Pedigree:
Ubriaco — Italian for drunken — originated in the Veneto, when wine and must (the crushed grape leavings after juice has been drained out for wine) from local wineries was an easier and cheaper way to preserve cheeses. This particular version of the cow's milk cheese is soaked in must and wine from local moscato production for few days and then aged for around 8 months, giving the previously soft cheese a firmer texture and a golden rind flecked with dried grape skins.
Taste:
This ubriaco starts with a surprisingly sharp bite that immediately mellows into a tropical sweetness that tastes markedly of pineapple. Near the rind, the intensity of that fragrant fruit is almost overwhelming, while the center of slices from a wheel of Ubriaco al Moscato
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2009.