🧀 Fontina

Fontina is an Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made from whole cow's milk of the Valdostana breed in the Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta) in north-western Italy. According to the specification, the milk is raw or thermised, and the cows' diet is based on forage from the area. ³

How it is made. Indigenous lactic acid bacteria selected in the area and calf rennet are added to the milk; the cheese is semi-cooked, moulded and salted. The milk must be produced and processed, and the cheese ripened, in the Aosta Valley. At least 60 % of the dry matter in the cows' diet comes from the area; grass silage and fermented feed are forbidden. ³

Look and taste. A flat cylinder 30–45 cm across and 7–10 cm high, weighing 7.5–12 kg. The rind is thin and firm, light to dark brown. The paste ranges from ivory white to straw yellow, springy and smooth, with characteristic eyes. The flavour is mild and delicate and becomes stronger as the cheese ripens; it melts in the mouth. ³

Ripening and marks. Ripening lasts at least 80 days. The word ‘Alpeggio’ may be added for cheese made in mountain pastures only from milk milked there, and ‘Lunga Stagionatura’ for cheese ripened for at least 180 days. Each wheel carries a logo applied in ink: a stylised mountain above the word FONTINA and ‘D.O.P.’. Portioning and packaging of portions must also take place in the Aosta Valley. ³

The name and its history. The word "fontina" first appears in 1270 for a plot of land, and only from the 1700s for the cheese. Its origin is unsettled: a pasture called Fontin, the village of Fontinaz, a family name or an old French word linked to melting. A late-1400s fresco at Issogne Castle already shows nearly identical wheels. Producers formed a consortium in 1952, a 1955 decree gave the first designation of origin, and in 1957 the consortium took on oversight. ⁷

Why the cow matters. The rules treat the land, the Valdostana breed and the cheese as one system. These compact, muscular cows can walk mountain pastures and make good use of local hay, turning grass into milk suited to this cheese. They give less milk than other breeds, but the consortium describes it as better in quality. The area is all mountain and cannot grow all the cereals and protein feed the cows need, which is why the rule is 60 % local feed rather than 100 %. ³⁴⁵

Three kinds of one cheese. Besides classic Fontina, there are Alpeggio and Lunga Stagionatura. Alpeggio is made from milk milked at summer pastures, at 1,700 to 2,700 m, where herds move up the slopes as grass grows. It made up about 70,000 of 410,000 wheels in 2022, roughly 17 %, and long-ripened cheese another 10 %. Another report gives 360,000 wheels for 2023. Higher costs and harder conditions explain why Alpeggio is treated as the most prized. ³⁶⁷

Rind and recent changes. Workers salt one face, let the salt dissolve, then brush the wheel with brine. This builds a thin, moist rind that mould can damage easily, which is why cutting and packing must happen quickly inside the region. Experts tap the wheels and take plug samples before the logo goes on. An EU notice of July 2026 added thermised milk (at least 64 °C for 40 seconds), dropped the single-milking rule (milk must reach processing within 40 hours of the first milking) and allowed high-pressure treatment of finished cheese. ³⁴⁵

Why it matters to you. The name Fontina is protected: only cheese made to this specification in the Aosta Valley may use it. Protection in the EU dates from 21 June 1996. Look for the logo on the rind or the PDO label on the pack. The label tells you more than the name: green with a red band means Alpeggio, black with a gold band means Lunga Stagionatura. Do not assume raw milk: the labelling article of the rules does not ask producers to state whether milk was thermised, so ask if it matters to you. Calf rennet means it does not suit vegetarians. ³⁴