Antonello Monni is the third generation in a family-run company that has produced amazing sheep cheese for decades. And while the young man loves to experiment and be creative, he still protects the old traditions of cheese making.

30-year-old Antonello Monni is literally in cheese to up his elbows from monday to sunday – every single week and month – all year round. Even though the story of a small local cheese producer might sound a little romantic – and although Antonello has undoubtedly found his calling – making cheese is hard work, not a romantic fairytale.

Every single day the families 900 sheep must be milked. And not just once a day. No two times, the white Sardinian sheep must be brought into the stable where they are milked while the shepherds and the family’s 12 shepherds are waiting outside. The first milking begins at 4:00 o’clock in the morning – and the day does not end for the Monni family until the last milking is over at 7:00 o’clock in the evening.
After milking, it is Antonello job to make the cheeses. In high season, when the animals produce the most milk, he makes about 33 wheels of cheeses every day, during the off-season up to 20. Monday to Sunday, Summer and Winter. And when the day’s new cheeses are done, all the “old” cheeses must be turned, there are sheep to take care of, and there are markets to be visited to sell the many wheels of cheese.
But although it’s a hard life, Antonello would not change it for anything else. He has already tried a lot. He has lived abroad, has worked as the chef cook in several pizza places, traveled the world thin. Yet, he chose to return to the family business just outside Montone in Umbria – because cheese in his DNA.

Brought up with cheese

“Already as little, I was here from when my father made cheese. I’ve grown up with it, and although for a while I wanted to see and experience something else, it feels right to be back, “says Antonello Monni, proud of the cheeses the family produces.
“Everything is handmade, it’s organic and we do not add any chemicals. Fatto a mano! (handmade), “he points out. And Antonello knows his cheese – and his milk. Even when the milk enters the small production kitchen, Antonello with just one look at the color is able to foresee what kind of cheese can be made of it. For white milk is not just white, he says. White has many shades and it is these shades that tell him what kind of cheese the milk is suitable for.
“A pecorino is not just a pecorino. Some are suitable for being eaten when they are young. Others should be saved. Some will benefit from being wrapped in walnut or fig leaves, others must be spiced with peppercorns or ruccola. You learn to see that at an early stage, “he explains, adding that it is also important for the production how the milk behaves during heating. Not to mention what the animals are eating in the fields.
“It’s something you learn along the way,” he says with a smile.
Being a little cheese producer is today different than when Antonelli’s grandfather started the business. Previously, the Umbrian families typically bought large amounts once a year. They bought 30 cheeses, 40 liters of oil and 60 liters of red wine – and it would last an entire year. But it’s not like that anymore, he says. Today, the families typically buy a quarter to a-half wheel of cheese each week – and this change in consumption habits has of course had a major impact on the small family business.
“Earlier people came here and bought a lot. They do not do that anymore. So instead, we go out on local markets every week to meet our customers wherever they are. Fortunately, it works fine, but it’s harder than when people just came here, he explains and adds that the family also sell cheeses to local restaurants that appreciate the quality of cheese that the Monni family make.

A cheese is not just a cheese

Most of the Monni cheese production is based on sheep’s milk, but since Antonello has become part of the family business, cheeses of goat and cow’s milk are now also produced at the family farm.
Some cheeses are sold as primi saldi, which means fresh cheese, most often the day after they have been made. Other cheeses are 20 days old before leaving shelves, others mature for two, three or four months, and again, others will not come out into the daylight before they are 18 months old.
Antonello, who loves to experiment and be creative, has also begun making yoghurt. But Pecorino is still the family’s main production.
“Here in Umbria, you make Pecorino in one way – in Tuscany another. It’s actually a bit funny, because I do not think any of us know how the others make their cheeses. But in Umbria, the Pecorino should preferably have many tiny holes inside. That however is not what people in Tuscany want – they want their cheese to be firm and without any holes at all, he says, laughing at the idea of ​​serving Pecorino without holes in Umbria.
“It would never go well,” he states while showing around the family farm, which contains both production, warehouses and stables.

The boy who cried wolf

As we walk around, four of the family’s big white shepherd dogs follow. The dogs are of the breed Maremma. A big heavy dog, who naturally feels the need to protect sheep, and therefore does not require much training, Antonello says.
“Already quite small, they show interest in following and protecting the sheep, and we always have a couple of dogs or three to follow each of our sheep flocks. It’s the only protection we have against wolves,” he says, adding that it is not more than three weeks ago that the family lost 15 sheep in a single wolf attack.
“It was terrible. It happened because we moved a flock and did not pay attention onto getting the dogs moved around as well. So we ended up with a flock that was left unprotected. And it went wrong right away. It was terrible,” he says. And even though the Italian state replaces any lose due to wolf attact, there is no compensation for the lost milk for the rest of the season. Or for the loss it further gives when a whole bunch of sheep gets stressed.
“When sheep get stressed their milk production goes down, with up to 70 percent. It was really expensive for us, “he says, pointing out that he would not have a single night without sleep if wolves were eradicated. “But that’s not going to happen. The wolf is protected, and we cannot even shoot it if we witness it attacking and killing our sheep. The punishment for killing a wolf is almost higher than the one for shooting a human, “he says.
But even though the wolf is protected by law, the family is allowed protect their sheep with the help of the great Maremma dogs, a calm and intelligent dog ​​with a powerful instinct to guard his flock and property – even when facing a wolf. It is in their blood to protect, just as the making of cheese is in Antonello’s blood.