CASEUS 2024: TRUE LABORATORY OF TASTE AND KNOWLEDGE

After the announcement of the merger, for the occasion, with the Venetian PDO Festival and the presence of an international showcase of dairy products, the dozens of activities that will be held in Caseus on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October 2024 were also made known at Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta (PD) . In celebrating its twentieth anniversary, the event remains steadfast in its objectives: to underline the value of denomination cheeses and beyond and to develop knowledge and awareness in the choice of dairy products. In fact, the Caseus Veneti competition also reaches its twentieth edition, where hundreds of productions will compete in numerous categories but there will be space for small and very small transformations in the 6th National Farm Cheese Competition curated by ONAF. An event, Caseus, which aims to develop culture and promote the value of milk produced in Italy, in a historical moment in which denomination cheeses are often more appreciated abroad than in the land of production. In fact, there are many aspects that will also be explored in depth through conferences aimed at both producers and consumers. Attention also to the role of the affineur, with meetings dedicated to the "Contemporary Art of Cheese" coordinated by Maestro Alberto Marcomini.

Among the new features is also the possibility of becoming cheesemakers, for children who enroll in the course promoted by Veneto Agricoltura . Over the two days there will be no shortage of guided tastings, pairings, meetings with producers, wine-cheese masterclasses and training and discussion events. The calendar promises to be even richer than the last edition (there were more than 60 events in 2023, all sold out even before the opening of the event.)

Finally, thanks to the PDO Festival, the Caseus plot will also be intertwined with a rich journey dedicated to regional agri-food products with the PDO, PGI, TSG and QV (verified quality) brands. So not only cheeses but also wines, oils, sausages and horticultural products that will complete the food and wine experience. The numbers speak clearly for the Veneto Region, as much as 55% of the milk produced in Veneto is, in fact, transformed into DOP cheeses: Asiago (1,423,899 wheels produced), and then Grana Padano (812,407), Casatella Trevigiana (490,022 ), Montasio (349,700), Piave (336,589), Provolone Valpadana (324,675) and Monte Veronese (91,357), for a total of 3,828,649 denomination wheels produced in 2023. Broadening our gaze to denomination products in the entire Veneto Region boasts 18 protected designations of origin (PDO), 18 protected geographical indications (PGI) and 4 guaranteed traditional specialties (TSG), in addition to 14 controlled and guaranteed designations of origin (DOCG), 29 controlled designations of origin (DOC) and 10 typical geographical indications (IGT) in the wine sector. Numbers that will be represented throughout the exhibition which remains, as usual, free entry.