I have never met anyone more obsessed with vinegar than my friend Andrea Bezzecchi. This is saying something because I spend a lot of time with people who have built their lives around one ingredient, one process, or one extremely specific product. Andrea discusses acetic acid bacteria with the same intensity most people reserve for politics or professional soccer. Spend enough time with him, and you will never throw the word “balsamic” around so casually again.
Andrea runs Acetaia San Giacomo in Novellara, north of Reggio Emilia. He makes Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia DOP, younger balsamic condiments, raw vinegars, and BalsaMela, a fruity, gently acidic condiment made from organic apple juice and apple vinegar. I use BalsaMela nearly every day to dress salads and vegetables. It brings sweetness and acidity without muting everything else on the plate.
The acetaia occupies Corte Faragosa, a farm complex dating to the mid-16th century, where hundreds of barrels fill the old hayloft. Traditional balsamic needs the punishing heat of an Emilian summer and the cold, damp winter. The liquid concentrates when it is hot, rests when it is cold, and proceeds according to a schedule shaped by nature.
Andrea inherited the beginnings of San Giacomo in 1994. He was 20 and studying law in Modena when he and his brother took responsibility for 110 small barrels their father had maintained. Producing balsamic at home was once common in this part of Emilia. A family started a battery knowing the most interesting results might belong to its children or grandchildren. It was domestic production organized around delayed gratification, a concept most of the modern world seems to have misplaced.
Andrea finished his law degree in 2001 but chose vinegar instead. He later restored Corte Faragosa rather than moving the barrels into a more convenient industrial building. Convenience does not have much authority at San Giacomo. In 2020, he completed a PhD in agri-food science, technology, and biotechnology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, with research focused on acetification. The obsession is fully credentialed.
At San Giacomo, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia begins with locally grown organic grapes. The must is cooked over direct heat, then undergoes two spontaneous fermentations, alcoholic first and acetic second. It then ages for at least 12 years in batteries of wooden barrels. The only ingredient is cooked grape must. No wine vinegar is added to manufacture acidity, and no concentrated must supplies instant sweetness.
This distinction matters. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia DOP and Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP are legally and materially different products. The IGP combines wine vinegar with cooked or concentrated grape must. Despite the name “Modena,” that must can come from anywhere: the rules specify the grape varieties, but do not require the grapes to be grown locally. The blending, processing and aging must take place in Modena or Reggio Emilia. Unless it carries an invecchiato or riserva designation, the minimum required time in wood is just 60 days. That applies regardless of how dense, expensive or impressively packaged the bottle may be.
San Giacomo’s raw vinegars receive the same attention. They undergo slow static acetification, with bacteria working at the liquid’s surface for months. The quality of the original wine remains legible in the finished vinegar, so excellent raw materials are essential. Bad wine does not make good vinegar.
Andrea’s vinegars have depth without losing their bite, whether they have spent decades moving through a battery of barrels or are destined for Tuesday’s salad. Andrea supplies the grapes, apples, barrels, knowledge and an unreasonable level of attention. Emilia supplies the climate. Time handles the rest.
