Behind the scenes at Mazzetti Balsamic Vinegar

I had a special behind the scenes ook at Mazzetti in Italy. Mazzetti is probably the most famous balsamic vinegar brand in the world. I flew to Modena in Italy to find out more about Mazzetti and balsamic vinegar in general. On this page I’ll tell you all about Mazzetti, the biggest manufacturer of balsamic vinegar.

Modena

All balsamic vinegars come from Modena. This city is in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. We flew to Bologna and drove from there to Modena in less than 1 hour. Modena is a great city to visit. It’s not only the birthplace of balsamic vinegar but also from Ferrari and Lamborghini. And it’s well known for its Opera heritage. Just wander around the cobblestoned streets or admire the Duomo on the Plaza Grande.

Mazzetti l’Originale

The Mazzetti family has been a balsamic vinegar fan for years, starting with Felice Mazzetti when he tasted it for the first time right after the second world war. His son, Franco Mazzetti, continued his father’s passion and he started producing balsamic vinegar in Modena. Franco’s son Cesare realized the potential for the international market and this made that Mazzetti is now available in 40 countries.

Casa Mazzetti

Casa Mazetti is a visitor’s center where you can learn all about Mazzetti and balsamic vinegar in general. The building was destroyed by the 2012 earthquake but the new building is as beautiful as it’s functional. In the building the blending, aging and fermenting is done. The bottling prcoess is somewhere else. The building also has a mini museum, a room for lectures and tastings and a shop.
We were welcomed at Casa Mazzetti with a wonderful lunch. Pictured you see the desserts which tasted great with a drop of, you’ve guessed it, balsamic vinegar.

The Theater

The most impressive room of Casa Mazzetti must be the Theater. Here over 5.000 barrels are filled with balsamic vinegar. They are arranged in rows of 7 barrels declining in size and Pavarotti is playing through the speakers.
In this room Mazzetti makes the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. There are strict rules on ow to make this traditional balsamic vinegar, climate control is forbidden for example. The grape must goes into 7 different barrels from maximum 5 different types of wood like oak, cherry and chestnut. It’s aged for either 12 or 25 years.
It takes 600 kilos of grapes for just 1 liter of 25 year old balsamic vinegar. Needing so much time and so many grapes, you can imagine it’s a precious product!

Balsamic Tasting

You can book a Taste Tour at Casa Mazzetti. This tour includes a tasting of different kinds of balsamic vinegar. You’ll learn more about the difference in flavor and the different ways of using each balsamico.

40 Countries

Mazzetti Balsamic Vinegar is available in 40 countries. It’s the leading balsamic brand in the Netherlands, Germany and Australia. But it’s literally available all over the world. From the UK to Japan.
You can check out the supermarket near you to see if they have any balsamic vinegar from Mazzetti!

You can read everything you need to know about Balsamic Vinegar on this page.

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