vinegars
honey vinegar is the product of double fermentation. the first, resulting in alcohol and accomplished by yeasts, is anaerobic. this is the process in which honey’s sugars are transformed into alcohol, as in the making of mead. the second is known as acetic oxidation, and is aerobic. acetic bacteria oxidize the alcohol, transforming it into acetic acid. the mead is aged in oak casks used three times before, the static-superficial method, the oldest, most ancestral technique. contact with the air is ensured by wide openings and an ample interface inside the barrels, which are not filled to the brim. acetification only takes place on the surface, thanks to a thin film of bacterial flora. the rooms are heated, and so, indirectly, is the fluid.
Read moretimes are long, at least six seasons for just a few hundred liters, while aging for honey vinegar is not as important, and occurs at a later stage.
the structure, aromatic complexity and sapidity of the original honey are amplified by the second fermentation and the acetic component, which, with its pronounced volatility, as well as the fixed acidity, produces a kaleidoscopic series of facets. the sensory notes originate from the bloom. mountain spring water and honey are the ingredients. a vinegar as essential as a honey.
