Bella Vita — the beautiful life — is a deliciously inspired Italian-style cheese. This rustic cheese is aged for several months before it leaves us, and it can continue maturing for up to a full year. Another FireFly star on the cheese board, Bella Vita’s sharp nutty flavor are certain to please. And it performs equally well in the kitchen, where it grates and melts beautifully.

American Cheese Society Judging
2009 Second-Place Finisher

American Dairy Goat Association Cheese Competition
2009 Second-Place Finisher
2007 Reserve Best-In-Show Finisher
2006 First-Place Finisher

Months 1-3
Bella Vita is a larger format, long ripening cheese. It is an Italian-style cooked curd cheese; the temperature of the vat is elevated, and the curd looses water. The result is a lower-moisture cheese that is harder in texture, longer-ripening, and sharper in flavor. To meet our customer demand and manage the limited space in our ripening room, we cut and wrap the Bella Vita wheels at 3-4 months old; however, the cheeses continue to ripen positively for nearly a year.

Months 4-6
The few wheels of Bella Vita that we have been able to keep in the ripening room this long are simply spectacular. Cheese becomes sharper and tastes a bit nutty. We look forward to to completion of our expanded creamery which will triple our ripening room space and allow us to mature Bella Vita more fully before it leaves us.

Once the wheels are cut, ripening does not stop but it does slow. Your wrapped wedge of Bella Vita will continue ripening in your fridge, but its character will not change dramatically. The taste will ripen and mature most noticeably near the rind.

Months 7-12
Unchartered territory we look forward to exploring!

Bella Vita is good at all times of the day and with all meals. It can be served alone as an appetizer, cut for a cheese board, served with crackers and a savory tapenade, or used in finer cuisines where it melts beautifully. When grated and heated over warm pastas or soups, Bella Vita releases a wonderful aroma that adds to the pleasure of its taste.

Once you have removed its original wrapping, you can re-wrap in cheese paper, parchment paper or wax paper. Or, you can store the partially consumed cheese in a plastic container. If wrapped for a long period, the cheese may develop a thin layer of white mold on its rind and cut surfaces. This can be eaten safely, or scraped off the cheese surface with a knife blade.

Pasteurized goat milk
Vegetable rennet
Bacterials starter cultures (gluten-free)
Salt
Enzymes