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.
About Piave
A hard cow's-milk cheese made only in the province of Belluno, in the Dolomites. At least 80 per cent of the milk comes from Italian Brown, Grey Alpine, Red Pied and Friesian cows kept in the zone, and the starters are made from raw milk. Qualigeo links its history to the first cooperative village dairies (latterie turnarie) of the nineteenth century. The consortium gives wheels 27 to 32 cm across and 7 to 8 cm high, from about 7 kg when fresh to 5.5 kg for Riserva.
Made in: The whole province of Belluno
On the plate
Sweet and milky when fresh, then increasingly savoury and intense with age, but never spicy, per Qualigeo. The consortium adds an aroma of alpine herbs and flowers; aged wheels turn golden and crumbly and are grated.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Piave
Amarone della Valpolicella Veneto
Our pickAn aged Piave Vecchio or Riserva is savoury, intense and crumbly, never spicy, per Qualigeo and the consortium. Amarone, dry but rich from dried grapes, with full body and firm tannin, stands up to that concentration.
Soave Classico Veneto
Our pickQualigeo calls fresh Piave milky and sweet. A dry, unoaked Soave Classico with high acidity contrasts with that mildness and keeps the pairing from feeling heavy.
Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Veneto
Our pickPiave Mezzano, aged two to six months, is turning savoury and intense but never spicy, with an aroma of alpine herbs. A Cartizze, off-dry with fine bubbles, sets its touch of sugar against the cheese's salt and leaves the palate clean.
The grapes behind these winesCorvinaGarganegaGlera
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
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.
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.
Piave: questions
How is Piave aged?
Fresco 20 to 60 days, Mezzano 61 to 180 days, Vecchio over 180 days, Vecchio Selezione Oro over 12 months and Vecchio Riserva over 18 months, per Qualigeo.
What is formai frit?
Qualigeo calls it a traditional dish of Belluno cooking: fried cheese served with polenta and sauerkraut.
Where can Piave be made?
Only in the province of Belluno, with milk collected there.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Veneto
Plan the trip
Visit Piave country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Booking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.
Sources: protection register, www.qualigeo.eu, www.formaggiopiave.it. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.