are more ppl speaking those languages than english.

[@ricardocosson1105]

I speak spanish and french, but that is irrelevant@@Uncle-Ruckus.

[@ricardocosson1105]

that guy speaks english and choses not to@@Uncle-Ruckus.

[@Uncle-Ruckus.]

@@ricardocosson1105 still havent explained why he needs to speak english when besides u being lazy to read.

[@mr.wookiesack]

I have no idea how to produce vinegar. What are the natural tannins? And why do you leave the dead grapes bug clusters? They seem to have a really high percentage of dead brown grapes in the mix.

[@notuxnobux]

natural tannins in this case is made from the grape skins, seeds, etc. They work as a pesticide. So it's like a concentration of the grapes natural protection.

[@mr.wookiesack]

@@GD15555 I watch these videos and wonder if the products are as fancy as they claim, or if it's simple. Like chucking all the gross rotten grapes and bugs in with it. Maybe it has a reason, or maybe it just doesn't matter. Or maybe fancy places pick out the gross stuff.

[@GilbertoBARBIERI]

Please come to see and touch with your own hands how real we are. We really love our work and we never let something going wrong, we take care of each meaning detail. Our farm is open to the visitors all the time (please make a reservation on-line) we will show and explain everything to you and you also will fall in Love with Balsamic

[@someusername4129]

​@@mr.wookiesack brown grapes are becoming raisins. How do you not know this? I swear people have no clue about where food comes from and the processing. You worried about carrots being gross and filthy because you're pulling them from the ground too? 🙄

[@mr.wookiesack]

@@someusername4129 bug infested rotten grapes are not dried raisins buddy...And yes I clean off my carrots because you don't want micro organisms inside your body. That's why every distributor of vegetables wash the vegetables. Usually with a mild disinfectant.