The local cheeses of Umbria with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Umbria 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.
The pecorino is piquant; Sagrantino is a tannic, long red. Salt and fat soften the tannin, and the wine's fruit stands up to the sharpness. An aged wedge has the weight to meet it.
Bottles to try:
Piquant aged pecorino against a sweet passito: the sugar quiets the sharpness of the cheese while the wine's balancing tannin keeps the match from going syrupy. A dessert-course pairing.
Bottles to try:
A sliceable sheep's milk pecorino rubbed with olive oil and herbs wants a red with grip but not heavy tannin. Sangiovese-led Montefalco Rosso gives red fruit, medium tannin and freshness that carry the thyme and mint notes.
Bottles to try:
Qualigeo describes a milky, cooked-butter aroma, a tender paste and a delicate flavour. A dry Grechetto with medium to high acidity cuts the cream without covering it. Best with the young dolce type.
Bottles to try:
Aged pecorino with a drizzle of honey meets a Torgiano Vin Santo whose aromas run to apricot, dried figs and honey. Sweet against salt, with medium acidity to refresh the mouth.
Bottles to try:
Chopped truffle gives the caciotta a pronounced truffle aroma. Trebbiano Spoletino is a dry, fresh white of some structure, so it freshens the mouth and can stand next to the truffle.
Bottles to try:
Pecorino di Norcia is piquant. Full-bodied Umbria IGT reds built on Cabernet, Merlot or Syrah, with medium to firm tannin, have the weight to meet an aged wheel without being flattened by its sharpness.
Bottles to try:
The riserva caciottone, 121 to 365 days, is fragrant and lasting with a marked cream aftertaste. Torgiano Rosso Riserva, 100% Sangiovese and full-bodied with medium to firm tannin, matches that persistence.
Bottles to try:
The riserva caciottone is fragrant, persistent, with a marked cream aftertaste. A full-bodied noble-rot white with sweetness and high acidity sets sugar against that cream and keeps it from cloying.
Bottles to try:
The riserva is the longest-aged type, 121 to 365 days. Qualigeo describes the cheese as fragrant and persistent with a marked cream aftertaste. A full-bodied Montefalco Rosso Riserva with medium to firm tannin has the structure to meet it.
Bottles to try:
Strong in flavour and lightly salty, grated over pasta or soups or eaten with oil and pepper. A dry, high-acid Orvieto Classico Superiore refreshes the salt and suits the simple dishes the cheese usually goes into.
Bottles to try:
Qualigeo 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.
Bottles to try:
Qualigeo 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.
Bottles to try:
The herbs and oil of a pecorino aged in barrels need a red with grip but not heavy tannin. Torgiano Rosso, Sangiovese-based and medium-bodied with medium tannin and acidity, carries that herbal aroma without covering it.
Bottles to try:
A herbal, aromatic pecorino from the barrel wants grip without heavy tannin. Full-bodied Colli Perugini reds from Sangiovese with Ciliegiolo, Merlot or Sagrantino, with medium to firm tannin, can carry those herbs.
Bottles to try:
The chopped truffle gives this caciotta a pronounced aroma. Trasimeno Gamay is a medium-bodied red with medium to low tannin and medium acidity, gentle enough not to compete with the truffle.
Bottles to try:
Strong and lightly salty, this ricotta is eaten with oil and pepper or grated over pasta. A fresh, dry white with high acidity refreshes the salt and leaves the cheese's flavour to speak.
Bottles to try:
Caciottone has a milky, cooked-butter aroma and a marked cream aftertaste. Full-bodied whites fermented or aged in oak, with creamy texture and high acidity, match the cream while the acidity keeps the pairing fresh.
Bottles to try:
A young dolce caciottone is tender, milky and delicate. A light to medium-bodied dry rosato with high acidity cuts the cream and leaves the cheese's delicate flavour in place.
Bottles to try:
The flavors of Umbrian cuisine combined with the scents and flavors of the SAIO Assisi wines. A gastronomic journey that takes you to discover Assisi and its traditions.
Discover the beauty of Umbria on a private day trip from Perugia or Assisi. Explore Assisi, taste award-winning olive oil, and enjoy a relaxed lunch in a family-run trattoria.
Private guided tour of Perugia: explore Etruscan history, Renaissance art, and visit the Casa del Cioccolato Perugina with tastings of iconic chocolate.
Pasteurised cow's and sheep's milk. The Qualigeo product sheet sets the cow's milk at 90 to 95 percent and the sheep's milk at 5 to 10 percent.
Only in the communes of Norcia, Cascia, Monteleone di Spoleto, Preci and Poggiodomo in the province of Perugia, according to the Qualigeo sheet.
The EU registration is dated 2 August 2024, as the Qualigeo sheet records and the Caciottone di Norcia association's own site confirms.
No. It is a traditional agri-food product (PAT) of Umbria, not a DOP or IGP; the protected cheese of Norcia is the mixed-milk Caciottone di Norcia.
A cylinder 15 to 24 cm across and 8 to 14 cm high, weighing 3 to 5 kg, according to the Atlante Caseario sheet.
Atlante Caseario says each shepherd makes his own rennet and dries it near the fire, which gives every cheese a slight smoky note.
Only in two communes. The Consorzio's disciplinare page lists Allerona and Castiglione del Lago as the Umbrian communes whose sheep's milk may be used; everywhere else in the DOP area is in Tuscany or Lazio.
Fresco at least 20 days and stagionato at least 4 months, per the Qualigeo product sheet.
