Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia Gold Label.
A treasure for the palate to discover and savour, drop by drop, and rigorously straight from the bottle.
The particular persistency of its flavor makes it the perfect elixir to round off a meal but its extraordinarily rich aroma and taste make for some astonishing and memorable marriages with a variety of cheeses and desserts.
After spending at least 25 years in barrels replete with history and aroma, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia is ready for the tables of the most refined gourmets. Some will taste it with their best, mature cheese.
Dessert lovers will savour its combination with custard cream, chocolate desserts, ice cream and wild berries, and as special ingredient as filling panettone and strudel.
To experience the full complexity of its noble and highly intense combination of perfumes and scents, try some on its own in a small glass: it should be sipped like a wine at the end of a meal.
ATTENTION: some stores and web stores sells "100 years" or "50 years" aged balsamic vinegar. That is not true: if you pay close attention to the labels, you can read "100 travasi" or "50 travasi", the translation from italian is "100 decantings" or "50 decantings", the vinegar inside is NOT 100 or 50 years old.
To safeguard the quality of the product and protect the consumer was formed. The Consortium of Producers of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia and in 2000 The European Community added Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia to the list of products with a Designated Protected Origin.
To protect consumers, this prestigious award requires products to be subjected to inspections by a Certification Institute recognized by the European Union and authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
The certificate authorizing the sale of the product will only be issued after they have verified its compliance with production standards.
The Consortium decided that Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia should only be sold in a special bottle: another way to prevent confusion among consumers and the possibility of fraud and imitations by unauthorized vinegar producers.
The Consortium also decided on Three categories of Balsamic Vinegar and three corresponding labels: Oro (Gold) , Argento (Silver) , Aragosta (Lobster or Red). The master tasters decide in which categories belongs the Balsamic Vinegar. The three coloured labels refer to the score given to the vinegar by the tasters after they have judged the appearance, aroma and taste of each vinegar.
The production standards stipulate that the product must be aged for at least 12 years before it can be sent for official tasting by the tasting committee; it also has to be put into the special bottle in the province of Reggio Emilia and must have the guarantee of the wax seal.