THE CONSORTIUM
The Consorzio Produttori Antiche Acetaie
The Consortium of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO Producers was founded in 1979 thanks to the intuition of a group of family-based producers. The Consortium had a dual purpose: to promote awareness of a product with a unique taste, used almost exclusively in the province of Modena, and to propagate its culture in order to obtain community-wide recognition to enable the product to be placed on the market.
All of the activities carried out by the Consortium led the European Union to register Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena as a Protected Designation of Origin on 17 April 2000.
On 13 April 2011, the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar Producers Consortium of Modena changed its name to the Consorzio Produttori Antiche Acetaie (Consortium of Ancient Vinegar Producers).
The strict regulations of PDO
The PDO recognition was made possible thanks to the strict guidelines established by the production regulations and the monitoring plan that has always been self-imposed by the producers. Some relevant points for consumers are listed below, as well as the strict rules established by the production regulations and the monitoring plan:
UNIQUE BOTTLE
A 100 ml capacity bottle that is unique and mandatory for all producers.
PRODUCT TASTING
Each batch that the producer wants to market must pass the organoleptic test carried out by expert tasters.
PRODUCT BOTTLING
Once the product has passed the examination, it must be bottled in one of the two public ministry-authorised centres.
SEAL OF GUARANTEE
Each bottle features a seal of guarantee bearing two codes. The Consortium keeps a bottle from each batch bottled since 1979 to guarantee the traceability of the product. Each batch that the producer wants to market must pass the organoleptic test carried out by expert tasters.
Furthermore, European Community legislation now guarantees the entire production chain’s compliance with the regulations for the use of the Protected Designation of Origin label.
Exclusive design by Giugiaro
Tradition and design united to form a glass ampoule; only the upper contour retains the ancient Etruscan shape, while the base is almost like a pedestal set in a spherical mass. It is a “two-faced Janus” which allows the single certification label belonging to the Consorzio Produttori Antiche Acetaie to be affixed on one side, and the producer’s label on the other.
The packaging replicates the historical symbolism of the condiment from Modena (the silhouette of the Cathedral and the vinegar cask) and repeats as a texture over the entire surface of the box.
A past that is rich in history
Centuries of history and tradition blend together during the production of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO.
Until the mid-1980s, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena was jealously guarded in the attics of Modena’s family homes and the product was hardly known beyond the local province…
A present steeped in high-quality
Now there is only a small number, around one hundred, of producers who hold the original “recipe” of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO. It is an enormous gastronomic cultural heritage at a world-wide level. These producers individually survey and store a few thousand casks in residential attics within the province of Modena, accompanying the product for decades as it ages and correctly develops.
A future made of tradition
“The future made of tradition” began in 2000 when the European Union granted Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena the “Protected Designation of Origin PDO”.
This recognition was a fantastic opportunity for the entire province of Modena to revitalise the territory’s agriculture and add value to rural life, acting with the conviction of protecting the investment made in the product.
For producers, it represents the possibility of passing on and spreading the high-quality culture and tradition of a unique product throughout the world, which comes from the noblest rural memory.
On the other hand, the PDO denomination offers consumers the opportunity to taste the inimitable fragrances and flavours of a product that will bring them into contact with ancient history and traditions, guaranteeing they will savour a certified product.
