ITALY - May 27, 2010 - Italy has a new protected cheese, Piave, from the province of Belluno in northern Italy. Its EU protected designation of origin (PDO) status is confirmed in the Official Journal, published May 22.

Piave, which gets its name from a river flowing from the Dolomites, has been gaining an international reputation, sold in the U.S. as Piave vecchio or stravecchio, meaning "old" or "extra-old" respectively. The stravecchio is said to taste much like a young Parmigiano Reggiano.

In Italy, there are four varieties of Piave, ranging from fresco (20-60 days) to vecchio Oro del Temp, which has been matured for more than a year.