Our Project

ACETAIA del SOLE, nestled within Thanksgiving Farm @thecenterfordiscovery, is a craft-vinegar workshop dedicated to creating exceptional finishing vinegars from organic fruit and herbs.

Crafted by Community, Rooted in Quality

What sets ACETAIA del SOLE apart is that our exquisite vinegars are produced with the collaboration of the residents and students of The Center for Discovery. This partnership is not just a part of our process; it's the heart of our mission, providing meaningful work and learning opportunities through the art of vinegar making.

Our commitment to quality stems from three key elements: our exceptional ingredients, our unique fermentation process, and the way we slow-age each barrel. We start with only the finest local, high-quality resources. These include apples harvested from The Center's biodynamic orchards, maple syrup from its woodlands, and herbs from its Healing Garden. Each ingredient contributes to the distinct character of our vinegars.

When it comes to fermentation, Acetaia del Sole uses the ancestral method – the slowest of all vinegar techniques. Unlike large commercial operators who rush the process, Acetaia ferments its vinegars for at least nine months, then ages them in a succession of wood barrels--including white oak, cherry, chestnut, juniper--for a year or more. This unhurried approach allows our vinegars to naturally develop deep, complex flavors, enhancing their qualities and health benefits.

ACETAIA del SOLE is more than a craft-vinegar workshop; it's a celebration of community, tradition, and the extraordinary flavors that come from patience and passion.

We are proud to collaborate with Dr. Andrea Bezzecchi, who brings invaluable expertise to this project, and Chef Cesare Casella, who founded this inspiring project.

Our Thinking

Subtraction. It's not a concept you might associate with vinegar, but at Acetaia del Sole, we wanted to make a uniquely modern, apple-based vinegar, which meant going back in time, literally subtracting centuries of thought, to arrive at a product that was grounded in tradition, yet unlike any other vinegar on the market today. Our destination: ancient Rome.

This is not as crazy as it might sound. Two of Acetaia del Sole's founders are Italian, so, no matter what, we think Rome is always instructive. In the case of vinegar-production, we were interested in the Romans, some of the earliest people to produce wine and vinegars on a large scale, to learn about their fermentation techniques. In wine and vinegars, the first step, the alcoholic fermentation process, is the same. Fermentation is where the magic is, where sugar converts to alcohol, and the complex flavors and structure take shape. But in order to make vinegar we need a secondary fermentation that converts alcohol in acetic acid, the sour component of the vinegar.

In ancient Rome, winemakers fermented their wine in casks then, if they wanted to make vinegar, they let it sit for months in an open vessel. In this process, spontaneous acetic bacteria colonized the surface of the wine creating a beautiful thin biofilm. This is a process that today we call ancestral, still the slowest fermentation method possible. The method was all-natural, low-intervention, had zero additives, and was sulphite free—the exact qualities we at Acetaia del Sole wanted in our 21st century vinegars.

Our journey has been fascinating. One thing we've learned along the way is that getting the ancestral and aging processes right takes time—almost two years from start to finish. But as vinegar obsessives, we believe every extra minute is worth it. Our apple based vinegars are not sugary and dense, but aromatic, elegant, and delicate. The adjective we like best is ethereal, and it is this ethereal quality that makes them so perfect as finishing vinegars. Our vinegars subtly elevate and amplify the flavors of your meats, poultry, seafood, salads, eggs, and vegetables. They are less a final note than the ultimate culinary grace note.