Malga Montasio
Dairy and agriturismo at 1,519 m on the Montasio plateau, run by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia breeders' association. Open only in the summer grazing season, indicatively June to September; closed in autumn and winter.
About Montasio
Made only from cow's milk collected inside its zone. The milk is worked raw or thermised, never pasteurised, and the curd is cooked at 42 to 48 C. Aged at least 60 days, it is sold as Fresco, Mezzano, Stagionato or Stravecchio, and a wheel aged beyond 100 days that passes the consortium's expert panel earns the fire-branded Quality Gold mark. Qualigeo traces the cheese to the monks of Moggio Udinese abbey in the thirteenth century and gives a 1773 Udine price list as the earliest written record. Italy reserved the name Montasio for a typical cheese in 1955, by method only; a 1986 presidential decree made it a denominazione di origine, and the EU a DOP in 1996.
Made in: All of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, plus Treviso and Belluno and parts of Venice and Padua in the Veneto
On the plate
Fresco is milky, soft and delicate, with notes of fresh milk, yoghurt and cream. Mezzano is fuller and more decided, with melted butter, cheese rind and hay. Past ten months it turns savoury, with dried fruit, hay and broth notes, and the paste becomes granular and crumbly.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Montasio
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Local traditionQualigeo lists Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso with Montasio. Its dark fruit and brisk acidity cut through the butter-and-hay richness of a Mezzano or older wheel.
Ribolla Gialla from the Collio hills Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Local traditionQualigeo lists Collio Ribolla Gialla among the wines for Montasio. These skin-fermented Ribollas from the Collio hills bring tea-like tannin, dried apricot and acidity to meet the granular, crumbly paste of an aged wheel.
Picolit (Colli Orientali del Friuli DOCG) Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Local traditionQualigeo names Colli Orientali Picolit among the wines for Montasio. Its honeyed sweetness plays against the salty, savoury paste of an aged Stagionato or Stravecchio, and high acidity keeps it from cloying.
Prosecco Veneto
Local traditionQualigeo lists Prosecco DOP among the wines of the Montasio zone that it is paired with. Young Montasio is milky and soft; a dry Prosecco's acidity and bubbles lift that richness and leave the mouth clean.
Raboso del Piave Veneto
Local traditionQualigeo lists Piave Raboso among the wines Montasio is paired with. Raboso is tannic and high in acidity; an aged Montasio, savoury and aromatic per Qualigeo, brings fat and salt that soften the grip.
Colli Orientali Merlot Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Local traditionWikipedia's article on Friulian cuisine lists Merlot, Refosco and Cabernet among the common reds drunk with frico, Montasio and aged latteria. Merlot's dark plum and firm, fine tannin frame the savoury, granular paste of a long-aged wheel.
Friulian sparkling wine Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Our pickQualigeo lists Prosecco DOP among the wines for Montasio. A dry, light Friulian spumante brings the same fresh acidity and fine bubbles, cleaning the palate between milky, yoghurty bites of young Fresco.
The grapes behind these winesGleraRefosco dal Peduncolo RossoRibolla GiallaPicolitMerlotRaboso Piave
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Lattebusche
Belluno cooperative founded in 1954 at Busche, Cesiomaggiore. It makes Piave DOP (Italian Wikipedia calls it the leading producer), Montasio, Asiago Fresco, Grana Padano and Schiz.
Caseificio Val Tagliamento
Dairy founded at Enemonzo in 1903 for farms of the Tagliamento, Degano and Val Pesarina valleys. It makes Latteria Enemonzo, Montasio DOP labelled Prodotto della Montagna and the Cuor di Carnia caciotta; shops at Enemonzo and Ovaro open daily.
Latteria Sociale di Cividale e Valli del Natisone
Cooperative founded in 1924 with 20 active member farms, turning about 120 quintals of milk a day into Latteria, Matajur, Saporito delle Valli, Il Cividale and Montasio DOP, sold in its own shops.
Latteria Sociale di Coderno
Cooperative founded in 1889 as a turnaria dairy, using only its members' milk for about 30 products, among them Montasio, Latteria, mozzarella and smoked ricotta. It sells through its own shops across Friuli.
Latteria Soligo
Cooperative founded in 1883 in the Marca Trevigiana. It makes Casatella Trevigiana DOP, Asiago DOP (Fresco and Stagionato), Montasio DOP and Grana Padano DOP, and sells through its own shops.
Spaccio Caseificio Ponte di Barbarano
Shop next to the cooperative dairy, rebuilt and enlarged in 2018. Besides cheese it sells a wide range of dairy products.
Caseificio Gugole shop
Opened in the 1990s so that people of the Val d'Alpone could buy the Gugole products directly. Open Monday to Saturday with a midday break.
Spaccio Pennar, Asiago
Shop at the dairy on Via Pennar. Pennar lists two more, Mörar at Via Ceresara 18 in Asiago and Tresché at Cesuna in Roana, and announces one in Vicenza as opening soon.
La Casara Roncolato, Soave
Second shop of La Casara Roncolato, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Soave, closed on Sundays.
Cheese experiences nearby
Festa Storica del Formaggio Monte Veronese, Erbezzo
Cheese festival in the streets of Erbezzo with a competition between Monte Veronese DOP cheeses, a guided tasting, a children's cheese-making workshop and direct sales by producers. The 2026 edition was the 34th.
Moonlight Lessinia, full-moon hikes with a mountain-hut dinner
Guided full-moon hikes in the Lessinia Natural Park followed by a tasting dinner with the Monte Veronese Consortium. In 2025-2026 the dinners were at a traditional malga, with Monte Veronese DOP and VinNatur natural wines, and the hikes were led by AIGAE guides.
Caseificio Aperto, open day at the Barbarano dairy
Open day at the cooperative dairy with guided visits, tastings of its cheeses and local products, and the shop open. It is free, needs no booking, and the dairy reports about 2,000 visitors a year.
Guided visit to the Ponte di Barbarano dairy
A 35 to 40 minute walk through nearly all the dairy rooms to see milk turned into Grana Padano and Asiago Pressato, with a tasting at the end and the shop next door. Booking by phone or email is required.
Gemona, formaggio e... dintorni
Gemona's autumn cheese fair, in its 25th edition in 2026, held in the historic centre to showcase the area's cheese production, with food and wine stands, tastings and producers from outside the region.
Guided visit to the Pennar dairy, Asiago
Guided visit of the Caseificio Pennar dairy on weekday afternoons, Monday to Friday 15:00 to 17:00, by reservation through the form on the dairy's visits page or by phone.
Montasio: questions
Is Montasio made with raw milk?
The consortium says the milk is worked raw or thermised and never pasteurised.
How long is Montasio aged?
At least 60 days. Qualigeo lists Fresco at 2 to 4 months, Mezzano at 4 to 10, Stagionato over 10 and Stravecchio over 18.
How big is a wheel of Montasio?
Qualigeo gives 5.5 to 8 kg, 27 to 35 cm across and a heel no higher than 8 cm.
Which wines go with Montasio?
Qualigeo names Prosecco, Friuli DOP wines, Raboso del Piave, Collio Ribolla Gialla, and Colli Orientali Picolit and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso.
What does the Montasio rind look like?
The consortium describes a smooth, elastic, light brown rind on a young cheese that turns drier and darker with age.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Plan the trip
Visit Montasio country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Prosciutto Ham Factory Visit & Lunch Tasting near Udine
All 273 experiences in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
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Sources: protection register, www.montasio.com, www.qualigeo.eu. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
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