There are vinegars—and then there’s Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP. If you’ve only tasted the thin, acidic, mass-produced stuff from your local grocery store, you haven’t truly experienced balsamic vinegar at all. What flows from those sleek, glass bottles crafted in the hills of Emilia-Romagna is something closer to culinary alchemy than mere condiment. It’s time to lift the curtain on one of Italy’s most treasured artisanal secrets.