Podere il Casale
Working farm a few kilometres from Pienza with its own sheep and goat dairy making pecorino, caprino and ricotta from unpasteurised milk. Tours cover production from fermentation to ageing and end with a tasting.
About Pecorino di Pienza
A sheep's milk pecorino of the Pienza area, made from milk collected in early spring and sold fresh, semi-aged (up to 60 days) or aged (4 months or more). It is not a protected name of its own. The marzolino of Pienza is a spring cheese, usually oval rather than round, eaten after 10 to 20 days. Semi-aged wheels have a rind treated with olive oil and tomato concentrate, aged ones with olive oil and vegetable charcoal, and ageing in oak barrels is recorded as traditional.
Made in: Around Pienza, in the Siena area
On the plate
Fresh cheeses recall just-milked milk. Semi-aged ones are slightly savoury with delicate herbal notes; aged ones have an intense aroma and flavour with good saltiness.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Pecorino di Pienza
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Tuscany
Our pickA semi-aged Pienza is slightly savoury with herbal notes, an aged one intense and well salted. Vino Nobile, Sangiovese with high acidity and a tannic grip, handles the salt and keeps the herbal notes in view.
Chianti Classico Riserva Tuscany
Our pickAged Pienza has an intense aroma and good saltiness. A Chianti Classico Riserva, Sangiovese with high acidity and the grip of longer ageing, has the structure to hold its own against that salt.
Vin Santo Tuscany
Our pickAn aged Pienza with its good saltiness against a Vin Santo of caramel and dried fruit: salt and sugar set each other off, and the wine's high acidity keeps the sweetness from cloying.
Rosso di Montepulciano Tuscany
Our pickA semi-aged Pienza is slightly savoury with delicate herbal notes. Rosso di Montepulciano, an 8-month Prugnolo Gentile with medium tannin and high acidity, is lighter than Vino Nobile and leaves those herbs audible.
Barrel-fermented Tuscan Chardonnay blends Tuscany
Our pickA semi-aged Pienza is slightly savoury with herbal notes. A full-bodied, oak-aged Chardonnay blend from Pomino or Toscana IGT has the weight for it, with high acidity to lift the savoury paste.
The grapes behind these winesSangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile)SangioveseChardonnayTrebbiano Toscano
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Caseificio Cugusi
Family dairy at Montepulciano making Pecorino di Pienza since 1962, founded by a Sardinian family. Visitors can book a tasting that explains production, or an outdoor picnic.
Caseificio Di Mario
Family dairy making sheep and goat cheeses: classic, fermented and spiced pecorini, with black pepper, walnuts or basil and pine nuts. Its shop is La Bottega del Naturista in Pienza.
Casa Fiorini
The Grosseto shop of Caseificio Il Fiorino, opened in October 2024 on about 130 square metres, with its whole cheese range, fresh ricotta, cured meats, wine and craft beer.
Antichi Sapori di Pienza
Zazzeri family shop on Corso il Rossellino selling fresh and aged Pecorino di Pienza, Cinta Senese salumi, wine and olive oil, with an online shop for orders.
Pieragnoli Bottega
Bottega of the Pieragnoli dairy and salumeria at Vaiano, open weekdays and Saturday morning. The house catalogue covers cheeses, pecorini, cured meats, pasta, wine and oil.
Cheese experiences nearby
Fiera del Cacio, Pienza
Pienza's cheese fair, started in 1974 on the initiative of the Pro Loco's first president: pecorino stalls and local food, demonstrations and children's activities, and the Cacio al Fuso game, in which the town's six contrade roll pecorino wheels toward a spindle in Piazza Pio II.
Il Segreto del Pecorino at Caseificio Il Fiorino
Guided visit of the Fiorino dairy and its natural ageing grotto, then a tasting of four pecorini with fresh ricotta, honey and preserves, bread and a glass of sparkling wine. The 4-hour Sulle Vie della Transumanza route (60 EUR) adds a tour of medieval Roccalbegna and six pecorini. By reservation only.
Caseifici Aperti, Pecorino Toscano DOP open dairies
Annual programme of the Pecorino Toscano DOP consortium: free guided visits to a few member dairies, among them Busti, Il Fiorino and Caseificio Sociale Manciano, showing how the cheese is made. Each dairy sets its own visit dates and takes bookings by its own contact.
Busti dairy tours with tasting
Guided routes through the Busti dairy, each ending with a tasting. Four formats: Nonna Emma (4 cheeses), La Pec (3 cheeses with La Pec ricotta), Pecorino Toscano DOP (4 cheeses and Tuscan charcuterie) and Grotte (5 cheeses and a hot first course, plus the ageing cave visit). Minimum 2 participants.
Tasting and visit at Corzano e Paterno
Tasting of four wines with a board of four cheeses, or a guided tour of the winery and dairy (the dairy is seen from outside) followed by the tasting. Tastings and visits run Monday to Saturday by reservation, for up to 20 people; tours leave at 11:00 and 16:00, the afternoon one in summer only for the larger board.
Pienza Pecorino cheese tour (Valdichiana Living)
Three-hour visit to a working sheep dairy, seeing cheese processing and tasting Pienza pecorino at different stages of ageing. Booked through the Strada del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which lists departures at 10:30 or 16:00; Visit Tuscany lists the operator as Valdichiana Living and a 13:00 slot. Transport on request.
Pecorino di Pienza: questions
Is Pecorino di Pienza a DOP?
No. The protected sheep cheese of the region is Pecorino Toscano DOP; Pecorino di Pienza is not a protected name of its own.
What wine goes with Pecorino di Pienza?
Fattoria Bucanuova, a producer, says its marzolino pairs well with medium-bodied white and red wines. Our own pairings suggest Vino Nobile for aged wheels and Vin Santo as a sweet contrast.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Tuscany
Plan the trip
Visit Pecorino di Pienza country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Tuscany
Small Group Tuscany Wine Tasting Safaris with Lunch / Dinner
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Sources: fattoriabucanuova.it, www.discovertuscany.com. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.