Sept 17-19 The Slow Foods Cheese Festival in Bra Italy

Today we leave the beautiful sea. From Vernazza and the Cinque Terra we drive towards Genoa and on to  the wonderful city of Bra Italy 40 min south of Torino.

Before we left though Al and Lucy wanted their photo taken as they bask in the sun by the sea.

Bra is the home of Slow Foods, where we are spending the next 2 days at The Festival of Cheese. This is perhaps the largest cheese event in the world, showcasing not only Italian Cheese but cheese from all parts of the world.

We find our hotel easily (most rooms have been booked for months by now) and settle in. It is only a short distance into the town center but most restaurants and shops are closed in preparation for the weekends anticipated crowds. This is fine for us since we can head back to the hotel and catch up on emails and other business since we finally have a good online connection here.
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Friday 18th:
The first day of Cheese '09. This is THE cheese festival for cheese lovers. This is organized by and in the hometown of "Slow Foods" and is perhaps one of the most extensive presentations of cheese in the world. This is not the primary venue for the larger cheese makers (that is held in Parma every 2 years)  but it represents the smaller scale cheese makers and the specific cheeses that slow foods is working to protect.

We are up and out early after a great breakfast at the hotel. It gives us a chance to see the cheese makers putting the finishing touches on their displays. Also it gets us to the Slow Foods office to pick up our reservation for workshops and our dinner on Sunday night.
Today is quite busy since we have booked 3 workshops in addition to connecting with some of our favorite cheese makers and finding new cheese contacts for our future visits.

Fridays first workshop was with Herve Mons from France who is one of the worlds finest affineurs (sources, ages, and sells cheese).

The topic was the cheese of the Auvergne and the role of raw milk. I had the highest hopes for this session since he was presenting a goat's milk cheese from Provence, a Traditional Salers from Auvergne and an Alpine Beaufort from Savoy. Unfortunately the fire alarm sounded and could not be shut off for the session and the class did not happen. I did manage to connect with Herve later since he knew of me through my friend Pierre Gay in Annecy, he was more than happy to help me with future plans in the Auvergne and any other contacts I need.

The next workshop was five italian affineurs: Giovanni Guffanti, Franco Parola, Gian Domenico Negro, Vittorio Beltrami, and Fiorenzo Giolito. The best of the best presenting the cheese they love best. Of course this was accompanied with their favorite wine. This turned into a passionate discussion on why it is so important to preserve these cheeses. Especially with Vittorio's exuberant and graphic point of view.

The final session was equally enlightening  with a tasting and comparison of 5 Alpine cheeses from northern Italy: Bagolino Bagòss, Bitto, aged Asiago, Monte Veronese, and Grappa Mountain Morlacco. It was amazing to see the taste comparison of these cheeses from similar pastures, similar process, but different regions and how they have evolved into such different cheeses over time.  Having visited many cheese makers in these regions it added a whole new level of understanding.

By 10 PM we  were both so exhausted we have no recollection of dinner or even if there was one. Anyhow we had enough cheese and wine to tide us over for the day.

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 Sat 19th
Up early again, a good breakfast, and off to the festival. The second day of Cheese is rain but does not seem to dampen the crowds numbers or spirits. The festival is much more crowded this year. We begin working our way through the International cheese booths where several of the American Artisan cheeses are being presented as well as cheese from France, Italy, UK, Ireland, Switzerland etc. This is not a project to  be taken lightly.

Sept 15-17 the Cinque Terra

Rain today but good for the long drive from Trento to Vernazza via Modena and Parma. Most of it is Autostrada and the drive definitely requires 110% of our attention. As we cross the Appenines the sun breaks out for the drive to the sea.
Once we leave the highway it is just one steep turn on top of the next heading down to the sea.

Our target is the big parking lot in Monterosa and catch the train, but a wrong turn puts us in the wrong place. A call to our friends Michelle and Giuliano in Vernazza and we find that there is parking just outside of town so its back up the mountain to Vernazza.

We finally arrive and Giuliano leads us to the room he has found for us which happily is a full apartment right off the main street. The village is much busier than we remember so we hibernate a bit until the trains slowly bring the numbers down. These days many folks just come for the day. The evening quiets down somewhat but also brings the rain again. Although we were really hoping for nicer weather for our 2 days of R&R here, the wet really brings out the colors and reflections in this village on the sea. These 2 days are our "vacation" from cheese, so do not expect anything on the topic.

Robin is off again in search of the famous Vernazza "gatos" again and for sure finds them waiting in the Piazza and narrow streets.

We all know that "fresh" is the reason Italian food has such a great reputation and this early morning photo of the veggies arriving before  the crowds appear tells the story quite well. In Italy if the ingredient can not be found locally it's not going to be on the table for dinner.

We also are here during the grape harvesting time and as we wander through the narrow streets of the village we do notice a few "cantina" or cellar doors open where grapes are being turned into wine. As you can see by the photo to the right, the grapes are grown on very steep slopes in very small plots by the families in the village. These are then brought down by hand and carried to the cellars. The best of these are then hung from the ceilings to reduce the moisture in the grape before making wine. This wine is called Sciacchetra and is quite expensive.
Having the apartment for this village was a bonus because we finally had a chance to prepare our own simple meal. Local Pasta, Pesto from the deli downstairs, a fresh salad, and a bottle of Persecco. Thursday morning the sun finally breaks through again but it is time to leave. On the way out we get a chance to spend a little time with our friends Michelle, Giuliano, and little Sophia.


The rain is not all bad as this photo  shows in the piazza as the sun is trying to break through. Its just a different mood.

Sept 14 The cheese of Asiago

Rain today but perfect for a visit to an Asiago producer at the far end of the valley. This is the large family run cooperative where they make not only the Asiago but Grana Padano (the caves held 30,000 of these huge Granas) as well as Provolone.
They make 2 types of Asiago. One is a young table cheese (Assiago Pressato) with full fat. The other is Assiago D' Allevo with partially skimmed milk and a much longer aging becoming drier with stronger flavors.

The most interesting part of this visit is the large scale but yet the focus on quality. It is most impressive.

The guide is a young woman in charge of quality analysis for both raw milk coming in and the finished cheese as it ages. She explains that since the cheese is all AOC, they are under the same rules as the smaller scale cheese makers but they are more carefully watched because of their larger scale.

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In the Cheese Cave

This is only one row in a roomful of 30 thousand cheese.

That's a lot of Grana$$$ Padano!

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A Rainy Night

On our return, and after a much needed afternoon rest we head off to the small town nearby, Levico Terme with its traditional shops and restaurants. A quiet early evening admiring the towns architecture in the rain and wandering through the shops (more bins of mushrooms and shelves of grappa). Yes, I should have bought the funghi there! Instead we returned empty handed in this food group.

Our dinner choice was well made with the chefs focus on the style of Mantova. Pumpkin ravioli and a lamb roast with the nice local white. Finished with cafe and a grappa. Perfect for a rainy night.
Finished with Gelato on the walk out. OF coarse I asked for pesci instead of pesca and raised a laugh. Not sure that fish flavored gelato is as good as peach.Anyhow they have to love us for trying!

Sept 13 ... On to Valsugana!

Today it is up early with a good breakfast in sunshine overlooking the Dolomites. A short drive south from Bolzano and through Trento takes us to our hotel on a little lake at the western end of Valsugana.
This valley is about an hour South of Bolzano and east of Trento. It is the area just north of the Asiago plateau and the last serious mountains above the Po River valley. This has become a very important region due to the recent promotion of its traditional agricultural products: cheese, preserved meats, mushrooms, polenta, grappa, fruit, etc.



Our room has its own terrace overlooking the lake and a great view up into the mountains that form the valley. A perfect excuse to sit out with some wine cheese and sausage collected along the way (well, it doesn't really take much for us to open the wine you know!).

The afternoon agenda is a long steep trip up to the high pass of Brocon where many small alpine farms make cheese throughout the summer. The area flattens out to a grand plateau which houses several small farms and their expansive grazing lands. This a huge area that has been used as pasture since ancient times. It is late enough in the season that the cheese making is coming to an end and they are preparing the cows for the journey back down to the valley for the winter.

The Video below is of a young couple and their dog trying to convince the herd that "Summer is Over" and time to make the trek down to the valley before snow falls.

Sept 10-12 Bolzano and the Dolomites

Sept 10
Another long drive from Valtellina to Bolzano with a brief stop in Sondrio for cheese. From Sondrio to Bolzano was just a lot of up and down twisty turny roads. The "eye opener" was dropping down into the valley of fruit and especially the wine grapes that run from Bolzano to Trento. Pay attention folks because if we are lucky we will see some of these wines in the US in the future.

Our hotel was tucked somewhere up in the hills north of Bolzano and our map showed quite a convoluted path to find it, but a simple phone call to our host made it sound quite simple so we left the Autostrada with a few notes in hand and eventually after a rather long ascent found one of the most friendly hotels and one of the most magnificent views of the dolomites. Another long day and a much needed rest to follow it.

Sept 11 Fri

Our goal today is to find a small church settled into a large alpine pasture with the Dolomites rising above. This is a church I have seen in pictures over the years and has drawn me to this area. We headed north again and down into the valley, only to cross the river and rise up into the mountains again. Our rough reckoning leaving some doubt in finding the church, but persistence paid off and we find it where it has always been for centuries. This is one of the most beautiful settings and churches I have ever visited.

Sept 12 Sat

Today we travel through Val Gardena to Passo Gardena. This is a beautiful Alpine pasture where much cheese was made in the past but it is much easier for the young people today to make their living from the skiing and climbing tourists than from cheesemaking. The older alpine farm (Malghe) buildings are still present but only reminders of the past.

During lunch in the mountains Robin has decided to let our trusted companions Al and Lucy out of the car for a bit to romp in the mountains a bit. They have been with us for many years now but this is their first visit to the Alps

This is surely a worthwhile visit but the extensive build-up of vacation homes, hotels and traffic in the valley make us more than ready to return to our quiet hotel above Bolzano.

Tonight at the hotel we are the only guests and Nino the chef has prepared a special meal and when we comment on the fabulous funghi, he brings an entire jar out for us packed in oil. Porcini that he has collected from the local woods. Tomorrow we pack and head south to Valsugana.

Sept 8-9 On to Italy and the Bitto Cheese

Sept 8 was a long day of driving through the mountains of Switzerland and over the mountains to Italy. It was a long but beautiful drive with perfect weather. The most beautiful part was the drive from Lugano to Lake Como along Lake Lugano and its small villages perched high above the lake. We finally arrived in the Valtellina east of Lake Como, where we were met by our friend who promotes cheese for the Bitto region.

Sept 9 is another very long day beginning with a visit HIGH in the mountains. Our Italian friend is taking us to visit one of the great Bitto producers of the region and the drive is about 27 km as we gain about 1900 meters in height. We drive for about an hour to Passo San Marco followed by another long walk to the farm over very rough terrain. As we approach the farm in the predawn hour we see a single generator light at the milking station far below us on the pasture and another 15 minutes walking/sliding down the wet grassy slope brings us to the herd being milked. The cheese Bitto is unique to a very small part of this valley and is known for its very dry curd and ability to be aged for many years.

Once the milking is finished, the milk is carried down to the farm and transferred to the copper kettle suspended on an arm that can be swung off and onto the fire, a wood fire is lit, the milk kettle swung over it and heated. When the proper temperature is reached the kettle is swung off the fire and rennet is added. The milk is allowed to set still for a long coagulation. This is time for the cheese makers first real break of the day and we head inside for coffee and hot milk with bread. The bottle of grappa is offered for the coffee and I accept (hey, its cold out there).

Following the break, the curd has coagulated and is cut very fine with an aggressive use of the cutting tool (Spino) followed by a long stir at a higher temp. This is what makes the Bitto such a long aged cheese.

The cheese maker applies his skills and experience to know when the curd is at the point to move from the vat to the forms for pressing. When his decision is made he readies the cloth, removes his shirt and dives into the vat for the curd.

Once he has the right amount of curd in the cloth and drained, he transfers the cheese to the awaiting molds where he presses by hand into the shape. The cheese is now allowed to rest for a few minutes to consolidate before a board and the weight of a stone press the remaining whey from the curd. The new cheese must be kept warm to allow the bacteria to continue their work for at least another day before salt is added.

Once the Bitto is made the remaining whey is once again placed over the fire, more wood added and the ricotta process is begun. This is now a fierce fire and the whey heats quickly, a dose of acid is added and then finally some more milk is added to enrich the ricotta. The resulting flocculated curds are left to rest while they rise to the surface where they will be ladled to the waiting forms. It is now time for us to trek back up the mountain to our car and the long drive down the mountain.

The mornings work is now over and the cheese maker will have lunch and a short break before he gathers the cows again mid afternoon and starts the process over again. The day begins about 4AM and goes until 11PM from late May to mid September in the mountains. The cows are then moved down the mountain to the village where they and the cheese maker will spend the winter.

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The afternoon is another wonderful expedition into one of the hidden treasures of Italy. We are introduced to one of the patriarchs of perhaps the finest food shop in the Valtellina. As we enter the shop we are amazed at the resources collected here: Funghi, Vino, Aceto, Formaggio, Pastas, Grappa (oh yes, Grappa) etc,etc. The shop has been in this family for 3 generations and the next generation is definitely in training to continue this tradition. We were quite amazed by what we saw in the main shop but then our guide smiled and said follow me ... follow him on a tour of one amazing room after another. Rooms of special cheeses, rooms of pastas, one of grappas of various ages (and prices). This was great but then he said come down to the cellars. At least 3 levels down each one with different temperatures and several degrees cooler than the previous. Each one for storing different wines until we reached the lowest level where I saw wooden cases stacked with names that I recognized but know I can not afford. Along the way in niches and corners were old wine presses and other items that transformed the cellars into a museum. Casks set into the wall (perfect keeping temps) that at one time dispensed the wines into large bottles for the customers to store in their own cellars. Wheels of carts that brought the wine before trucks. Old wine presses, bottling apparatus, ancient bottles, etc. When we climbed out of this wonderful cellar, we began another descent but this time into the world of Formaggio. The final level took us to a room full of Bitto cheese ranging in age from 1-10 year old cheeses.

Sept 7 ... In the Valley of Etivaz

Today we will visit the caves where Etivaz is aged. Aging is of great importance in developing the final quality of the cheese. The cheese is brought in by the farmers at regular intervals of up to a week as mandated by the AOC rules for this cheese. They are then salted and brined, dried off and moved to aging area set aside for each family. At 6 months a small portion of the cheese will be selected for a longer aging which may be extended for many years. This cheese will have the rind removed by scrubbing and a light coat of olive oil applied. It will then be moved to a drier aging area where it is stored on edge and turned a quarter turn at regular intervals depending on moisture level. This cheese is called Etivaz Rebibe and may be aged for many years. It is traditionally shaved into very thin strips when served.

In the afternoon we are off to visit another cheese maker who is very unique, being one of the few sheep milk cheese producers in Switzerland. We arrive in the evening to accompany him and his wife into the high peaks to gather the sheep and retrieve the milk. This is one rough journey even with four wheel drive and takes about 20-30 minutes each way. The milking system is quite amazing, bringing in 30 ewes running in 2 lines with the cheese maker and his wife doing the milking from from a recess below the ewes. When one batch finishes the milked ewes are released and another 32 come running in, I just had to wonder what was in the pellets they received during milking. 320 ewes were milked in 10+ batches in about an hour. This time of year only about 1/2 Liter per ewe is produced at each milking. During the summer almost twice as much is provided.
Before heading back down to the valley we went to see the ancient chalet that the family has been working at restoring now for several years. Currently all of the cheese is produced in the valley dairy where they live.

Following the Alpage visit we returned to the farm for a tasting of the cheese they produce. There is quite a variety. Yogurt (which we had for lunch earlier in the day) several fresh cheeses, a soft ripened cheese, and a nice Tomme style cheese. They also produce a wonderful pine bark wrapped cheese that develops a wonderful white coat as the cheese ripens inside. This appears to be similar to a Vacherin Mt D'Or but ripens very differently because it is not a washed rind.

Of course with the cheese we shared a bottle of wine and the discussion ranged from what is happening with cheesemaking in the US on small farms to current farm problems in their region. The biggest problem being animal loss due to lynx and the newly introduced wolf population. It seems that most of the cheesemakers we talk to in the mountains are losing many of their stock.