Caseificio Il Fiorino
Maremma sheep dairy founded in 1957 by Duilio Fiorini, with an ageing grotto cut into the rock of Roccalbegna in 1962. Visits cover production, the grotto and a guided tasting.
About Pecorino Toscano
A sheep's milk cheese with DOP status since 1996, a cylinder with flat faces and slightly convex sides. Wheels measure 15 to 22 cm across with sides 7 to 11 cm high, and weigh 750 g to 3.5 kg. The milk may be used raw or heat-treated up to pasteurisation, curdled with calf or vegetable rennet, and salted for less time than other pecorini: on average about 16 hours for a fresco and 24 hours for a stagionato. It is sold young (fresco, from 20 days) or aged (stagionato, from 4 months), and was once called cacio marzolino because production began in March.
Made in: Tuscany, plus bordering communes in the provinces of Viterbo (Lazio) and Perugia and Terni (Umbria)
On the plate
Sweet, never salty or spicy, fragrant and pronounced. The fresh cheese is tender with a white to slightly straw paste; the aged one is compact and firm to the cut, slightly straw to straw-coloured.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Pecorino Toscano
Chianti Classico and Chianti Tuscany
Our pickAged Pecorino Toscano is firm and fragrant, with a sweet rather than salty taste. Chianti's high acidity and cherry fruit cut through the paste, and the cheese's mildness leaves the wine's grip intact.
Rosso di Montalcino Tuscany
Our pickA younger stagionato is sweet and fragrant rather than salty. Rosso di Montalcino brings Sangiovese cherry with moderate tannin, light enough that the cheese's gentle sweetness is not lost.
Sangiovese-led Tuscan reds (Toscana IGT) Tuscany
Our pickAn aged Pecorino Toscano is firm and fragrant, sweet rather than salty, so it does not sharpen the tannin of these structured Sangiovese-led reds. Their high acidity cuts through the paste.
Vin Santo Tuscany
Our pickAn aged Pecorino Toscano is firm, fragrant and pronounced in flavour, beside Vin Santo's dried fruit and caramel. The wine is much sweeter than the cheese, which the DOP product sheet calls sweet, never salty.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tuscany
Our pickA fresco is tender and delicately sweet, so a tannic red would dominate it. Vernaccia's high acidity and almond-bitter finish clear the palate between slices.
Colli del Trasimeno Sangiovese Umbria
Our pickQualigeo calls Pecorino Toscano sweet and never salty or piquant. A Colli del Trasimeno Sangiovese, medium bodied with soft, velvety tannin, sits easily beside it. Castiglione del Lago on Trasimeno is one of the two Umbrian communes in the DOP area.
Medium-bodied Sangiovese reds (Umbria IGT) Umbria
Our pickQualigeo calls Pecorino Toscano sweet and never salty or piquant. Medium-bodied, Sangiovese-based Umbria IGT reds with low to medium tannin and medium acidity sit easily beside it and do not sharpen the cheese.
The grapes behind these winesSangioveseSangiovese GrossoVernacciaSangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile)Trebbiano ToscanoMalvasia Bianca Lunga
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Busti Formaggi
Family dairy that began cheesemaking in 1955, when the shepherds Alessandro and Remo Busti came down from the upper Garfagnana. It runs guided tours with tastings, a factory shop and a restaurant at Acciaiolo.
Caseificio Sociale Manciano
Maremma farmers' cooperative making Pecorino Toscano DOP and other cheeses. It opens the plant on reserved mornings, ending with a tasting, and sells directly from the dairy.
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.
Brancaleone da Norcia
The company's oldest shop, on Corso Sertorio. Besides salumi and truffles it sells several Umbrian cheeses, from caciotta dolce and goat cheese to table pecorino and pecorino di fossa.
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.
BottegAlberoBello
Shop and degusteria in Castelluccio di Norcia with a room overlooking the Piano Grande. Sells local salumi, legumes, cheese and truffle products; serves cheese and salumi boards, panini, lentil soup and ricotta desserts.
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.
Farm visit and tasting at La Redola Verde
Guided visit of a sheep and pig farm at Turrita, with a tasting of its products, by reservation. A Slow Food Trevi visit on 11 and 18 April 2026 (held) added a cheese-making demonstration.
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.
Nero Norcia, the black truffle and typical products fair
Norcia's national fair of the black truffle and typical products, running since the 1950s. Norcia.net lists cheese tastings in the programme and live cheese-making demonstrations among the side events.
Pecorino Toscano: questions
How long is Pecorino Toscano DOP aged?
Fresco must age at least 20 days and stagionato at least 4 months, according to the Qualigeo product sheet.
Is Pecorino Toscano made only in Tuscany?
Mostly, but the DOP area also covers bordering communes in the Viterbo province of Lazio and the Perugia and Terni provinces of Umbria.
Is Pecorino Toscano salty or spicy?
Qualigeo describes the taste as sweet, never salty or spicy, and credits a salting much shorter than other pecorini: on average about 16 hours for a fresco and about 24 hours for a stagionato.
When was Pecorino Toscano first protected?
Italy recognised Pecorino Toscano as a denominazione di origine by presidential decree on 17 May 1986, and the EU registered it as a DOP in 1996.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Tuscany
Plan the trip
Visit Pecorino Toscano country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Tuscany
Small Group Tuscany Wine Tasting Safaris with Lunch / Dinner
All 2298 experiences in Tuscany
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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.