Genuine Fontina is made only in the steep-sided Val d'Aosta in the Italian Alps. Fontina has a creamy brown rind which is thin and oily. The paste is smooth and buttery, when young. It has a pale straw color and a few small holes.
As the cheese matures for 7 months it becomes darker and much drier. Sweet and nutty, Fontina has a complex, balanced taste and a light aroma.
The preparation of this fine Italian gourmet cheese is a recipe that has been handed down over the centuries. It is made exclusively with raw, full-cream milk, from the Valdaostan breed of cows, fed on grass during the summer and local hay throughout the rest of the year.
The milk is made into cheese within two hours of milking so as to preserve all its genuine qualities and fragrance. The gourmet cheese is matured in caves; Fontina needs constant and daily care to ripen.
For a new appreciation of the complexity and balance of the finest Italian gourmet cheeses; do try our Fontina.