Sunday, May 28 returns the festival of Monte Veronese Cheese DOP in Lessinia. Tastings, parades, workshops and live demonstrations to learn about one of the most appreciated Veronese products.
The famous annual festival of the most beloved cheese of Verona will mark tomorrow, Sunday, May 28, the beginning of the summer season in Lessinia. A whole day dedicated to the Monte Veronese DOP cheese will be held in Erbezze, the town of Verona entirely inserted in Lessinia regional natural park. For the thirty-first edition, the streets of Erbezze will be filled with banquets, parades and even workshops for children to learn about food and wine traditions that fascinate Veronese and tourists from all over.
The festival will start at 9.30 in Piazza della Chiesa where some typical Veronese products will be exhibited for tastings. Then, from morning until late afternoon, it will be the children’s turn when they can personally engage in the production of the cheese starting from milk. The workshop “Un’ora da casaro” – “One hour in the shoes of cheesemakers” – will be held in the Sala Civica in Piazza Municipio where experts will tell the processes and traditions of cheese production followed by a simulation.
The Monte Veronese PDO is a popular product among Veroneses, who elect the finest every year. Also on Sunday, following the traditional costume parade, the Monte Veronese DOP winner in the various seasonings will be awarded. Then there will also be the investiture of the new Councillors of the “Eccelsa et Insigne Arte dei Formaggeri”.
Starting from 12:00, the food and wine stands of typical dishes will open at the sports hall and after that, in the afternoon, there will also be some guided tastings of Monte Veronese dop in the Sala Civica. On this occasion the participants can taste the winning cheeses of the competition in the various seasonings to understand the differences, not only between the vintages, but also between the two types of Monte Veronese dop.
Lessinia cheese, in fact, has origins that date back to the year 1000, when it was still used as a bargaining chip instead of currency. Over time, the cheese makers have declined it in two types: Monte Veronese “latte intero” and Monte Veronese “d’allevo” that differs, in addition to the flavor, also in some production characteristics. The first has a more delicate taste and generally accompanies the main dishes, the second instead, with a more decisive flavor, is used as a combination for polenta, a dish of the Northen Italy tradition, as well as to cook the famous risotto all’Amarone.
On Sunday afternoon there will also be the performance of the town band of Grezzana followed by “Formaggio in piazza” – “Cheese in the square” from 16. It will be a live demonstration by the expert cheese makers who will explain and show practically the production of Monte Veronese. The day will end with the music of the Cimbrian accordions and the group Amici del Bovaro del Bernese Northeast.
