2021: Year in Review

As the year winds down, we are reflecting on 2021. After being grounded for a long time, we were grateful to travel, visiting producers and customers throughout Italy, Spain, and the U.S. Though in-person events were still rare, we did countless tastings and classes online, and enjoyed connecting with cheese enthusiasts throughout the country. We also introduced a wide variety of new products, from artisan cheese and Italian charcuterie to sweet treats and salty snacks. New challenges presented themselves and we continue to work in this new landscape. Here’s to a productive and positive 2022 with lots of new things in store!

Travels

Members of our team visited regions throughout Italy and Spain, including Abruzzo, Asturias, Emilia Romagna, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, and more.

We taste-tested 24 month aged Parmigiano Reggiano, took part in the Calasparra rice harvest in the fall, said hello to sheep in the region of Abruzzo, and found new cheeses on the Camino de Santiago in Galicia.

Products

This was a big year for new products. We introduced new cheeses Leonora A Fuego®, a soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese with Spanish paprika, Ilha dos Misterios, a soft and creamy Portuguese cheese from the island of Pico, Mestiço de Tolosa, a small orange wheel made with raw goat’s and sheep’s milk, and Selvatico, an Alpine cow’s milk cheese aged 17 months.

On the meat side of things, we had many new debuts. We have Jamón Ibérico de Jabugo, a highly esteemed DOP available as a boneless ham and deli-loaf paleta. From Italy, we have two rare and sought-after meats made from a prime cut of thigh muscle: Culatello Classico and Culatta. Additionally, we have three new salumi from Piacenza, including Salame Piacentino DOP, Salame Milano, and Salame Tartufo. Rounding out this new line of Mitica® meats are Guanciale, Coppa Piacentina DOP, and Pancetta Piacentina DOP.

Finally, this year we added Pane di Musica, thin and crispy flatbread crackers from Sardegna, ChocoDates, chocolate-dipped Deglet Noor dates, Biscotti di Nocciola, crunchy artisan hazelnut cookies, new minitubs of Quicos de Chocolate® and Moka Pecans, and retail bags of Organic Marcona Almonds.

Events

In-person events were at a minimum this year, but we did participate in a few of note. First was the Celebrity Chefs & Friends Golf and Tennis Tournament benefitting City Harvest. As a sponsor, we served cheese and accompaniments at the evening reception and provided snacks on the court and the green. We’re proud to support City Harvest, which works to feed New Yorkers in need.

In November, we were also sponsors of the World Cheese Awards in Oviedo, Spain, where we sponsored the award for Best Spanish Cheese. Michele also worked as a judge at the event. Some of our Spanish producers also attended the event and we were able to gather together for a celebratory dinner in Oviedo. After not seeing them since 2019, we were grateful to all connect in person once again.

Thank you for your support throughout the year. May you have a happy and healthy end to 2021, and we’ll see you in the new year!