Panizzi

The Panizzi dairy was founded in the Aosta valley, in the heart of the mountains, more than 50 years ago. This extraordinary natural environment is mirrored by this company’s products which have unique features and an outstanding quality. Fresh milk is sourced from local cow breeds, such as Pezzata rossa, Pezzata nera and Castana, and is processed into genuine and delicious cheeses. Yes, it is a hard work, but it bears good fruits.

The Panizzi dairy’s most famous product is undoubtedly the Fontina cheese, a cheese with protected designation of origin, which tops off a local century-old tradition of milk processing and cheese production. According to tradition, cows spend the winter in the valley and they move to higher pastures at the beginning of the summer, where they graze on herbs and flowers with alpine scents. This cycle, which has been repeating itself since the dawn of time, is key to obtain this cheese’s excellent sensory properties.

Fontina cheese is made by processing local cow’s raw milk at each milking session. Milking takes place twice a day, every day of the year. Fontina cheese is left to mature for at least 90 days in specific caves, where the temperature ranges from 10 °C to 14 °C and the humidity reaches 85%. The cheese wheels are rubbed with salt and are brushed, in order to obtain the signature red rind. Once they are ready, they are checked and branded with the PDO label of the PDO Fontina cheese consortium as a seal of quality. The cheese is now ready; bring that mountain feeling to the table!