Olive Oil & Vinegar
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EXTRA VERGIN OLIVE OIL - FILTERED (500gr) >>>
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OLIVE OIL DOP VALLI TRAPANESI (500gr) >>>
Vinegar
Our vinegar comes from grapes that have been grown in vineyards that were converted to Biodynamic cultivation in the 1980s
One of the tastiest Biodynamic balsamic Vinegars of Italy: the memory of its incredible flavour will leave you with the lingering desire to taste it again and again.
We do not use chemicals of any kind to fertilise the vines or to fight pests, but work in harmony with nature
We walk through the vineyard and observe the spring growth of the vines, which grow on trellises in the fertile river basins around Modena. Soon the buds will bloom and will then ripen into Trebbiano grapes.
This grape variety is full-bodied and round, of a pale green colour with yellow undertones. Later in the season, the grapes will be crushed and turned into balsamic vinegar.
The most striking thing about this vineyard is the abundance of life. Ants and ladybugs swarm through the vines, while spiders are waiting for insects to fall into their webs.
Not too far away, a small lizard basks in the sun on a pole.
This is a Biodynamic vineyard. Biodynamic agriculture is based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, who promotes biodiversity in the vineyard as a way to make the soil more fertile and produce healthier plants thanks to the work of valuable bacteria, fungi, worms and insects that transform the fallen leaves and other organic materials into rich humus.
The vines are fertilised with compost produced in the vineyard and treated with biodynamic mixtures that help preserve the mineral balance and that invigorate the army of invisible helpers that tirelessly work underground to keep the soil fertile. Then we move to where the balsamic vinegar is produced.
Here large blades slowly and continuously mix a dark-coloured liquid in giant vats. It’s the juice of the previous season that is cooked slowly to produce a sweet and dense liquid.
The natural sugars of this liquid are fermented by yeasts that turn them into alcohol, which in turn is transformed by other microorganisms into acetic acid.
Later, we move into the cellar, where the balsamic vinegar is aged in wooden barrels. The sweet fragrance of the wine and the strong aroma of the vinegar fill the darkness.
Barrels are stacked one above the other, the small ones on the larger ones. The smaller barrels have a greater surface to be exposed to the vinegar, giving it more of a wooden fragrance. Every year we lose about 10% of the vinegar because of the liquid naturally evaporating through the pores of the wood. But every year the vinegar becomes thicker and tastier.
We taste the balsamic vinegars in small decanters. They are all delicious, though the varieties subjected to a longer ageing process take on more of a wooden nuance, and are naturally considered the finest! What unites them is the ability of balsamic vinegar to add flavour to food. Balsamic vinegar boosts the taste of the dish and makes it last longer.
The wort boiling not only changes its colour because of the sugars that caramelise, but also causes what specialists call the “Maillard reaction” – the dark colour produced by the reaction between sugars and proteins. It is this amazing combination of traditional methods that makes balsamic vinegar a natural amplifier of flavour for cheeses and delicious salads..
