The Bottle and Glass Museum & Balsameria
The castle of Poggio alle Mura houses a museum celebrating glass and the bottle, allies of the everlasting in wine production, named after Giovanni F. Mariani.
In the museum, it is possible to retrace all the highlights of glass production and appreciate a collection of glass dating back to ancient Rome that is considered one of the largest private collections in this field.
The suggestive Balsameria, which very much resembles a miniature cellar, was carved in a part of what were once the warehouses of the castle. It is here that today, after careful restoration, the precious Condimento Balsamico Etrusco is born and evolves
The Bottle and Glass Museum
The castle of Poggio alle Mura is home to a museum that celebrates glass and the bottle, everylasting allies of wine production. In the museum it is possible to retrace all the milestones of glass production and appreciate a collection of artifacts dating back to ancient Rome that is considered one of the largest private collections in this field.
Information:
Summer Opening Hours (March 9 - November 12): 10:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Winter Opening Hours (November 12 - March 9): 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The museum is closed on the 25th of December and 1st of January
Tickets are on sale at the Castle Enoteca.
Full ticket 4,00 €
Reduced ticket 3,50 €
Balsameria
The Balsameria is a fascinating place where visitors, intoxicated by the intense fragrances, see the place where, from a recipe based on the traditional methods used by the Etruscans, the refined Condimento Balsamico Etrusco is born and evolves.
Late-harvested grapes are crushed, the filtered must is simmered and later allowed to cool and then placed in wooden barrels (4 to 8 months).
During this aging the process of “balsamization” is initiated. Subsequently, gradual decanting into small casks of decreasing capacities (from 60 to 25 liters) and of different wood (oak, chestnut, cherry, ash and mulberry) is carried out until the last 25-liter cask is filled, from which the balsamic condiment is taken at the end of aging. With this procedure, aging lasts for about 12 years.
