Margot alla Birra - Wedge apx 1.1kg

Margot alla Birra

Caseificio Rosso | Biella, Piedmont

A Biellese mountain cheese with beer worked directly into the milk, not just washed onto the rind. The cheese gets its name from "Margot", a local brew from a family friend. The milk comes from the Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa, the native Biellese breed Caseificio Rosso works with across its range.

Aged: 30 to 60 days on white fir boards, in underground cellars.

Rind: Thin and brown, with visible beer grains on the surface. Older wheels carry yellow surface moulds. Not edible.

Paste: Soft and white with faint straw tones, shot through with fine, regularly distributed holes.

Aroma: Butter and warm cream, with a clear lift of hops and toasted cereal.

Flavour: Sweet and gently milky at the core, with malt sweetness running through and a clean hop bitterness on the finish. The beer sits in balance with the cheese rather than overpowering it.

Texture: Soft and pillowy when cold, turning silken and melting at room temperature.

In the kitchen: Excellent on the board with rye bread, grainy mustard, pickled walnuts, or caramelised onion. Melts well over polenta, into pasta bakes, or across a tarte flambée. A natural partner for charcuterie and a standout in a toasted ham sandwich.

Awards: ALMA Caseus, Cibus Parma (2014); World Cheese Awards London (2017); World Cheese Awards Bergamo (2019); Salon du Fromage Paris (2020).

About the Producer

Caseificio Rosso is a family-run dairy at the heart of the Biellese alpine arc in north-western Piedmont. Founded in 1894 by Rosa Pidello Rosso, the business is now run by Enrico and Riccardo Rosso, the fourth generation to carry on the family's work.

The dairy sits where the Valle d'Oropa meets the Valle del Cervo, in valleys that open out from the plain like a vast amphitheatre, bounded to the west by the long moraine ridge of La Serra and to the north and east by the peaks of the main alpine chain. Maturation still takes place in the Upper Elvo Valley, where the Rossos come from.

Milk is the foundation of everything. It is collected daily from 30 small Biellese farms, all of which raise a single native breed, the Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa. Robust and muscular, suited to the demands of mountain farming, but at risk of extinction. Caseificio Rosso, together with local farmers, has worked carefully over the years to preserve and improve the breed.

Each summer, the cows are brought to the high alpine pastures for four to five months. This practice — la monticazione — is one of the oldest rhythms of Alpine life, and it's what gives the milk its richness and floral character.

Production follows the same traditional logic: curd worked by hand, turned repeatedly during resting, then brined and moved to cool, humid cellars between 8 and 12°C. The cheeses rest on white fir shelves, hand-turned weekly as they mature.

The Rossos also run FORMA, a company museum and cultural space at the Pollone site — a workshop for projects tied to alpine culture, mountain life, and its economies. It's a clear signal of how the family thinks about their role: not simply as producers, but as custodians of a mountain craft that still shapes the valleys they work in.