villa san donnino

We visited Villa San Donnino last Saturday, our visit was easily arranged with Davide via email a few days beforehand. Having read the great reviews on TA we had high expectations, but we were blown away by the whole experience- Davide was inspirational and hugely knowledgeable, providing us with a fascinating insight into the history and production of balsamic vinegar. The environment is beautiful and being able to see the barrels and experience a tasting was unforgettable, especially ice cream with balsamic vinegar! There's a number of different products available to buy, but no pressure to do so- we've brought some of them home with us and will enjoy tasting them and remembering our fantastic day here. Afterwards we had lunch at the Trattoria in La Busa on Davide's recommendation- a great way to finish of a wonderful visit to the area. Many many thanks.

There's valid reason why Villa San Donnino tops the attractions in Modena. It's proprietor Davide has a passion for his work and it shows and is relayed on to the visitors at every moment.Learn about how his family came into the business of making the world's finest and most exclusive vinegar or Aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena as it's more correctly called and how the lengthy process of making these drops of black gold, looks like.It may seem like a bit of a hassle to have to call or e-mail ahead but do not let that stop you, it is well worth the effort.

Just a phone call away to arrange for a visit and the staff is so sweet and nice explaining to your everything and end the end you get to try all those products and it is wonderful!! We bought some great products home and everybody was so happy that we made the trip there. It's really worth going especially to try the 25years balsamic vinegar!

A very friendly and informative insight into the complex process of creating excellent balsalmico. All culminating in a tasting of some fantastic balsalmicos including the "extra vecchio" 25+ year variety. Call ahead or have the tourist office in town call for you, but I highly recommend it!

Organised the trip via email. Davide was very welcoming and the place was so lovely and friendly. No hard sell at all...tours are free and you cant help but buy their black gold....

Great introduction to one of the classic food ingredients in the Modena area. We really enjoyed the tour and loved the tasting with gelato at the end!

The passion shown by Davide and Sara to prove that their traditional balsamic vinegar was nothing like the supermarket product stood out throughout the visit. To be given the opportunity to both see and taste the changes as their elixir ages was wonderful and to finally be served balsamic vinegar on ice cream was unbelievable. Convinced me that only the best is good enough!

Great tour and taste. The owner was very passionate and made the experience a delight. The aroma was amazing

If you are in Modena this is an absolute must! The family at Villa San Donnino has been making traditional balsamic vinegar for over 50 years. You can go on a free tour and taste test here. Davide was a wonderful host who showed us all about how traditional balsamic vinegar is made. At the end we had a lovey taste test and it was unbelievable to taste and see the difference between store bought (supermarket) balsamic which is not traditional, and the true balsamic vinegar. We were even able to try some balsamic on icecream which was surprisingly delicious. It was a great experience, believe me, go and try it for yourself.

We visited the Villa San Donnino acetaio as part of the Italian Days tour (the TripAdvisor top-rated activity for Bologna). The visit was excellent; a magnificent estate that houses an operational first-rate balsamic vinegar producer. We were warmly welcomed by the owner Davide and Sara (whom I assume was his daughter) and given a very thorough tour followed by a tasting and an opportunity to buy the goods.What an eye-opener this was; it has given us a whole new understanding of what balsamic vinegar really is. We now understand the significance of the DOP designation and the patience end endurance that goes into producing this vinegar. We realize that we have never before tasted the real thing. Now, back at home, I have just poured out several bottles of slop that we had sitting around, i.e. mass-produced stuff that goes under the name of balsamic vinegar, but really bears little resemblance to the real thing.We brought back a few bottles of the estate-produced DOP vinegar, some to use ourselves, some to give away to our best friends.If you have a chance to visit Villa Donnino, the experience is highly recommended.

Really love it!! Nice experience, very instructive!, delicious balsámic vineager, we had The icé cream with balsámic something new for us, perfect match!! Really nice people!! If you aré in modena and aré a balsámic lover, don't leave without visiting this ville!!

Our visit to Villa San Domino was arranged by our Head Consierge in our Bologna Grand Hotel Majestic.Senor Davide Lonardi took us through the secrets of making the Balsamico Tradizionale.What an interesting and exiting lesson in the traditional making of the real Modena Balsamico.We tried the 12 year old antica tradizione balsamico di Modena over a wonderful ice cream.Interesting also that the house had their own White - and red grapes fields next to the villa.Sr. Davide Lonardi also invited to the private villa aula, very beautiful with its artworks and furniture.Absolutely worth to travel from Bologna to experience this special making of the traditional balsamico.

We came 2 adults and 2 kids and a baby. We got a private tour free of charge althogh we didn't booked or called before.We got to taste the Balsamic vinegar and at the end we all got a vanilla ice cream topped with the Balsamic vinegar. Very tasty.We didn't feel presure to buy their product at any time of the tour but we bought it because it was very good and tasty. Andrea was our guide.

What a wonderful place to visit, and for free. Great tour and a good explanation of how genuine Balsamic vinegar is made plus great tastings with ice cream. Tried the liqueur from walnuts which was also delicious. All in all a wonderful couple of hours. Thank you very much

Extremely welcoming and accommodating, pictures galore. We emailed Davide in the morning and he instantly replied allowing us to visit at our leisure from 2pm.We turned up un announced and Davide welcomed us in with open arms. Remember he lives here do he is inviting you into his home!He was very informative and willing to share his passion being one of two (the other is his wife) owner / operators.Excellent tour, unmatched scenery and the option to buy some wonderful produce with cash / card facilities.