Pecorino di Pienza: The Sheep’s Milk Cheese of the Val d’Orcia

The Val d’Orcia south of Siena is one of the most distinctive landscapes in Italy — wide clay valleys, rolling hills, isolated farmhouses, rows of cypress trees on ridgelines. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape and the source of some of Tuscany’s finest food and wine: Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and at the geographical centre of the valley, the town of Pienza and its sheep’s milk cheese.

Pecorino di Pienza is one of the most characterful cheeses in Italy — not a DOP product in the conventional sense, but a cheese with a clearly defined local identity, a specific breed of sheep, a specific diet, and two traditional dairies that still make it by hand to the original method. This is what you come to the Val d’Orcia to find.

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What Is Pecorino di Pienza?

Pecora is Italian for ewe; all pecorino is made from sheep’s milk. Pecorino is produced across Italy — Sardo in Sardinia, Romano in Lazio, Toscano across Tuscany — but the version from Pienza is distinct. Pecorino Toscano has held DOP status since 1996 and covers the broad Tuscan production zone; Pecorino di Pienza sits within that zone but represents the most traditional and site-specific expression of it, still made by a handful of local producers to methods that predate the DOP.

The sheep are predominantly Sarda breed — hardy animals originally from Sardinia and well-suited to the rough terrain of the Val d’Orcia, which is too rocky and dry for arable farming but ideal for grazing. They feed on the native vegetation of the valley: a mixture of wild grasses, wormwood, meadow salsify, broom, juniper, and burnet. This diet is not incidental — it is the reason the cheese tastes the way it does. The herbal notes that come through in the young cheese are a direct expression of what the sheep eat, and you can taste the difference between a Pienza pecorino and a generic Tuscan pecorino made from milk trucked in from elsewhere.

It is a seasonal cheese: production relies on the quality of fresh spring and summer milk. Young pecorino is made and sold from spring through summer; mature cheese aged from the previous season is available year-round.

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How It Is Made

The production process is straightforward and ancient. Raw whole ewe’s milk is warmed and mixed with natural rennet to curdle it. The curds sink, are cut, and then scooped out by hand into moulds to drain. Once firm, the pressed rounds are placed in a brine bath for salting, then transferred to cool, humid cellars to age.

What makes the traditional Pienza method distinctive is the ageing treatment: the rinds are wrapped in walnut leaves or coated with grape marc (the skins and seeds left from wine pressing), olive oil, or a combination of wax and grease depending on the producer and the intended maturation period. The walnut-leaf version is the most traditional and produces a slightly tannic, earthy edge in the finished cheese.

The only real traditional pecorino is the one aged in small wooden barriques — a practice surviving at the most artisan producers. Two dairies near Pienza that still work this way and are worth visiting: Podere Il Casale (also an organic farm) and Caseificio Cugusi.

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Young, Aged, and Everything Between

Pecorino di Pienza comes in two main styles, with a spectrum of intermediate stages between them.

Pecorino Fresco (40–60 days)

The young cheese has a pale, creamy rind and a soft, yielding interior. The flavour is mild and milky with a distinct herbal note — the aromatic diet of the sheep comes through clearly at this age. There is a slight spicy edge. This is the version to eat fresh, simply, and soon after purchase: with a drizzle of good Tuscan olive oil, a little local chestnut honey, or alongside raw fava beans and a slice of prosciutto as a light starter.

Pecorino Stagionato (5–15 months)

The aged cheese develops a darker rind — typically red or black, depending on the treatment — and a drier, more crumbly texture. The spicy herbal notes recede and are replaced by something more complex: slightly tannic, savoury, with a long finish. The stagionato is generally considered to have more character and structure than the fresco. It can be grated over pasta (particularly pici, the thick hand-rolled Sienese spaghetti, or a simple cacio e pepe), served in thin slices with cured meats, or paired with a drizzle of aged balsamic.

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What to Drink With It

The Val d’Orcia sits between two of Tuscany’s great wine zones and the local pairings are obvious and correct.

• Rosso di Montalcino — the younger, lighter release from the Brunello producers; Sangiovese aged less than a year, with fresh acidity and red fruit. The right match for Pecorino Fresco.
• Brunello di Montalcino — the full aged version, five years minimum before release. A serious wine for a serious aged pecorino.
• Rosso di Montepulciano — similar in style to Rosso di Montalcino, from the other side of the valley; fresh Sangiovese-based with a slightly softer profile.
• Moscadello di Montalcino — a late-harvest Muscat dessert wine; serve chilled with Pecorino Fresco, local honey, and fresh seasonal fruit as a simple dessert.
• Chianti Classico — from the Sangiovese hills north of Siena; pairs well with Pecorino Stagionato. If travelling from Florence, a Chianti wine tour combines naturally with a stop at Pienza on the return.

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Visiting Pienza and the Val d’Orcia

Pienza itself is a remarkable small town: it was built almost entirely to a single Renaissance town plan commissioned by Pope Pius II in 1459 and is essentially a complete 15th-century urban project executed in a few years. The main street, Corso Rossellino, runs from gate to gate and is lined with pecorino shops selling the local cheese in every stage of ageing. Most shops offer tastings.

The Val d’Orcia has no practical train connection from Florence or Siena — a hire car or private driver is the realistic option. The drive from Florence takes approximately two hours; from Siena, about an hour. The most scenic approach from Siena is via the SR2 Cassia through San Quirico d’Orcia, then the smaller roads into the valley.

The Val d’Orcia is most beautiful in May (green hills, wild flowers, poppies) and October–November (golden light, harvest, new wine). August is hot and busy. The drive between Monticchiello and Pienza on the unsealed strade bianche is one of the finest short drives in Italy at any time of year.

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Food Tours to the Val d’Orcia

We organise cheese and wine tours departing from Florence or Siena that take you into the Val d’Orcia to visit a working Pecorino dairy, taste the cheese at different stages of ageing, and explore the wine cellars of Montalcino or Montepulciano in the same day. See the Florence day trips guide for context on how the Val d’Orcia fits into a wider Tuscany itinerary.