Mi e' parso che Wayne Boatwright abbia scritto:
> The label reads "Modenaceti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena,
> Product of Italy, Produced and Bottled in Modena".
>
> Anyone out there familiar with this particular vinegar?
> Its characteristics, quality, taste, etc.?
All what the others told you is true, but they forgot one thing:
the difference between "aceto balsamico" and "aceto balsamico
TRADIZIONALE".
It can come from two cities, Modena and Reggio Emilia (where I
live), the two towns between Bologna and Parma.
Without the "tradizionale" word, it is a good dressing with some
rare good products. With the word "tradizionale" it all changes:
it must be bottled only by the balsamic vinegar consortium of the
town (Modena or Reggio Emilia) who also labels it with a colored
mark which indicates its age and quality, or better: a mix of the
two.
For tradizionale balsamic vinegar of Reggio Emilia, the three
labelings are "aragosta" (lobster), "silver" and "gold". The
first needs an average ageing of around 12 years, the second
around 20-25 and the latter more than 30 years. I say average
since the ageing method is the "solera", same as for Porto and
Jerez, where every year the liquid passes from a barrel to
another. The age is anyway only a minimum age, for many reasons.
One is that a producer maybe unsatisfied with the rating the
consortium gave to his product, so he can decide either to bottle
it now, with that rating, or wait more years to get a better
rating. Many "silver" labeled tradizionale are older than 30
years, as many "gold" ones are over 45 years.
The differences between "aceto balsamico" and "aceto balsamico
tradizionale" are usually BIG, both in quality and price: a
bottle of an average brand here in the production area can cost
around 4 euros if not tradizionale, and from 30 euros up if
tradizionale "aragosta". For a "gold" of an average producer, you
spend around 100 euros. I don't remember the size of the bottle
but for "aceto balsamico tradizionale di Reggio Emilia" it is
standard, defined by the consortium.
Here are some more infos (also in english)
http://www.acetobalsamicotradizionale.it/
HTH
--
Vilco
Think Pink , Drink Rose'