In the Prosecco Hills, among the scattered barns of the Treviso Prealps, two cheeses are still made that almost no one, outside of here, knows by name. You won't find them in the supermarket, nor even in many wine bars in the area: they are called Grillo de Colmajor and Grotta del Caglieron cheese, and their story tells of something greater than a simple dairy product — it speaks of the daily toil of the cooperative dairies that, since the 19th century, have kept alive an increasingly fragile piece of mountain economy.
Around these parts, between Vittorio Veneto, Follina and Fregona, social dairies are historic cooperatives: they pool the milk from widespread, small-scale farms, process it collectively and sell it on the local market. The largest and most structured is the Latteria Sociale di Soligo, which over the years has incorporated other local enterprises (San Giacomo, Agri Cansiglio di Fregona, Collalbrigo). Alongside it, on a smaller scale, the cooperative dairies of Tarzo and Sant’Antonio di Tortal still survive. Together they also produce Montasio PDO, Casatella Trevigiana PDO, ricotta and mascarpone — but the two rarest products, the ones truly at risk of disappearing with the decline in the number of farms and generational handover in the mountains, are none other than Grillo de Colmajor and the cheese matured in the Grotta del Caglieron.
Il Grillo de Colmajor is made from raw cow's milk from the Brown breed, raised in the area between Vittorio Veneto and Follina, and is produced by the Latteria Sociale di Tarzo. It is not an anonymous cheese: it is multi-award-winning, having won gold for five consecutive years (2007-2011) and again in 2019 and 2020, as well as silver at the 2013 Caseus Veneti. This is an important recognition for a product that survives almost entirely on direct sales and local word of mouth, far removed from the major supermarket chains.
The second protagonist of this story has an even more unusual production history. The cheese originates from the work of Agricansiglio — now merged into Latteria Soligo — but the feature that makes it unique is where its maturation finishes: inside the Grotta di San Lucio, in the heart of the Caglieron Caves Park in Fregona (the same complex of gorges and waterfalls that we feature in our article dedicated to the Caglieron Caves, just a stone's throw from La Corte di Marga). Here, the cheese rests for 90 to 120 days in conditions that no climate-controlled room can truly replicate: almost absolute humidity, around 99%, and a constant temperature of 16°C all year round. The rock itself, with its natural humidity, drives this slow maturation — the same principle that makes certain cave cheeses in other areas of Italy unique, applied here to a gorge carved out by water in the Treviso Prealps.
The Dish: Young, still fresh and delicate Colmajor Grillo, with its clean lactic note and a slight savoury quality.
The Pairing: one Prosecco Superiore DOCG with an Extra Brut dosage. The lively acidity and fine bubbles cleanse the palate of the raw milk's fat component, without overpowering the delicacy of the younger cheese.
The Dish: More mature Grillo di Colmajor or Caglieron Cave cheese, with their firmer texture and more intense, almost earthy notes imparted by long maturation in a cave.
The Pairing: it Wildbacher Collalto, a rare native red grape variety of the area. Its tannic structure and savouriness effortlessly stand up to the intensity of a fully matured cave-aged cheese.
The Dish: the Grotta del Caglieron cheese in its most matured version, for afters, perhaps accompanied by a mountain honey.
The Pairing: it Verdiso, the native grape of Combai. Its pronounced acidity is the same that traditionally accompanies the bolder flavours of the cuisine of these hills.
Both cheeses can be found through specialist distributors such as Valsana and other online channels dedicated to traditional products from the Veneto region — don't expect to find them in your local supermarket, that's all part of their charm. If you are staying at La Corte di Marga and would like to taste them without having to hunt them down yourselves, we can organise a board of mountain cheeses from the Prealps for you (you can also find them in our article on mountain cheeses of the Prealps) paired with local wines. Discover all our food and wine experiences o book your stay directly.
Where can you buy Grillo de Colmajor and Grotta del Caglieron cheese?
These are not mass-market cheeses: they can be found through specialist retailers of traditional Veneto products (such as Valsana) or directly from the producing cooperative dairies — Latteria Sociale di Tarzo for the Grillo de Colmajor, and Latteria Soligo for the Grotta del Caglieron cheese.
What makes the ageing in the Caglieron Cave unique?
The cheese is matured for 90-120 days directly inside the San Lucio Cave, in the Caglieron Caves Park in Fregona, where the natural humidity (around 99%) and constant temperature of 16°C create unique ageing conditions.
Is it possible to taste these cheeses during a stay at La Corte di Marga?
Yes: upon request, we organise tastings of alpine cheeses from the Prealps paired with local wines, guided directly by us. Contact us to organise your tasting.