A rarity among rarities. From sheep milk marbled cheese, which is rare, we have created an even rarer one aged with Vin Santo “vinacce” grape skins (from Trebbiano, Malvasia and Pulcinculo grapes of the Sant’Anna di Montepulciano Winery -Siena) and therefore available only few months of the year.
“Vinacce”, are grape skins from grapes that are dried and then squeezed to obtain the juice that will become the famous Vin Santo Toscano after 7 years.  Very few pieces of this cheese are produced to give great joy to the very few who will be privileged enough to try it. Blending two excellent types of cheese together is risky and may end up damaging both; however, we have managed to obtain the best from this product.

Ingredients: pasteurised sheep MILK, live milk enzymes, rennet, salt and Penicillium roqueforti, dried and squeezed grape skins
Weight: approximately 3.8 Kg.
Packing: it is wrapped in aluminium foil.
Shelf life of packed product: 60 days.

ALLERGENS: MILK and MILK PROTEIN

Cheese characteristics:
SHAPE: cylindrical with flat but irregular surfaces and rounded sides and traces of grape skins.
EXTERNAL FEATURES: the rind is barely visible under the brown grape skins; it is also mouldy and moist, of medium consistency.
INTERNAL FEATURES: when cut the marbling is brownish but once opened, after a 20-minute exposure to air, it will bloom and turn blue-green, the veins are not evenly distributed; the paste at the centre is white, changing to straw-yellow or amber towards the rind.
ODOR: an interesting cheese, it clearly releases lactic and buttery scents, vegetation like mushroom as well as the typical strong hints of sheep and barn. The rind also carries an aroma of alcohol and fruit.
FLAVOUR: the initial saltiness dissolves gently giving space to its intense persistence and smell; many of the aromas are also reflected in the flavour. This cheese is complex and interesting with a variety of intense flavours, a real meditation cheese.

Availability: limited and numbered.

Food pairing: this is a meditation cheese that can be served at any point of the meal and in different ways. As an aperitivo, antipasto and on a cheese platter it will enhance the variety served. It can be used to make main courses like risotto or in stuffed pasta like ravioli, and to make sauces for side dishes or as a dessert cheese paired with a sweet wine.

Wine pairing: best paired with a sweet Tuscan Vin Santo, Malvasia, a late harvest wine, and to mention other Italian wines, with an aleatico from the Elba Island or a passito from Pantelleria.