ACETAIA del SOLE: Catskills Craft Vinegars

ACETAIA del SOLE, nestled within Thanksgiving Farm at The Center for Discovery, 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.

The Center for Discovery is a nationally recognized non-profit organization located on a beautiful 1,500-acre campus in Sullivan County, New York. We provide a full spectrum of advanced care, education, and residential services for children and adults with complex conditions, including Autism Spectrum Disorders. Our unique, holistic approach integrates medical care and education with a pioneering biodynamic agricultural program. This working farm serves as a living classroom, empowering individuals to develop valuable life skills and a deeper connection to their community. As a designated Center of Excellence, we are dedicated to providing groundbreaking research and compassionate care, helping every individual unlock their full potential and lead a meaningful life.

All proceeds support various programs at The Center for Discovery.

ACETAIA del SOLE, nestled within Thanksgiving Farm at The Center for Discovery, is a craft-vinegar workshop dedicated to creating exceptional finishing vinegars from organic fruit and herbs. 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.

Subtraction. It is 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 on a large scale, to learn about their wine fermentation techniques. In wine and vinegar, the alcoholic fermentation process is the same. The fermentation is where the magic is, where sugar converts to alcohol, and the complex flavors and structure take shape. Some two thousand years ago, back in Rome, winemakers fermented their wine in casks, a process today we call ancestral. The method was all-natural, low-intervention, had zero additives, and was sulfite 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 process right takes time; the technique is not only the slowest of all acetic fermentations, but it can also take a year or even longer for a vinegar to mature, compared to just weeks or days for many commercially produced vinegars. However, 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.