Luigi Guffanti 1876
Cheese ager at Arona, on Lake Maggiore, trading since 1876. A shop is open six days a week, and the cellars and a tasting route can be visited by appointment.
About Gorgonzola
A blue cheese shared between Lombardy and Piedmont, made from whole pasteurised cow's milk inoculated with lactic ferments, Penicillium spores and selected yeasts. The wheels are pierced with needles so the blue-green and grey-blue veins can form. Piedmont's part of the zone covers Novara, Vercelli, Biella, Cuneo, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and 31 communes of Alessandria. Two main types: Dolce, sweeter and softer, and Piccante, aged longer; a whole wheel weighs about 12 kg (Wikipedia).
Made in: Provinces of Lombardy, and in Piedmont Biella, Cuneo, Vercelli, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and 31 communes of Alessandria
On the plate
Qualigeo gives the flavour as running from sweet or slightly piquant (Dolce) to very piquant (Piccante); Piccante is aged 80 to 270 days against 50 to 150 for Dolce. The paste is white to straw, marbled with blue-green and grey-blue veins, under an inedible grey or pinkish rind.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Gorgonzola
Moscato d'Asti Piedmont
Our pickSweet against salty and veined: a Dolce Gorgonzola, soft with a sweet to slightly piquant flavour, meets a sweet, low-alcohol, fizzy Moscato whose sugar and bubbles refresh the palate.
Barolo Piedmont
Our pickQualigeo says Gorgonzola Piccante prefers well-structured, aged reds. A very piquant, longer-aged Piccante can overwhelm a delicate wine, so it wants a Barolo with enough tannin and age to stand up to it.
The grapes behind these winesNebbioloMoscato Bianco
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Palzola
Gorgonzola maker since 1948 in the Novara hills. The company shop beside the plant sells the Gorgonzola DOP range and tomini, with Piedmontese specialities, six days a week.
Igor Gorgonzola, I.M.G. farm store
Retail point of the Igor Gorgonzola family firm, selling its Gorgonzola DOP, a spicy version and a goat blue. The company's headquarters are on Strada Natale Leonardi in Cameri.
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.
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.
Gorgonzola: questions
Is Gorgonzola made in Piedmont?
Yes. Qualigeo lists Novara, Vercelli, Biella, Cuneo, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and 31 communes of Alessandria as part of the zone, alongside ten Lombard provinces.
Is the rind of Gorgonzola edible?
No. Qualigeo says the grey or pinkish rind is not edible.
Dolce or Piccante?
Dolce suits soft reds or whites; Piccante suits well-structured aged reds, according to Qualigeo.
When was Gorgonzola first protected?
Italy first recognised Gorgonzola as a denominazione di origine in the presidential decree of 30 October 1955, and the EU registered it as a DOP in 1996.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Piedmont
Plan the trip
Visit Gorgonzola 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.