The local cheeses of Alto Adige with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Alto Adige with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
Qualigeo lists Alto Adige Schiava among the usual partners of Stilfser. These run from light to medium body, with almond, red fruit or violet and low to medium tannin, so the cheese's spicy aroma and intense flavour stay in front.
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Qualigeo lists Alto Adige Pinot Nero as the other usual partner. Its ripe fruit, fresh acidity and medium, fine tannin set off the strong, spicy paste without burying the slight nuttiness Mila finds in the cheese.
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For the more aged wheels Qualigeo recommends Alto Adige Lagrein. Its medium to full body and medium to firm tannin give a longer-aged, stronger cheese a wine of matching weight, and the fat of the paste softens its grip.
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Vinschger has an intense, complex flavour and a long, strong finish (Mila). A dry Alto Adige Riesling with a mineral edge and high acidity cuts through the melting paste and resets the palate.
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Mila describes a nutty, spicy aroma with fine honey notes that develops on the palate. A dry, full-bodied Alto Adige Gewürztraminer brings aromatic weight to match that intensity, with medium acidity to keep the pairing fresh.
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The cheese is mild-sour with a tender, sliceable paste (Sennerei Drei Zinnen). A medium-bodied Alto Adige Pinot Bianco with fresh fruit and high acidity meets that gentle sourness and clears the palate between slices.
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The Käserei Sexten suggests light, fruity white wines for its Almkäse. A medium-bodied Alto Adige Pinot Bianco with high acidity, raised mostly in steel, is fresh enough for a very soft cheese that runs from mild to spicy.
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The Käserei Sexten also suggests light, fruity red wines for its Almkäse. A light-bodied Schiava with low tannin and notes of violet and almond sits easily with the cheese's very soft, supple paste.
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The dairy calls its goat cheese soft to semi-firm and compact, a little sharp when fully ripe. A medium-bodied, aromatic Alto Adige Sauvignon with high acidity sits alongside the goat tang and cuts through the compact paste.
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Mila finds milky, nutty aromas with light pistachio and a pleasant piquancy in Ortler. An oak-raised Alto Adige Chardonnay is full-bodied and broad enough for the nutty paste, and its high acidity handles the spice.
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Vinschger is intense and complex, with light fruit, grass and hay and a long, strong finish. A Sauvignon raised on its lees, partly or wholly in wood, has the breadth to meet it, and its high acidity cuts the melting paste.
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Mila describes an intense hard cheese with milky and toasted notes and a firm yet melting paste. A Pinot Bianco raised on its lees, partly or wholly in large wooden casks, has the depth for that intensity, and its high acidity cuts the fat.
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A Valle Isarco Sylvaner is medium-bodied, with high acidity and a mineral edge. Its freshness clears the palate between slices of the mild-sour, 45 percent fat bar cheese without covering its gentle flavour.
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Slow Food describes a lean cheese with a bitter note that grows with ripeness, classically dressed with oil, wine vinegar and onion. Sylvaner's high acidity can stand next to the vinegar, and its fruit and mineral savour soften the bitterness.
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The dairy describes a mild to slightly spicy cheese with a paste that slices softly. A medium-bodied Santa Maddalena with cherry fruit and low to medium tannin is soft enough for the cheese yet fruity enough to carry its slight spice.
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Mila describes an intense hard cheese with toasted and potato notes and a short, firm, melting paste. A full-bodied Lagrein Riserva, aged in oak, brings depth and firm tannin to match the cheese's concentration.
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Mila serves Pustertaler with speck or apples and calls it mild-aromatic. A medium-bodied Valle Isarco Grüner Veltliner with a spicy, herbal edge and high acidity keeps the supple paste fresh without covering it.
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Stilfser's washed rind gives a strong, spicy, intense flavour. A sweet late-harvest Alto Adige wine sets its sweetness against that salt and spice, and its high acidity keeps the pairing from cloying.
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Marienberger is mild, fresh and milky (Mila). An Alto Adige Kerner with peach fruit and high acidity brings juicy freshness, so the harmonious, supple paste is lifted rather than covered.
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This is a lean cheese, 8 percent fat, mild and faintly sour. A dry, medium-bodied Müller-Thurgau with high acidity and an aromatic lift echoes the faint sourness and has no weight to bury a lean paste.
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The EU publication of the PDO specification gives a cylindrical wheel with flat faces and straight or slightly concave sides, 34 to 38 cm across and 8 to 11 cm high, weighing 8 to 10 kg.
Qualigeo says it is usually paired with Alto Adige Pinot Nero or Schiava, and that the more aged wheels suit Alto Adige Lagrein.
Italian Wikipedia says every stage, from milking to ripening, must take place in the production area of 84 municipalities of the province of Bolzano, which includes the city of Bolzano itself.
Mila calls it the only South Tyrolean cheese with a protected designation of origin, held since 2007.
Slow Food says it is made with the milk left over from butter-making, curdled by acidification without rennet, so the fat in the dry matter stays under 2 percent.
Slow Food gives the classic way as small pieces dressed with seed or olive oil, wine vinegar and a little thin onion. The Käserei Sexten page also names Pressknödel (cheese dumplings) as a use.
Slow Food and the Ahrntal tourist board both say it has no rind; grey-green mould forms on the surface as it ripens. Producers differ, and the Moarhof describes a thin ripened outer layer around a white, curdy core.
Italy lists South Tyrol Graukäse as a traditional agri-food product (PAT), and Slow Food runs a presidium for the Valle Aurina version. German Wikipedia notes that Tiroler Graukäse holds an EU protected designation of origin, citing the Austrian register; that designation covers the cheese of the Austrian state of Tyrol, not South Tyrol.
