Fiscalini Cheese is making moves to get its award-winning Lionza Swiss Alpine style cheese into more mouths. Throughout the last calendar year, Lionza has racked up the accolades—earning a Specialty Food Association sofi Award and a World Cheese Awards Super Gold—but production of the cheese remained limited.
Now, I hear from Managing Partner Laura Genasci, Fiscalini Cheese has increased its capacity and is keen to get more eaters hooked on the stuff.
“Lionza is now in steady supply. Until recently, we were only able to make about 28 wheels of Lionza about once every two weeks,” Laura explained. “This limitation was due to our salt brine capacity and the number of hoops we had. Adding in a second salt brine tank and 12 more hoops has allowed us to increase production.”
A raw milk cheese hand-crafted into 30-pound wheels, Lionza is available in an array of formats. Wheels are available in their full format or cut into halves or quarters. And, for retail customers, Lionza is available in a 5 oz exact weight cut.
“Restaurants often use this cheese grated on salads, melted in artisan sandwiches, in macaroni and cheese dishes or fondues,” Laura said. “Consumers buy the cheese to complete their charcuterie boards; it’s great as a table cheese or for use in the kitchen.”
Each serving of Lionza packs a unique complexity of flavor—and a storied history. Laura noted that the cheese traces its history back through 300 years of family lore.
“Lionza is a cheese we started making after my dad, John Fiscalini, took a trip to Switzerland to meet relatives and learn more about our family history. Rumor had it that over 300 years ago the Fiscalini family made a living in the small village of Lionza making cheese,” Laura told me. “In a mountainous area, when weather did not permit for the milk produced by their herd of cows to be transported down the hill, and not wanting to be wasteful, the Fiscalinis began making cheese.”
Laura continued, “My dad brought back family recipes and with the help of our master cheesemaker we were able to create our own version of the Swiss Alpine style cheese made centuries ago. Over the years we have tweaked the recipe, and with the use of new equipment, we have perfected the cheese first introduced to the market in 2007. It’s an excellent cheese, young with a sweet milky and tangy flavor; all the puzzle pieces finally fell together, and people are taking notice.”
Lionza, like all Fiscalini Cheese’s products, is produced in Modesto, California, with a special emphasis placed on sustainability, ensuring the next 300 years of cheesemakers can enjoy the same pristine terroir and quality milk.
“We truly believe in giving back to the land that has sustained our family for over 100 years,” Laura told me. “We recycle water and waste from our farm and are proud to say all our cheeses are produced with renewable energy.”
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