Go For The Good Stuff

In case you haven’t heard, the price of balsamic vinegar is about to skyrocket.

Well, it is and it isn’t.

There actually are two types of balsamic: aceto and tradizionale. Aceto, which is generally much cheaper, is what’s about to go through the roof.

I won’t go into all the details about the differences between the two types. The significant aspect is that aceto is made from cheap, run-of-the-mill grapes, whereas tradizionale is made from top-end, wine-quality grapes.

What’s happened is that there’s been two years of poor harvests of the cheap grapes. As a result, the grapes cost more. On the other hand, production of high-end grapes has not suffered as much.

End result: The cost of Aceto Balsomico de Modema---the type most of us use---is going up as much as 70%.

If that, indeed, comes to pass, and the Aceto Balsomico de Modena Tradizionale remains stable, that might, in a sense, be good news. If the prices of the two become significantly closer together, maybe we can afford to use the good stuff.

One can only hope!

On the other hand, I’m stocking up before the prices get really out of line.