Stepping into our acetaia means entering a world suspended between history and tradition, where time is marked by aromas, ancient rituals and patient waits. Here, within the silent yet vibrant walls of a medieval tower, the air is filled with fragrances: the wood of the barrels, the maturing cooked grape must and the deep breath of Balsamic Vinegar as it rests, transforms and refines. Every step echoes tradition, every corner tells the tale of an ancient craft, and each drop holds over a century of passion. This experience offers you the chance to discover the renowned Traditional Method. The protagonists of this journey are the women of the family and the four Masters of the Acetaia, who have succeeded one another from 1905 to the present day. The visit to the Acetaia concludes with a vertical tasting of the four family "Reserves," culminating in the remarkable evolution of the precious Centenary. Welcome to La Vecchia Dispensa.
It was amazing. I had no idea that it took twelve years before DOP traditional balsamic is bottled. And we tasted a 20 , 40 , and 60 year balsamic. well worth the visit.
There are two reviews here. Five stars to Elena who went so far above and beyond to save us, and her comprehensive and obvious love of the unique product and its pure family, small producer history. A definite highlight of our trip! VIATOR IS MISLEADING HERE. IT IS NOT,NOT “something to do in Modena”. It is located in the gorgeous Tuscan countryside and is perfect if you are traveling by car only. Unless, like us, you have a $50.00 cab ride from Modena and get stranded and dropped off at the wrong address. You can take a nice regional train to Vignola, but you will still need a cab to CASTELVETRO DI MODENA, ACETAIA LA VECCHIA DISPENSA.
Small groups only, in a very unique setting (medieval tower), and wonderfully informative. I’m a foodie but turns out I didn’t know much about the history of balsamico. But best of the tour is definitely their balsamic vinegars!
We enjoyed our visit to this balsameria and the charming village of Castelvetro. It was very informative and we enjoyed the tasting of various aged vinegars.
Amazing experience, very interesting to learn all about the process and amazing tasting opportunity.
We booked a tasting tour last minute 1.5 days beforehand. I had contacted every Balsamic vinegar producer on the first 2 pages of Google, and this company was the only one that responded and gave us a tour. Ortensia was an amazing guide. It was only the 3 of us (and my parents can't speak English well) but she was super patient, explained everything in great detail, and waited to give me time to translate. The tour was also very authentic - Ortensia was clearly super proud of her vinegar, and explained each detail while we stood in a 16th century tower among real batteries of balsamic vinegar. We finished with a tasting of vinegars, from the non-traditional to traditional ones, going up to 100 years aged. We never knew how good authentic Balsamic vinegar is, but now we know. We were super happy with the guide and bought a few bottles to bring back home. I'm a Ferrari fan, so next time I come to Modena, this place is on my must-visit list.
The tasting was very interesting. The climb up into the tower was a little bit claustrophobic and very very steep. It was unfortunate we were not allowed to take photos in the tower but were still very impressed with the tour and 1 on 1 attention we received.
Fantastic tour with chocolate/balsamic paired tasting. The tour guide was excellent! We came straight from the Ferrari museum which was only 15 minutes away by car. We learned a lot and enjoyed the tasting. Was a terrific day trip from Florence. Highly recommend!
Amazing location and our guide was fantastic - extremely informative and answered all our questions. The balsamic vinegar is also delicious and the tasting at the end was great!
This was a very educational tour abd tastings with balsamics aged up to 100 years. The guides explained the process abd the differences between all the varieties.
Alexandra, our guide, was very eloquent, knowledgeable - her English was very clear and engaging, and she presented the location, the "barrel batteries in the tower," along with the subsequent "Balsamico di Modena" tasting - excellent.
It is certainly an experience to do to know in depth the secrets of the production of balsamic vinegar. The expert Hydrangea accompanied us on this really stimulating tour and finally made us taste the various types of balsamic vinegar they produce. We chose the tour from 18 € with tasting.
Fantástica experiência. Alexsandra foi muito atenciosa e explicou tudo sobre o aceto balsâmico e seu processo de produção. A torre é uma experiência a parte. Além dos Produtos de altíssima qualidade.
Ortensia showed us the whole process with clarity and passion. We were fascinated by this gastronomic and human history so close to us.
A fun and especially interesting tour and tasting. We learned all about the traditional way of making black gold and the differences in taste. The medieval village is worth a visit in itself
We booked on site a guided tour. Alessandro accompanied us on this wonderful tour. Very professional and competent.
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