Ascovilo, the association that brings together 13 wine protection consortia in Lombardy, in partnership with the Grana Padano Protection Consortium and in the wake of the three-year collaboration of the recently concluded “Born to be together” project, presents a new project in synergy.
“A trip to Lombardy – Sips and bites” is a podcast that will take listeners to discover the history and curiosities linked to the celebrated cheese with a protected designation of origin and the wines produced in the territories where these two delights are born, Lombardy.
Laura Donadoni and Andrea Mazzoleni carry out and tell an itinerary between past and present, meeting places, breeders, cheesemakers, growers, winemakers and restaurateurs to let you know the behind the scenes of these worlds step by step.
“The new project was born in the wake of the collaboration with the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano which saw us together in the promotion in Italy and Germany of Lombardy DOP and IGP wines in combination with the most consumed DOP cheese in the world, Grana Padano – underlined Giovanna Prandini, President of Ascovilo -. The desire we have cultivated is to find a form of communication of our agricultural history and culture that tells the product with a new language so that it is possible to reach the consumer in a less technical and more experiential way through the story of the protagonists in the territory”.
“The history of Grana Padano DOP is ancient and at the same time suitable to be explored and illuminated with new light thanks to the technology and new media that it can make available – comments the president of the Grana Padano Protection Consortium, Renato Zaghini – It speaks of a a territory rich in production, such as Lombard DOP and IGP wines, which, thanks to the fruitful collaboration with Ascovilo, we bring together to the world and with which we welcome visitors from every continent. The modern, easy, captivating language of the initiative we share accompany us in bringing an Italian emotion to the world and keeping it lit next to the torch of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, to underline the value of our food and wine excellences”
Production company: Podcast Italia Network
Writing and voices: Laura Donadoni, Andrea Mazzoleni
Editing and sound design: Matteo Ranzi
Produced by Ascovilo and the Grana Padano Protection Consortium
The podcast consists of 6 episodes:
1 – The anti-waste cheese of the monks: the story of the birth of Grana Padano at the Chiaravalle Abbey and the discovery of the vineyards closest to Milan: San Colombano al Lambro and Lake Como.
2 – Five-star stables and the bubbles of Pavia: how do the cows that produce milk for Grana Padano fare? Let’s go and check it out in person and then stop in the Oltrepòpavese to discover its great pinot noirs.
3 – The “shapes” of milk and Mantuan wines: in the dairy we are going to visit the milk enters liquid and comes out in iconic shapes that will become Grana Padano. After so much milk we go in search of wines in the Mantua area.
4 – Not all wheels become Grana Padano and discovering the wines of Garda: how do you certify that a wheel of cheese can become Grana Padano? On the day of an expert from the Protection Consortium. And then a trip to the shores of Lake Garda to discover the rosés, whites and reds of Garda.
5 – Unusual pairings but created to be together: Grana Padano in the kitchen through the stories of a historic restaurateur and the more classic and unconventional pairings with Lombard wines from Brescia and Bergamo.
6 – How is it preserved? How do you taste it? What if we were always wrong? An expert taster explains how to best preserve and taste Grana Padano, we wash it all down with the mountain wines of Lombardy: from Valcamonica to Valtellina, a world heritage site.
It can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all audio platforms.
Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/6t0gq1eSKCRKaesFLTy1Vr?si=amjUB82JRISBM7LgcdbpRw
