I was amazed that a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar could actually go for four hundred or more dollars! I visited Chefshop.com and saw a bottle of La Vecchia Dispansa vinegar that went for 429.99.

My first question was what’s so special about vinegar that it’s so expensive? It’s almost like buying a bottle of wine!

As if answering my thoughts, I received a newsletter from Gustiamo the same day in which Martina mentions vinegar and tells me why it can be so expensive:

To make a balsamic “traditional” it takes at least 12 years, that’s an unthinkable six million three hundred seven thousand two hundred minutes.

So, like wine, the older the better.

Not only did Martina tell me why it could be so expensive but she shared with me a more affordable vinegar with the same good qualities as La Vecchia Dispansa vinegar.

Like La Vecchia Dispansa vinegar, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar comes from Modena, Italy. However, both are by different producers  and one is Traditional.

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar goes from 83.00 to 227.00 at Gustiamo.com.