Acetaie Aperte ~ Modena Vinegar Festival

Acetaie Aperte is an annual festival during which Modena's vinegar producers - most of them family operations that age the product in household attics - offer tastings and tours to the cuisine-curious. Local restaurants offer vinegar menus featuring the ways Modena's most famous edible export can be savored: brushed onto grilled asparagus, drizzled on fresh squash tortelloni, sprinkled on crumbly shavings of parmigiano, or on wild strawberries.

To be designated "traditional," balsamic vinegar from Modena must be aged 12 years; to merit the gold label, 25 years. It must meet the standards set by the Consortium for the Preservation of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, which regulates the process according to European Union law. As of April 2000, the coveted DOP label, which stands for Denomination of Protected Origin, is used to distinguish the authentic delicacy from imitations.

For more information:

VINEGAR TOURS:

See www.acetaiaditalia.it to reserve tours at various acetaie or for meals at restaurants. Most acetaie provide tours year round. Acetaia di Giorgio is open year-round. Information (in English as well) at www.acetaiadigiorgio.it.

GETTING THERE:

The closest airport is Marconi International in Bologna, but Milan and Florence aren't far by train.

WHERE TO STAY:

Agriturismo, stays at farmhouse inns with home cooking, is gaining in popularity. At Villa Gaidello, 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, outside Modena, the restaurant boasts handmade pasta and walnut liqueur. (Via Gaidello, 18, Castelfranco Emilia. +39 059/926806.)

Hotel Real Fini is the only five-star hotel in town and has a new restaurant. (www.hotelrealfini.it, +39 800/306999.)

WHERE TO EAT:

Menus featuring aceto balsamico are available at Osteria di Rubbiara (Località Rubbiara - Via Risaia, 2, Nonantola, +39 059/549019) and at Europa 92, an elegant restaurant owned by the tenor Luciano Pavarotti (Stradello Nava 8, +39 059/460067).

 

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