ORIGINS AND A BRIEF HISTORY OF MODENA BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Balsamic Vinegar has been synonymous with the culture and history of Modena since time out of mind. It owes its existence to the specific environmental features of the area, which has combined with the skill, wisdom and expertise of the human factor in a unique blend to create an exclusive product, found only in what are today the Provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia (in other words, the old Este Dukedom). In and around Modena, there have always been different types of vinegar made from grape must, and a variety of recipes, production and ageing methods have been developed over the centuries. These products' origins date back to the tradition of the ancient Romans. The term "Balsamic" is relatively new and was used for the first time in the records of the ducal inventories of the Este Palace in Modena in 1747 (1) ; probably the name derived from the therapeutic uses to which the vinegar was put at the time. (2) With the birth of the Italian State (1860) the new stimulus given to the markets generated a gradually increasing interest in Balsamic Vinegar, and also encouraged impressive historic and bibliographical studies on the product. Timidly emerging from its traditional secrecy and rituals, it inevitably met with great success. In 1839 Count Giorgio Gallesio, an agriculturist of the time famous for his massive work "La Pomona Italiana", a major study on fruit growing, visited the home of his friend Count Salimbeni, at Nonantola, to study the local varieties of grapes and wine. He was fascinated by the Gallesio family's balsamic vinegar, and spent several days studying the production method. His manuscript notes, rediscovered in 1993 in Washington in the United States (3) , are the oldest "technical" document to describe the way in which Balsamic Vinegar was made in the Modena area. First, it divides the vinegars into two categories: those made from cooked must only and those made from "fermented must and wine". He described the former as "exquisite" and the latter as "also excellent". At the end of the 19th Century, Modena Balsamic Vinegar started to appear at the leading exhibitions, attracting great interest not only within Italy but also at the international level. A number of documents refer to vinegar made from must and wine vinegar, sometimes using quicker methods also involving the use of spices (4). The first scientific investigations into the products available on the market were also conducted in these years (5) The best-known producer of the time was Giuseppe Giusti, and the family firm still plays an active part in the Consorzio Aceto Balsamico di Modena. The first references to its production of Balsamic Vinegar dates back to 1605, and it possesses certificates of participation at a large number of fairs exhibitions. From the regulatory point of view, the first ministerial authorisation to produce "l'Aceto Balsamico del Modenese" dates from 1933. More than thirty years later, in 1965, Presidential Decree n. 162 of 12/02/65, containing regulations to prevent fraud in the preparation and sale of wines, musts and vinegars, established the definitive rules governing vinegars and related products, and "legalised" the use of special quality designations for vinegars produced by special techniques and in accordance with specific rules, including "Aceto Balsamico di Modena". 1965 also saw the drafting of regulations published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 12th December 1965, covering the “Compositional characteristics and method of preparation of Modena Balsamic Vinegar” (6) In 1994 the producers took steps both to protect and improve the vinegar's production regulations, but above all to ensure the proper use of the designation in the wholesale and retail trade. This desire first and foremost to ensure compliance with the codes of practice dictated by long-established, fair local customs, later led to the drafting of the production standard, enforced by the Consorzio Aceto Balsamico di Modena. At present, the Consorzio Aceto Balsamico di Modena is working to obtain the registration of this fine vinegar with P.G.I. (Protected GeographicalIndication) status, since its world-wide fame means that unfair competition at both wholesale and retail levels is all too common. .

(1) "Register of the vintages and sales of wines, on behalf of the ducal cellars for the year 1747", Italian State Archives. (2) Gioacchino Rossini in a letter to his friend Angelo Castellani: ‘…just a little vinegar from Modena, with its proven refreshing, soothing properties, soon restored some measure of health and tranquillity…’. (3) Giorgio Gallesio, 1839, manuscript. (4) Geminiano Grimelli, 1857 ”Wholesome, inexpensive Balsamic Vinegar made immediately, using Prof. G. Grimelli's method” (5) prof. Fausto Sestini ‘Balsamic Vinegars of the Modena Area’, 1863, paper presented by Dr Antonio Mascolo at the congresses organised by the Accademia Italiana dell’Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, May 2002. (6) Ministerial Decree of 12th December 1965.