Giolito Formaggi
Four-generation family cheese shop in the historic centre of Bra, working as an affineur with its own ageing cells and cellar. It favours raw-milk cheeses and small producers.
About Bra
Named for the town of Bra, once the main place where it was ripened and sold, this is a cow's milk cheese, sometimes part-skimmed, that may take small additions of goat or sheep milk. It comes in two types: Tenero, with an elastic rind and white or ivory paste, and Duro, with a hard rind and paste from pale straw to ochre. Either can be labelled d'Alpeggio when made and aged in the mountain zone of Cuneo. Wheels are flat cylinders 30 to 40 cm across, 5 to 10 cm high and 5 to 9 kg (Wikipedia).
Made in: The whole province of Cuneo and the commune of Villafranca Piemonte in Turin province
On the plate
Qualigeo calls Tenero pleasantly fragrant, a table cheese; Duro is savoury and full of aroma, for the table and for grating. Bra d'Alpeggio is considered the most esteemed Bra, with ochre paste, compact texture, fine eyes and an intense, piquant, strongly savoury taste.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Bra
Barbera d'Alba Piedmont
Our pickQualigeo pairs Bra Duro with Piedmont reds of more body and structure. Barbera d'Alba's bright acidity cuts through the savoury, aromatic aged paste, and its ripe fruit has the weight to match it.
Nizza Piedmont
Our pickBra Duro is savoury and full of aroma, aged at least 180 days. Nizza, Barbera from the Asti hills at its fullest, has the body to match that depth, and its high acidity cuts through the hard, savoury paste.
Dolcetto (d'Alba and Dogliani) Piedmont
Our pickQualigeo recommends young Piedmont reds with Bra Tenero. Dolcetto fits: a young, fruity red with soft tannin, easy beside the mild, fragrant white paste of a Tenero.
The grapes behind these winesBarberaDolcetto
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Latteria Bera
Turin dairy shop three minutes from Piazza Castello, taken over in 1958 by Romola and her sisters Marta and Bruna and run by her granddaughter Chiara since 2016. It sells Piedmontese specialities and DOP cheeses, and hosts booked tastings in the shop.
Borgiattino Formaggi
Cheese and wine shop under the arcades of Corso Vinzaglio since 1927, known for Piedmontese cheeses such as Castelmagno, Raschera and robiola, alongside Italian and foreign ones.
Cheese experiences nearby
Cheese, Slow Food's cheese festival in Bra
Slow Food's biennial fair of raw-milk cheeses fills the centre of Bra with artisan producers, tastings, workshops and talks. The 2025 edition was the fifteenth.
Cheese Tasting at Giolito
Guided walk through the shop's cold counter, workshop, ageing rooms and the ageing cellar, which holds a small cheese museum, then a tasting in a dedicated room. For larger summer groups a tent can be set up in the courtyard. Contact the shop to reserve.
Castelmagno at the table at La Meiro
The farm's locanda serves Castelmagno in its different types and ageings, and gnocchi al Castelmagno are always on the daily menu, in the valley where the cheese is made. Opening is seasonal.
Cellars and tasting at Guffanti
Cellar visits and a guided tasting route at the Arona ageing house, by reservation. Private tastings in dedicated rooms pair its cheeses with bread and wine; English-language visits are available on booking.
Visit to the Valcasotto ageing cellars
Booked visit to the rock cellars of an alpine hamlet where cheeses rest on twelve kinds of wood, with a company shop on site. Cheeses include Castelmagno di Alpeggio and the Cusiè range.
Tasting in the shop at Latteria Bera
Shop tasting of boards of cheeses and cured meats with handmade bread, grissini rubatà and a glass of wine, with panna and zabaione as an option. Book at least a day ahead.
Bra: questions
What is the difference between Bra Tenero and Duro?
Tenero is aged at least 45 days and has an elastic rind and white or ivory paste; Duro is aged at least 180 days, with a hard rind and straw to ochre paste, per Qualigeo.
What does d'Alpeggio mean on a Bra label?
That the cheese was made and aged in the mountain zone of Cuneo province from milk of the same origin, according to Qualigeo.
Which wine goes with Bra?
Qualigeo pairs Tenero with young Piedmont reds and Duro with Piedmont reds of more body and structure.
When was Bra first protected?
Italy recognised Bra as a denominazione di origine by presidential decree on 16 December 1982, and the EU registered it as a DOP in 1996.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Piedmont
Plan the trip
Visit Bra country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, www.qualigeo.eu, it.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.