Cheeses

Mountain Asiago PDO: ten years’ maturation for a cheese costing 400 euros per kilo

Wine led the way; now other food products are also focusing on market segmentation. Following on from Grana and Parmigiano comes the super-premium Asiago

by Giorgio dell'Orefice

10 September 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Segmentation initiated by Grana Padano and Parmigiano
Made with mountain dairy milk and stirred by hand every day for ten years
No GMOs or silage in cattle feed
The use of traditional techniques even during the processing stage

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Following in the footsteps of wine, other ‘Made in Italy’ food products have also embarked on a path of upward market segmentation, or ‘premiumisation’. These certainly include the large-format products of the traditional Italian dairy industry, which for some years now have been producing and marketing ‘reserve’ or special editions.

Segmentation initiated by Grana Padano and Parmigiano

It all began with the great Grana cheeses – Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano – with their long maturation periods, or even with specialities such as ‘red cow’ Parmigiano, but this approach is now gradually being extended.

According to international experts, a ten-year-old wheel of Asiago PDO ‘Prodotto della Montagna’ has an estimated value of between 350 and 400 euros per kilogramme; it was unveiled at ‘Made in Malga’, the national festival dedicated to outstanding dairy products produced above 600 metres, which returns to the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni from 11 to 13 September.

The quote places the Asiago PDO Mountain Product at the very top of the global market for the very finest cheeses, and confirms the value of this niche product and its long maturing periods.

Made with mountain dairy milk and stirred by hand every day for ten years

The ‘Made in Malga’ open-mould cheese was produced using only Alpine pasture milk on 21 September 2016, the feast day of St Matthew the Apostle, the patron saint of Asiago, and was matured for ten years, stored on spruce boards, turned by hand every day and assessed by an expert until it reached the optimum stage of maturity.

Already recognised as one of the ten most prized cheeses in the world since 2017 and named the very best cow’s milk cheese at Luxury Cheese, a global showcase for the rarest cheeses, Asiago PDO ‘Prodotto della Montagna’ is now a benchmark for connoisseurs and haute cuisine.

No GMOs or silage in cattle feed

A rarity produced each year in just a few thousand wheels in the mountain pastures and dairies at altitudes above 600 metres in the provinces of Vicenza and Trento alone. In a natural landscape rich in biodiversity, home to over 700 different species, the milk used to produce Asiago PDO ‘Prodotto della Montagna’ comes from grazing cows fed on grass and hay, free from GMOs and silage, and imbues the 100 per cent natural cheese with the characteristics of the local landscape, where scents, flowers and herbs vary according to altitude and aspect.

Traditional techniques are also used during the processing stage

But beyond livestock farming and milk production, the processing stage also preserves and passes on traditional techniques, such as the use in mountain dairies of copper cauldrons still fired with wood which, combined with the cheesemaker’s craftsmanship and experience, make each wheel of cheese unique.

A process in which time is an integral part of the quality, resulting in a cheese with a complex, pleasant and intense aroma, with notes of toasted nuts, walnuts and spices, alongside hints of wild berries, herbs and mountain flowers, where the sensory explosion on the palate is accompanied by an unrivalled lingering aftertaste.

The unveiling of the ten-year-aged Asiago PDO ‘Prodotto della Montagna’ during the ‘Made in Malga’ event also marks an important milestone: the first twenty years of ‘Asiago Prodotto della Montagna’, which was introduced into the production specifications for PDO cheese in 20206. This anniversary thus symbolises a supply chain in which the local area, time and cheese-making expertise come together to create a product that today finds its finest expression in longer maturation periods and niche productions.

Giorgio dell’OreficeVicecaposervizio
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Luogo: Roma
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: agricoltura, agroalimentare, made in Italy, vitinicoltura, olio
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