BellaVitano Merlot Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
Years ago, I was tapped to be a speaker at a California cheese conference, but the night before the reception, a Wisconsin cheese representative called me. Their cheesemonger was sick—could I be the one to share samples of their cheeses since I had just written a book about Wisconsin cheese? I remember that night clearly – because amidst the crème de la crème of California cheeses, there was one cheese people kept coming back to taste again and again. It was an American original from Wisconsin, BellaVitano®, a new cheese.
The Birth of an Award Winner
Ken Kane, Master Cheesemaker at Sartori Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
Sartori Cheese debuted its first BellaVitano cheese in 2008 as the result of years of experimentation. “We’ve been in the business since 1939 so our R & D program is 84 years old,” says Ken Kane, a Wisconsin master cheesemaker and Sartori plant manager. “We’re blessed that the Sartori family has always pushed boundaries, and we have a really good parmesan, and we make a lot of great hard Italian style cheeses.” He adds, “We were looking back to make something different in 2003, 2004, 2005, and we knew we were onto something when we came upon this flavor that was rooted in the cheddar world but also the parmesan world.”
Shortly after its debut it was named “Best New Cheese in the World’ at an international cheese competition. BellaVitano has won dozens of awards since then, but one of its biggest wins was being awarded grand champion in 2017, beating out more than 2,000 American cheeses.
What is BellaVitano?
BellaVitano is made from pasteurized milk from local dairies and vegetarian rennet. The milk for all Sartori cheeses comes from within a 70-mile radius of their cheesemaking facilities. After the curd is formed and cut, it is hand-salted, then pressed for several hours. The 20-pound wheels are bathed in brine to help form the delicious rind on the cheese, then it is cured and aged for several months.
Later, some of these wheels are either rubbed or soaked in different flavorings, and then they’re further aged. Some varieties can be aged up to 22 months. “Each wheel of BellaVitano is hand-rubbed by one of our team members,” Kane says. “One of the things I’d like to clear up – not only can you eat the rind, but we want you to eat that rind. We put a lot of effort into that, and if you don’t eat the rind, you don’t enjoy the full complexity of the cheese.” A firm cheese, it can be sliced or grated and melted.
Flavored BellaVitano
Pam Hodgson applying black pepper spices to a wheel of Black Pepper BellaVitano Parmesan. Photo credit Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
The cheese has a lot of versatility when it comes to flavor pairings. “It really plays well across the palate, and so we decided, let’s try some flavor combinations and see if that does anything,” Kane says.
The first version was called Gold BellaVitano, now known as BellaVitano Original, when it made its debut, a flavored lineup of product extensions were simultaneously released. Some of the original offerings of BellaVitano included versions washed in wines and beers like merlot, chardonnay and New Glarus Raspberry Ale. Others were rubbed with herbs and spices.
Over the years, BellaVitano has featured probably a dozen different extensions —including bourbon, black pepper and cognac. Right now, the current lineup in addition to Original are Garlic and Herb, Tomato and Basil, Tennessee Whiskey, Balsamic, Espresso, Black Pepper, Chardonnay, and Merlot. “Some of our offerings are seasonal or limited editions,” Kane says. “It just plays so well with so many different flavors.”
Wisconsin Black Pepper BellaVitano. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
Interestingly, Kane says, some people think they might not like a certain flavor, but because BellaVitano is the base, they often change their minds after tasting it. “With the espresso variety, some people say ‘I don’t like coffee,’ but then they try it and say ‘This cheese really appeals to me,’” he says.
The newest flavor of BellaVitano is Tomato and Basil. Shares Kane, “We just launched that recently (October 2023), and it’s kind of hard to believe that we just came up with that, as those flavors are classic, and they pair really well together,” he says. “We’re really excited about this cheese as it gets to market.”
Sometimes, Sartori will do very specific flavors for customers who ask. “We did a cinnamon one for a customer of ours, for example,” he says.
Coming up with new flavors is a balance, Kane says. “We like to push the envelope, but we really have to see how each spice or rub, or condiment affects the cheese,” Kane says. “Each wheel of BellaVitano is hand-rubbed by one of our team members.” Some of the more surprising flavors in addition to Espresso and Cinnamon, include Raspberry and Chai. But not all flavors work.
Pairings
BellaVitano’s beverage pairings can go sweet or savory, and some of the pairings are obvious like coffee with Espresso BellaVitano and Chardonnay with Chardonnay BellaVitano. Others take a little more work — Syrah with Black Pepper BellaVitano or a Chianti with Tomato and Basil. Kane recommends experimenting and enjoying it with beverages you like. “Beer also goes really well with our cheese, and craft breweries have so many different styles and specialties,” Kane says.
As far as cooking goes, Kane recommends melting some Merlot BellaVitano on burgers, and using the tomato and basil version in any Italian dishes, but also on grilled cheese served with tomato soup. Black Pepper BellaVitano can be added to grilled steaks, he says. “It adds a nice texture to it,” he says. Thanks to the colored rinds, BellaVitano is also a favorite on cheeseboards.