For this week’s #WinePW blogging group, wine and cheese pairings were the topic of choice. I went directly to Italian and thought about the Valtellina and a cheese they are well known for called Bitto. The Valtellina is a beautiful mountain region within the Italian region of Lombardy. It is very far north and has gorgeous mountains, amazing wines based on Nebbiolo which they call Chiavennasca and I remembered, wonderful cheeses.

Bitto is a DOP cheese which means one of distinct origin that is protected legally as coming only from a specific terroir, much like the denominations for wine, there are designations for foods like cheeses. There is a Consorzio di tutela as well, just like in the wine world. The Consortium protects two cheeses – Casera and Bitto.

Bitto is made only in the Summer months from June 1 through September 30 and only in the province of Sondrio and a few other small towns in an area called the Alta Valle Brembana (Averara, Carona, Cusio, Foppolo, Mezzoldo, Piazzatorre, Santa Brigida e Valleve) and in the province of Lecco (Introbio e Premana). It is only made above 1500 meters, so truly an Alpine cheese. It has a very long history and apparently it was the Celts who created the technique used to make Bitto.

Bitto comes from just milked cheese from cows, although in the finished product they are allowed to include 10% of goats milk as well. The cows only eat Alpine grass on the high pastures in the moutains above 1500 meters. The aging of the cheese is at least 70 days and always begins in the cheese works in the mountains known as casere. It then is aged in what they call “fondo Valle” meaning at the bottom of the Valley in other casere. Bitto can be aged for up to 10 years. Bitto is a hard cheese with alpine notes and delicate flavors that pairs beautifully with another local speciality – Valtellina’s Nebbiolo based wines.

I have been to Valtellina with friends through the years and last year at the Wine Media Conference in Lake Garda, we were treated to a session on Wines from Valtellina. The wines are made in extremely difficult conditions which require heroic viticulture in an area that has been recognized for the particularity of its unique cultivation zone. They have 2600 kilometers of dry stone wall terracing running along the valley that protect the vines and stabilize the mountainsides as well as protecting the biodiversity on these hillsides. In 2018 Unesco declared the dry stone walls of the Valtellina a World Heritage Site.

The climate is alpine but there are also mitigating elements such as the breezes from nearby Lake Como, and the abundant mountain sunshine.

They make just around 3 million bottles a year and have been growing grapes in the area for centuries. The soils are very rocky, as one might imagine but because of all the sunshine, they are able to ripen fully and even dry on the vine.

Valtellina wines have a number of DOCGs or the highest level of denominations – Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG which is an historic denomination that uses partially dried grapes and is made into a wine that is elegant and noble with a touch of sweetness on account of the alcohol from the dried grapes. It is a perfect match for an aged Bitto cheese. If you are looking for a pairing with a medium aged version of Bitto, say after 2-5 years of aging, I would go with a Valtellina Superiore DOCG. The Valtellina Superiore DOCG wines from one of the five subzones, Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello,Inferno, or Valgella are all beautiful versions of this Nebbiolo-based wine that must age at least 24 months in the cellar before release, at least one year in oak. Its flavors are those of Nebbiolo – violet, rose, dried fruit, animal skin, but also elegant mineral notes that come in Alpine wines.

Rosso di Valtellina DOC is the freshest version of these wines and is available after 6 months of aging. Brighter fruit, fewer tertiary aromas, but all the beauty of Nebbiolo just the same, this is another great option for a pairing with a young Bitto cheese, that available after 70 days of aging.

All of these pairings will be live between Friday, June 9th and Saturday, June 10th. We will also be gathering for a live Twitter chat on Saturday, June 10th at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add it to anything you tweet so we can see it. Here’s the line-up of articles…

• A Grenache Mutant and a Grilled Halloumi Salad by Culinary Cam (you’re here)
• Bitto and Wines from Valtellina by Avvinare
• Franco-American Wine and Cheese Pairings That Span The Globe by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Gruyere Cheese Wine Pairing by Cooking Chat
• In praise of Manchego cheese and Navarra wine by My Full Wine Glass
• Italian Wines with Italian Cheeses and Fontina Gnocchi by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley
• Looking for the Perfect Turkish Wine and Cheese Pairing by The Quirky Cork
• Triple Aged Cheddar Cheeseburger and a Bottle of Cabernet by A Day in the Life on the Farm