Valtellina is an austere land rich in ancient flavours. Man had to conquer its fruits through hard work; the right acknowledgment for the work is the exceptional quality of the products: grapes, apples, mushrooms, soft fruits, chestnuts, honey, medicinal herbs. Its cuisine, rustic and genuine like the background from which it originates, hides soft and conquering tastes appreciated by the most demanding palates initiated to the sophistication of good cooking: the “fraina” or buck wheat flour, the butter, the "formaggio d'alpe", the "bresaola" and the characteristic sweets with a basis of figs and nuts, bestow on the local gastronomy a strong typicality, unique in the whole Alpine region.
Gastronomic curiosities also include the food preserves, the jams and the sweets, the types of grappa, softened also by soft fruit, the bitters from Alpine herbs, and the mineral waters.
THE WINES OF TERZIERE SUPERIORE
The geographical position of Valtellina between Morbegno and Tirano which winds off in the east-west direction, protected all around by a mountainous wall, has relegated the vineyards on limited zones of the sunny coast, sometimes planted up to a height of 800m. The scene of the terraces obtained with the soil from the bottom of the valley and held together by walls made of stones is spectacular. The vitigno grapes produce the typical Valtellinese wines and the “Nebbiolo”. The wine of Valtellina started circulating through the Grigioni in all the European markets as from the beginning of the XV century. In 1968 the Controlled Denomination of Origin has been acknowledged to it, subdividing the production in two types of principal wines: the Valtellina and the Valtellina Superiore, better known with its traditional denominations Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella. The Valtellina, whose area of production extends from Ardenno to Tirano, involves the vineyards with deeper ground, therefore with a more production, the Valtellina Superiore occupies, within the geographic area of Valtellina, the rocky spurs which jut out towards the centre of the Valley at Sondrio, Teglio and Tirano, and on which vineyards of small dimensions clamber, with little land, and which give a better-bodied wine and with a longer maturation. The top product of the oenology of Valtellina is the Sforzato or "Sfursat", a wine obtained from grapes left to wither on trellis, dry, highly alcoholic (14,5°), a wine for meditation which blends with the well-seasoned mountain cheeses. From 1998 the Valtellina Superiore and the Sforzato have been honoured with the Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin, a prestigious acknowledgment for the quality of the wines which render Valtellina as the only Italian oenological area which can boast of two DOCG. The Consortium for the Protection of the Valtellina Wines is the Guarantor and active since 1976.
GASTRONOMY
Based on the use of a few but genuine products, the cuisine of Valtellina is appreciated greatly even by the more refined palates, thanks to its simple but wise harmony of tastes which has always marked it. Their gastronomic traditions, compared with other regions, are not very rich, since Valtellina, being a mountainous territory, has based its economy for centuries on agriculture and stock rearing, and even today keeps a tradition of products which are typical and highly prized: milk, butter, cheese and flour. An example of this is the "polenta taragna", the "pizzoccheri" and the "sciatt", just to quote the most known. Generally speaking it consists of dishes created to give a consistent nutritive contribution to whoever had to use plenty of energy working the fields and which have become today an occasion to appreciate tastes which recall a past not to be lost.
The Cheeses
The typical cheeses of Valtellina are: the "Bitto", the "Casera" and the "Scimudin". Among these types of cheeses which are decorated with the “DOP” and the "Marchio Valtellina", the Bitto is the most highly prized and renowned. A cheese made of whole milk with an addition of goat’s milk, is produced only in the mountain in the summer months following a traditional processing. The type of cheese which is most widespread is the "Valtellina Casera", often sought in the most seasoned forms when it tends to acquire a more robust and pungent taste. The "Scimudin" is on the other hand the classic cheese of tender consistency and is sold as "formaggella".
Bresaola
The "bresaola" is not a cold cut in the strict sense of the word that is a pork sausage. In fact it is processed from the beef’s thigh which has been "cured” and then salted and desiccated in the open air. To produce "bresaola", the meat is placed in a pickle of wine and aromatic Alpine herbs. It seems that the formula which lists the types and quantities of herbs is a secret. Together with the herbs, in this processing, is the collaboration of the quality of air and the environmental conditions of Valtellina and thus the "bresaola" cannot be produced anywhere else without losing its own characteristics of taste and quality. This has enabled the "Bresaola" of Valtellina to obtain the Protected Geographical Identification (IGP). An optimal area for its production is that of Mazzo di Valtellina and Grosotto.
Apples
The cultivation of apples has ancient traditions in Valtellina, but its development in a commercial sense is recent. It is concentrated on the Rhaetian coast of Media Valtellina in the zones of Bianzone, Villa di Tirano, and Tirano and in the district of Sernio, Lovero, Tovo, Mazzo and Grosotto. The Valtellinese fruit and vegetable cooperatives dispose of advanced technological systems for the selection of the fruit and its preservation in cellars with a controlled atmosphere and with air jets. The apple has been the first product of Valtellina to be honoured with the highly prized “Marchio Valtellina" and is about to obtain the IGP certification mark.
Buck wheat
One of the most traditional cultures of Media Valtellina is that of the buck wheat (fagopirum esculentum, belonging to the family of the polygonacee), the blossom of which tainted the landscape with candid white spots and rose-coloured shades. Its importance is tied to the alimentary ambit; this cereal as a matter of fact has contributed to guarantee the satisfaction of the alimentary requirements, above all during the difficult periods of scarcity. The cultivation was alternated with barley, rye and oats, in the span of an agricultural year. The buck wheat was sowed at the beginning of July, and reached maturation and was harvested towards the end of September, after the harvesting it was left to desiccate in small sheaves in the field. The beating was carried out in a level ground, where rustic carpets had been laid out, the forefathers of the traditional “pezzotti”, and the grains which fell under the beating of the flail were gathered. Before placing it in the sacks it had to be cleaned from the off-scouring of the reddish stems by a sieve with the bottom made of wicker. The buck wheat, whose “bigia” flour is the main ingredient of the exquisitely local recipes like the "pizzoccheri", the "sciatt", the "polenta" and the "chiscioi", has left an indelible imprint in the Valtellinese culinary traditions.