BellaVitano Gold
- Producer
- Sartori
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Wisconsin
- Size
- 12-14
- Weight
- 20 lbs
- Website
- www.sartoricheese.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Classification
- Firm
- Rennet
- Microbial
- Rind
- Natural
- Style
- Cheddar-like
Grana / Grating cheese
Established in 1939 by Paolo Sartori, Sartori Cheese Company is a fourth generation family owned business based in Plymouth, Wisconsin.
Well known for hard and Italian-style cheeses, the company sources milk from local, family owned farms within a close radius to the production facility. The herd size at each farm averages 75 cows and many of the farms have worked with Sartori for multiple generations. The company also operates an incentive program that encourages each farm to produce the best quality milk possible.
For production of Sartori’s cheeses, the milk is heated, cultures and rennet are added and, once the milk has coagulated, the curd is cut, releasing the whey, which is drained off.
The remaining curd is hand-salted and transferred into hoops, then pressed for several hours. Newly formed wheels of cheese are placed in a warm “overnight” room to encourage the expulsion of more whey.
Wheels are then trimmed by hand and placed in a brine bath, which encourages the formation of a rind. After the brine bath, the cheese is moved to a curing room for further maturation.
Each variety of cheese is matured for a different length of time. Every batch is tasted at regular intervals during this period and, when they are deemed ready, released for sale.
BellaVitano Gold is an original cheese created by Sartori’s Master cheesemakers. Many of the company’s flavored cheeses—such as Espresso, Raspberry, and Merlot—start out as BellaVitano Gold before coatings are applied.
Tasting Notes
At first taste reminiscent of parmesan, the cheese has light fruity notes and a surprisingly creamy, rich texture. Flavor finishes with a sweet and tangy hit. Notes of butter, amaretto and hazelnut are apparent, and crunchy crystalline bits further enliven the fudgy texture.
Pairings
Pair Reserve BellaVitano Gold with a Chianti, a light Italian red, or a Port. For beer pairings, try an IPA, a sweet cider, or a dark malty ale.
