The white Veneto cheese scents of alpine milk.

The Veneto can rightly be defined as one of the best Italian regions producing cheeses. There is a white lion that is restless and roars, making its voice heard in national and international markets.

The Casearia Carpenedo is one of the main recognized realities at the international level. Its products have made it to the most important gourmet shops, showcased in fashion stores like Harrod’s in London, and in the prestigious Di Palo’s in New York.

The Latteria Perenzin has produced the best cheese in the world with the Super Gold for its Capra al Traminer and the Gold for the legendary San Pietro in cera d’api.

You can count the ancient malghe and small dairies, once seasonal, that today represent extraordinary realities of communal cooperatives. Major DOPs include Grana Padano dop in the Veronese plains, the Monte Veronese dop, which peaks in the lands of the Lessini Plateau and the high pastures of the Prealps and the Small Dolomites. The Provolone Valpadana DOP that always extends along the Venetian plain.

The Veneto presents a cheese processing technique that is similar throughout the pre-Alpine and Alpine-Dolomitic regions: ancient dairy processing techniques of the Rhaetian peoples who lived here even before the Roman domination. Then the entry of the Saxon peoples of the Cimbri in the Lessini Mountains, on the Asiago Plateau, and in the Belluno Dolomites led to the creation of double-mountain cheeses, one made in the evening with skim milk and one in the morning with whole milk. Thus, in addition to the Monte Veronese dop, the Asiago DOP and the Montasio DOP were born. Asiago, in particular, is one of the most well-known Italian cheeses worldwide, but also delicacies like the Morlacco del Grappa, a characteristic work of art from the Grappa Massif, which encompasses areas of Treviso, Belluno, and Vicenza.

Another local DOP that has witnessed a true spring of successes in recent years is the Casatella Trevigiana DOP, not to mention the Piave DOP, which is mainly produced by Lattebusche. Some extraordinary malghe to remember include Malga Mariech, Malga Speloncia, Malga Novezza, Malga del Brol, Malga Lentiai, etc.

The first Ubriaco of Italy was born in Camalò di Povegliano, and its creator was Antonio Carpenedo with his Casearia Carpenedo, still recognized today as a reference point for the art of aging and cheese processing. Not only cow’s milk but also goat's milk and less sheep milk. The conditions reached are indeed excellent for goats, especially for the Alpine goats. The dairy art of Veneto has attracted many young people who are still successfully engaging with dairy production, living among the mountains and enchanting green valleys.

Veneto is linked to the mountains that converge into the extraordinary Dolomites of Belluno and the pearl of Cortina d’Ampezzo. In recent years, larger goat cheese producers are increasingly recognized, such as La Capreria di Montegalda and the success of products from La Casara of Roncolato di Roncà.

In Veneto, the cheese-wine mix is one of the most classic combinations. Many cheeses are aged in wine or its pomace. From cheeses aged in Amarone della Valpolicella to blue cheeses aged in passito Raboso like the great Blu 61, or blue cheeses aged in passito like the recioto of Gambellara or Soave. In short, the wine that penetrates the cheese and becomes one with it is one of the guarantees of Venetian production.

The white Veneto never disappoints. It is a large area where cheese has found artisan cheesemakers who have been able to interpret their territory, the pastures, the herbs, and flowers of high mountains and plains. They have managed to conquer the world with the pleasantness and goodness of simple and elaborated products, and with a great differentiation of cheese categories.

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M