Our story

THE STORY OF A FAMILY, A TRADITION, AND love for the taste

Ours is a story of passion; a passion for Balsamic Vinegar of Modena that became a company. It is the story of an intuition, from Elena Monari, that became a successful brand. It is the story of original recipes and traditional methods passed down from generation to generation, along with the barrels and barriques from our acetaia. It is the story of a company that is still proudly family-run, and continues to have women at the helm.

1912

On the 12th January, Elena Monari obtains the first licence for the sale of her balsamic vinegar family produced in her shop with an attached sosteria, which she runs at no. 12, Via Moreali, in the centre of Modena.

1920 - 1940

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena begins to be regulated, and the Monari Federzoni family decides to focus its business exclusively on the production of this delicacy[AS1] .

1940 -1950

The Monari Federzoni acetaia survives even the Second World War, and begins to sell its Balsamic Vinegar all over Italy.

1950 - 1960

Elio, Elena's son, takes over the family business as demand for Monari Federzoni Balsamic Vinegar of Modena continues to grow. They need more space to meet this demand, and the vinegar cellar stays in Modena but moves away from the centre, to a building owned by the family. It is the first real production site designed specially for the production and storage of Balsamic Vinegar: low ceilings to make the most of the local climate and machines for bottling and packaging.

1970

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is now an Italian delicacy sought after everywhere, and bottles with our unique label reach tables all over the world: thanks to the work of Giovanni, Elio's son, our Balsamic Vinegar becomes one of the first to be exported to the USA.

1980

Monari Federzoni meets haute cuisine, demand increases and the factory moves again: the facility in Solara di Bomporto is opened, surrounded by family-owned vineyards that will grow to reach over 100 hectares from which we get the grapes to produce part of the cooked must we use for our Balsamic of Modena. In those years the Federzoni family moved to Solara to be close to the land of production and still has its family residence here.

1980 - 1990

Monari Federzoni Balsamic Vinegar becomes increasingly famous: the New York Times dedicates an entire article to it, while Sabrina Federzoni, Giovanni's daughter, takes her first steps in the company, working on the internationalization of the brand.

2000

Sabrina Federzoni enters to lead Monari Federzoni: the fourth generation to run a company that will become the largest producer of Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

2012

The first 100 years of Monari Federzoni, a century-old institution in the world of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, still proudly family-run and guided by the same values as a century ago.

2019

The brand's presence in North America is now stable and well-established enough to open a branch for the distribution of Monari Federzoni in the United States.

2020

The family expands: Monari Federzoni acquires 100% of Fattorie Giacobazzi, another historical name of the Aceto Balsamico di Modena.

Monari-Federzoni-1912-La-nostra-storia-2024

2023

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, Just As We Like It becomes our new payoff: a phrase that tells the story of a family, a beloved land, original recipes and methods, and a huge amount of flavour. The new Art Déco Special Edition is launched on our premium products line, to celebrate our first 100 years of history.

2024

The ELENA1912 project is born, an iconic product that will represent a new way of narrating Monari Federzoni and the world of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PG.

12 january 1912:The date that marks the beginning of our story