Destinations for Cheese Lovers – Part 1

France, Italy and Brazil: three worlds, three ways of turning milk into emotion. 

If you’re anything like me — someone who sees cheese as far more than just food — then get ready.

This post isn’t just a travel guide. It’s an invitation to feel. Because when cheese has soul, it can remind you of where you came from… or help you discover where you want to go.

Over the past year, I’ve completely immersed myself in the world of cheese. I’ve studied it with the same passion I bring to wine — because I’ve come to realize they’re deeply connected. They speak the same language of flavor, texture and time. And the more I learn, the more I fall in love.

Today, I want to take you with me through three countries that shaped my journey into this sensory world: France, Italy, and Brazil. Each with its own story, its own accent, and its own way of transforming care into taste.

Italy: where every village hides a story you can taste

In Italy, cheese isn’t just an ingredient. It’s heritage. It’s something made by hands that learned from a grandmother — and will teach their grandchildren one day.

You’ll find hand-broken Parmigiano on both humble kitchen tables and at elite celebrations.

Pecorino wheels aging in cool stone cellars. Burratas made fresh, glistening with that moisture only living cheese has.

Taste slowly:

• 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano (and please — never grate it, always break it into shards!)

• Pecorino Toscano with fig jam or honey

• Burrata di Andria with local olive oil, sea salt, and sourdough bread
  

Transformative experience:

If you ever go to Puglia (and trust me, you should), visit a family-run farm in Andria. Ask to see how burrata is made. Watching stracciatella come to life from fresh buffalo milk is something you never forget.

Now imagine tasting it warm, with rustic bread and that deep green local olive oil. It’s like poetry on a plate.

Pair like an Italian:

• Chianti Classico + Pecorino

• Barolo + Parmigiano

• Franciacorta brut + burrata & prosciutto
  

Brazil: cheese with accent, soul, and pride

I’m Brazilian — and proud, especially when it comes to cheese. Because today, Brazil is home to truly exceptional cheese.

Minas Gerais is iconic, of course. But what excites me most is how, from the heart of São Paulo to the hills of Santa Catarina, Brazil is crafting award-winning, soulful cheeses with real identity.

Taste with an open heart:

• Canastra with a bloomy rind (nutty, poetic, unforgettable crust)

• Queijo do Serro (buttery, subtle, nostalgic)

• Cuesta Paulista (complex, bold, and one of Brazil’s most exciting cheeses)
  

Experience every cheese lover should have:

Go to São Roque de Minas for the Artisanal Cheese Festival. Talk to the makers. Watch the hands that massage each wheel daily to help it age in balance. That’s not just production — it’s ritual. Presence. Brazil with soul on your tongue.

Pair with national pride:

• Serra Gaúcha sparkling + washed-rind cheeses

• São Francisco Valley Syrah + intense Canastra

• Santa Catarina Sauvignon Blanc + soft bloomy cheeses
  

France: where cheese whispers stories from the walls of ancient caves

Ah, France… the first place that made me realize cheese doesn’t belong in the fridge — it belongs in the heart.

There, cheese isn’t a side note. It’s part of breakfast, drawn-out lunches, poetic market stalls, and of course, those mysterious cellars that smell of mold, stone, wood, and time.

Taste with reverence:

• Camembert de Normandie (let it breathe before tasting)

• Comté from Jura (look for 24- or 36-month aged)

• Naturally matured Roquefort (made with wild Penicillium roqueforti!)

  
  

Experience that changes everything:

Book a tour of the caves in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. It’s not just tourism — it’s like stepping inside a living organism. The natural rock fissures cradle the cheeses like sacred relics. And when they serve you two Roqueforts — one young, one aged — you feel what time, humidity, and soul taste like.

Harmonizations that embrace:

• Brut Champagne + creamy camembert

• White Burgundy + comté

• Sauternes + roquefort with lightly toasted bread

  
  

This is just the beginning. In Part 2, I’ll take you to Spain, Switzerland, and Portugal — because the world of cheese is vast, and its stories deserve to be savored slowly.

But for now, if I can leave you with one thing:

Taste with intention. Travel with your palate. And live cheese the way it deserves:with soul, presence, and pleasure.

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