In the Odyssey, every stage of Ulysses' journey is marked by an encounter, and every encounter is put to the test by a principle sacred to the Greeks: Xenia, or hospitality. 

Anyone who welcomes a traveler welcomes them as they would welcome a god in disguise: with respect, generosity, and by setting the finest table. 

On Saturday, September 12, the Consorzio Gourm.it was hosted at Grana D'Oro on the occasion of their 90th anniversary, where a 14-year-aged wheel of Vacche Rosse (Red Cows) Parmigiano Reggiano PDO was cut for the event. 

This was not a simple invitation to a corporate party, but a genuine welcome into their home: we visited the company, the farm shop, the barns, and the livestock.

A loyalty that spans four generations

The story of Grana D'Oro began in 1936, when the family were still sharecroppers. This was the start of a path that today sees the third and fourth generations as co-protagonists, with a steadfast principle unchanged over time: the Red Reggiana cow breed. Even in the 1950s and 60s, when the entire Italian livestock sector was switching to the Holstein breed in pursuit of higher productivity, Grana D'Oro never stopped believing in the Red Reggiana breed.

A loyalty that, in the early 1980s, risked revealing itself as almost a lost battle: in 1982, the Reggiana breed was considered at risk of extinction, with just over 900 head in the entire region. But at that moment, the Catellani family decided not to let that genetic heritage be lost, giving new life to a Parmigiano Reggiano PDO made exclusively with milk from Red Cows. The first wheels were produced in this way in 1985, using milk from the Via Neida barn, growing from 90 head in the 1980s to today's 180 head. 

A choice that, over time, proved to be their fortune: the milk of the Reggiana breed, combined with a traditional diet based on the permanent meadows of the area, gives their Parmigiano Reggiano an extra edge—a product of the highest quality, winner of no fewer than 19 international awards. Grana D'Oro is indeed today the producer with the highest number of Super Gold awards in the world of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO. 

Today, at the historic headquarters in Via Neida, the company is led by Matteo and his wife Luciana, vice president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium.

Cutting the wheel: 14 years captured in one taste 

The highlight of the evening was the cutting of the 14-year-aged wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO by the owner, Matteo Catellani himself. 

At first sight, the deep, amber color stood out, dotted with white spots and clearly visible tyrosine crystals: the unmistakable signature of long aging. 

Taking a piece and bringing it to the nose, the typical aromas of the rind were immediately recognizable, but the rest of the bouquet surprised us: marked animal notes, not only of meat broth but also of leather, intertwining with hints of undergrowth, mushrooms, almost truffle. 

The aroma of meat broth makes up umami, the fifth taste—an intersection of taste and aroma that becomes particularly evident in such a long aging process. 

Upon tasting, the first thing we noticed was the texture: the cheese disappears in the mouth, melting in an almost incredible way. The long aging process rendered the paste crumbly and soluble. After so many years, it is natural for the flavor to become more intense, yet not salty: it maintains its balance. The lipid component, releasing fatty acids, also brings a light acidic note, which nevertheless remains in perfect harmony with the rest of the flavors.

A stop worth the journey 

Just as for Ulysses every port told something more about the world and about himself, this stop on our journey told us something more about Vacche Rosse Parmigiano Reggiano PDO: behind a product capable of winning international Super Gold awards, there is an almost stubborn loyalty to a breed, a territory, and a way of doing things that doesn't change with trends. 

And what about hospitality? True hospitality is measured by opening the doors of one's home—and in this case, also of the company and the barns. A hospitality that Grana D'Oro embodied to perfection, and for which the Consorzio Gourm.it sincerely thanks them.