It’s rare to open the door to your home and be greeted by a cold blast of air that reeks of grape must that’s been fermenting for twenty-five years. The sharp smell sends such a tingle through your nostrils your eyes water.
But that’s what happened to me when I visited the villa of Giorgio Barbieri, who produces balsamic vinegar in his attic, or acetaia. My time with Barbieri was part of a three-day adventure in Emilia-Romagna, set up by Cooking Vacations International, where I got a backstage look at the region gourmets consider to be home to Italy’s finest cuisine. Here, along with balsamic vinegar producers, are dairies where Parmigiano-Reggiano is made, pig farms where Parma ham and proscuitto originate, orchards where prized Vignole cherries grow, and vineyards where Trebbiano grapes are cultivated.
I was based in the medieval town of Modena, at the modern Three-star Hotel Estense, perfectly located just steps away from the town’s historic center. This pedestrian only zone has a gracious, elegant vibe which centers around the Piazza Grande, featured recently in the funeral of Modena native, Luciano Pavarotti. Foodies flock here to enjoy the town’s impressive markets and shops and to eat excellently prepared regional dishes, including taglietelle with Bolognese sauce, tortellini, and pork sausage.
Though it was fantastic to mingle with the natives in the shops and restaurants, the highlight of my stay was to get one-on-one with the folks who produce Emilia-Romagna’s culinary treasures and get an insider’s peek at time honored traditions that have kept the quality of food here exceptional for centuries.
“One conducts an acetaia, one doesn’t own it … it’s a living thing,” Giorgio Barbieri told me, as he showed me around his vinegar loft. At 6' 8", the genteel, slim, retired national volleyball player is a master conductor. Using a giant glass dropper, he meticulously decanted vinegar from one antique barrel to another, while explaining the vinegar-making process he learned from his grandmother. This involves judiciously transferring grape must from year to year, to barrels made of different woods, so a variety of flavors are absorbed into the liquid.
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