the cheese blog

Ubriaco del Piave

Last week I was near DiBruno Bros. and decided to do a walk through of the cheese section, not really intending to buy anything as I was a bit too busy to do cheese tastings, but I figured I was there, the weather was nice, etc. Nothing really caught my attention and the selection of local cheeses was sparse. However, Ubriaco del Piave was on sale. The last time I bought this cheese (on a whim while killing time before having dinner at De Lorenzo’s near Trenton) it turned out to be way past its prime and ended up in the the trash. I figured this was a sign (what a weak excuse!).

Ubriaco del Piave is an unpasteurized cow’s milk made in Veneto or Friuli region of Italy (I’ve seen both areas mentioned, Jenkins says Lombardy). It’s a firm cheese that is soaked in: (1) must from Cabernet and Merlot wine , (2) young Chianti, or (3) Cabernet, Merlot and Raboso (I’ve seen them all mentioned on websites, Jenkin’s Cheese Primer only mentions that it’s wine-washed) and then aged for four months.  This gives the rind of the Ubriaco (which means “drunk” in Italian) a wonderful color and pleasant aroma.

The rind is waxy and has a lovely light purple color. This example must (pardon the pun) of had some fissures as the wine had soaked into the interior and created nice, purple veins through the butter colored paste. The aroma was pleasant, not very strong, with some sweetness and butterscotch notes. The texture was firm and toothsome. The taste was slightly sweet and then a bit tangy. It also had a bit of richness. Not a spectacular cheese, but quite pleasant. I could see this one being popular on a cheese plate due to it’s accessibility, the rind color, and the story behind how this cheese came to exist.