Sabina, terra di shopping goloso

Starting with the cheeses and dairy products from Caseificio Valle del Farfa, in Montopoli di Sabina, a town at the foot of the Monti Sabini, where for generations they have worked with the milk of cows raised on the farm, producing the typical Sabinese caciotta, low, soft, and delicately flavored; fragrant ricottas, caciocavallo, mozzarella, and stracchini. Another reference point is the Ecofattorie Sabine, in nearby Poggio Mirteto, where you can find fresh and semi-aged pecorinos, flavored with herbs or chili pepper; primo sale ricottas, yogurt, and a specialty: Cacio Magno, a type of taleggio made from sheep’s milk. In Poggio San Lorenzo, there is the Azienda Agricola Capofarfa, with the Agamennone family’s oil mill-museum, which since the 1600s has produced oil using typical local cultivars: Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo, Raia, Pendolino. In addition to showing the old pressing machines, the company also organizes pleasant and educational tastings. Oil calls for wine, and for a good glass of “blood of Bacchus” DOC, you can head to Rocca Sinibalda with its imposing castle, where Azienda Poggio Fenice produces Il Nibbio, a characterful red obtained from sangiovese, montepulciano, and cesanese grapes, and a fresh Rigogolo, pure vinified pinot blanc. A trip to Greccio is finally worth it not only to visit this picturesque village, where St. Francis set the scene for the first nativity scene in history, but also to taste the cured meats of Azienda Agricola Collemaggiore, which from the meat of the black pig of the Monti Reatini, raised free-range, obtains excellent products, such as pancetta, guanciali, capocolli, very lean lombetti, and a unique cured meat: the bronzone, a salty core of ham, closed by a rim of lard, and aged 180 days.