government designation of D.O.P (Denominazione de Origine Protetta), which means everything from the variety of grapes, the aging time and the type of wood barrels must adhere to exact standards. The Grapes must be of the Trebbiano & Lambrusco variety, and entirely harvested from the vineyards of the Modena region.The Vinegar must be aged in barrels of at least five types of specified woods.The Vinegar must be aged for at least 12 years to be classified as Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.In the year 2000, the European Union bestowed the D.O.P status upon Aceto Balsamico di Modena. Which means that not only the ingredients must come from the specified geographic region, but that all phases of production must take place in the Modena Region.

In 2001, seventeen producers established their own Consortium to provide authenticity to products from Modena "Il Consorzio Aceti Balsamico di Modena" or the C A B M. Their products are designated with the Logo below. Basically this consortium was born to give the appearance that the product is a True Balsamico when in fact it is a mass produced imitation.

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This logo can be applied to any Industrial balsamic manufactured in the Modena region and simply means that the product comes from the region.

Today the commercial production of authentic Balsamic Vinegar is governed by a consortium or producers, "Consorzio Produttori Aceto Balsamico di Modena" or in English "Consortium of Producers of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. The Consortium ensures the strictest controls by supervising every aspect of the production, even the shape of the bottle, the cap cover and the D.O.P lettering on it. The shape of the bottle is designed by Giugiaro, the Famous Ferrari car Designer. The bottle is trademarked and only can be used by members of the consortium. True Aceto Balsamico has an Italian