Italian cuisine is one of the world’s most popular, and given the amount of quality produce created across the country, as well as Italy’s diverse landscape, it’s hardly surprising. Whether it’s majestic snow-capped mountain ranges, vine and olive grove-filled rolling hills, or fertile volcanic soil that provides optimum conditions for making everything from wine to cheese, Italy’s landscape is as unique and varied as the produce it produces.

But given the impressive bounty that’s created in Italy, it can be easy to overlook worthy products and suppliers, or to only turn to well-known household names. Enter Europe for the Senses. Funded by the European Union, Europe for the Senses is a campaign that’s all about raising awareness of three certified and exceptional Italian products: Alto Adige DOC wines, Etna DOC wines and Pecorino Romano PDO cheese.

Whether it’s DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) or PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), European Union labels provide a seal of approval, signifying quality, uniqueness of product, and the beautiful landscapes they were created in. They also offer the talented producers behind these products a level of protection from imitation and counterfeit items. Here we find out more about these three key Italian products…

Located on the east coast of Sicily, north of the port city of Catania, Sicily’s majestic Mount Etna – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is home to some of the oldest vineyards in Italy. The roots of Sicilian viticulture can be traced back to the eighth century BC, and it’s amongst this impressive historic and geological backdrop that Etna DOC wine first erupted onto the scene in 1968, when it became the first DOC in Sicily. 

With slopes that reach an altitude of 1000m above sea level, Mount Etna’s rich and fertile soil provides optimum growing conditions for Etna DOC wine. Not only that, but the unique terroir provided by Mount Etna – with the slopes being formed by Mount Etna’s eruptions over time – is also impressively diverse, with the growing areas for the vines being divided into 133 additional geographical definitions (known as ‘Contrade’) that reflect the climate, the exposure and particular geological characteristics. The soil can vary between being gravelly, sandy and ashy, and temperatures on the mountain can oscillate wildly. Factors such as altitude, rainfall, ventilation and hours of sunlight also affect the vines. 

As such, it means a number of different varieties of grapes thrive in this area including Carricante, Nerello Mascalese, and Nerello Cappuccio. In fact, Mount Etna’s wine-growing terrain can be broken down into four key slopes: the north slope, with its cool climate that suits Nerello Mascalese; the eastern slope, which is exposed to wind and is favourable for growing the white Carricante; the south-eastern slope which uses bush vines, and is home to both Nerello Mascalese and Carricante grape varieties; and the south-western slope, furthest from the sea, which creates favourable conditions for Nerello Cappuccio and white Carricante varieties.

And as for the taste? Etna DOC’s rich and complex wines come in a huge range of different styles. They’re not only a product of the landscape the grapes are grown in, but they also hold a mirror up to this unique geographical landscape, captioning the history and essence of this fascinating terroir in each sip.

Naturally lactose-free, Pecorino Romano PDO is a cooked hard cheese made exclusively from fresh, whole sheep’s milk, which comes from free-range flocks which graze freely in protected meadows. A product of three protected locations in Italy, Pecorino Romano PDO is predominantly produced in Sardinia, with the remainder being created in the Lazio region – where it was first produced – as well as Tuscany’s Grosseto province.

One of Italy’s oldest cheeses, and famously the cheese of Roman emperors, Pecorino Romano PDO has a rich history, and has been produced for more than 2,000 years. Today, many of the stages in the cheese’s production still rely on human hands and traditional and historic processes. These include everything from measuring the raw milk, to putting it in vats for curdling – an essential step in the cheese-making process, which sees a ‘scotta innesto’ ferment, that’s produced daily by the cheesemaker, added to the cheese. The cheese then goes on to be matured – at least five months for table cheese and eight months for grated cheese. 

Granular, hard, and slightly salty, Pecorino Romano PDO is celebrated for its distinctively aromatic and slightly piquant flavour. It has a thin, light-coloured rind, which is sometimes ivory or straw-coloured, as well as a distinctive DOP mark pressed onto the rind, alongside the date it has been produced. Given its distinctive flavour and texture, Pecorino Romano PDO lends itself particularly well to pasta dishes such as Lazio specialities, spaghetti alla cacio e pepe and bucatini all'amatriciana.

Bordering with Switzerland and Austria, the northern Italian region of Alto Adige – also known as Südtirol – is home to Alto Adige DOC wines. This scenic and mountainous area has the Romans to thank for its wine-making prowess, and it’s believed the Romans first brought viticulture to the area in around 15 BC.

Today, this small and mighty alpine region, which boasts a vineyard area of just 5,800 hectares, may be one of the smallest wine-growing regions in Italy, but its output is one of the most diverse thanks to its unique geography and terroir. Impressively, it’s tended by more than 4,800 wine growers.

With altitudes between 200 and 1,000 metres above sea level, Alto Adige happens to be home to more than twenty grape varieties, with white wines comprising 65 percent of the output. With different microclimates, altitudes and types of soil at play – including porphyry, quartz, mica, limestone and dolomite – grape varieties that thrive in this varied terrain include Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc as well as red varieties such as Lagrein, Pinot Noir and Schiava/Vernatsch.

As a result, the wines produced here are wonderfully flavourful and characterful, and are celebrated internationally for their alpine freshness and purity. With the region also being home to the highest density of Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy, it’s clear Alto Adige is a hotbed for exemplary wine – and produce. 

Find out more about these fantastic producers, and Europe for the Senses, at europeforthesenses.eu