Giusti 1605

Giusti 1605

There are few Italian food-producing families still in operation today whose history can be traced back over more than four centuries.
The Giusti family of Modena is one of them: the family's history first appears in written records in 1605, and the knowledge of balsamic vinegar production has been passed down through seventeen generations since then.

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  Italy

The story naturally begins in Modena, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna. For centuries, the city and its surrounding area have been the home of Aceto Balsamico, where the slow concentration of grape must, barrels made from different types of wood, and time together create that dense, sweet-and-sour condiment which is now one of the most well-known specialties of Italian gastronomy.

A family story since 1605

The first official mention of the Giusti family dates back to 1605, when the names of Giuseppe and Francesco Maria Giusti were recorded in the register of local merchants of the Duchy of Modena. A few years later, in 1613, Giovanni Maria Giusti was already granted permission to sell his products in Bologna. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the family's balsamic vinegar stock grew steadily.

In the 1700s, the Gran Deposito Aceto Balsamico Giuseppe Giusti expanded with new series of barrels, while they also purchased barrels from other old Modenese families. This is particularly important because, in traditional balsamic vinegar production, the barrel itself is part of the heritage. The old barrels are not simply used as storage vessels: balsamic vinegar ages in them for decades, sometimes even centuries, and the wood itself eventually becomes part of the aroma profile of the vinegar being produced.

A 90-year-old balsamic vinegar and the first gold medal

One of the turning points in the history of Giusti occurred in 1861. Giuseppe Giusti took with him to the Florence exhibition of the newly unified Italy his family's balsamic vinegar from the barrel marked "A3", which was already 90 years old at the time. The batch won a gold medal. Two years later, in 1863, Giuseppe Giusti presented his family's method in writing at the Modena agricultural exhibition. The so-called "Ricetta Giusti" is the first surviving document that describes how to make what the Giusti family calls the "perfect balsamic vinegar".

The principles of this recipe still define the family's work today. In the second half of the 19th century, Giusti vinegars appeared one after another at the great international exhibitions of the era, from Paris to Brussels, Vienna, and Antwerp, returning home with numerous medals and accolades. The memory of these historical awards is preserved today by the medal system of the Giusti Historical Collection.

The balsamic vinegar of the Royal House

International success was followed by another special recognition. In 1929, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy appointed Giusti as an official supplier to the Italian Royal House. From then on, the family became entitled to use the royal coat of arms of the House of Savoy – this historical emblem can still be seen on Giusti bottles today. The richly decorated Giusti logo known today is also a historical legacy: its basis is the emblem created around 1900 in an Art Nouveau style, which is surrounded by the family's previous exhibition medals and honors.

Time and the barrel

At Giusti, one of the two most important ingredients in the making of balsamic vinegar never appears on the ingredient list: time. And the other is wood.

The family preserves a vast collection of historic barrels, some of which are decades or even centuries old. The various Giusti balsamic vinegars age in different types of wood and different barrels, and these barrels never become completely "empty": the old balsamic vinegar remaining in them and the wood, soaked through over long decades, create a continuous connection between earlier and newer vintages.

This is why Giusti emphasizes that the character of a balsamic vinegar cannot be described by a simple "how old is it?" number. The recipe, the ratio of grape must and wine vinegar, the size, wood type, and age of the barrel, as well as the method of aging, all combine to shape the final result.

Historical Collection – the story of the medals

Giusti's best-known series is the Historical Collection, whose labels feature the medals won by the family at international exhibitions in the 19th century. The series starts with the fresher, lighter 1 Silver Medal balsamic vinegar, then progresses through the 2, 3, 4, and 5 Gold Medals items toward an increasingly thicker, more concentrated, and more complex character. The 2 Gold Medals, or Il Classico, is one of the most versatile members of the collection: a fruity, medium-density balsamic vinegar with a pleasantly rounded acidity.

Items with a higher medal count are progressively sweeter, thicker, and more concentrated, increasingly serving as finishing condiments to be added to a dish in just a few drops. The medal system is therefore not a simple marketing element: it is the survival of over one hundred and fifty years of family history on today's bottles.

Seventeen generations – but not a museum

Perhaps the most interesting part of Giusti's history is that the enterprise does not simply try to preserve a 17th-century world. According to the family's own philosophy, the heritage must be continuously developed while maintaining the principles that have defined the making of balsamic vinegar through generations.

One result of this is that, alongside the traditional Aceto Balsamico di Modena, they now also make special condiments. Among these is, for example, the truffle version, in which 3 Gold Medals balsamic vinegar is rested with black summer truffles in an old oak barrel – creating a new flavor with the help of a centuries-old technique.

The family heritage is now also showcased at Casa Giusti in Modena. In the center opened in 2018, one can follow the history of the family and Modenese balsamic vinegar through a museum, historic aging rooms, and a tasting area. From Modena to the world Today, Giusti is far more than just a local acetaia. Its balsamic vinegars are available worldwide, they have opened their own shops in Modena, Milan, and Bologna, among other places, while the business remains strongly linked to its homeland.

This connection is now also reflected in their sustainability strategy. The company highlights four main areas: respect for people, reducing environmental impact, supporting the local community and culture, and quality followed throughout their operations. In 2025, Giusti also adopted Benefit Corporation status, with which it officially incorporated its social and environmental goals into the company's operations.

Over more than four hundred years, much has changed in Modena and in the world of gastronomy. At the heart of Giusti's story, however, the same remains: grape must, wine vinegar, wood, time, and the knowledge that a family has passed down through seventeen generations. Perhaps that is why Giusti is special. It is not simply an old brand that still makes balsamic vinegar today, but a Modenese family story, a part of which continues even today in the same old wooden barrels in which the vinegars of previous generations were aged.

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