Az. Agr. Merlo Bianco (Stefano Nerboni)

In Merana, Alessandria province, Stefano Nerboni's farm operates on a closed-loop system: homegrown fodder feeds the goats, and their milk produces Robiola di Roccaverano DOP. It is a soft, rindless cheese, fermented without inoculated cultures, where nothing is added beyond what the pasture provides. The farm's very name thus encapsulates a method: natural lactic fermentation transforms raw milk into the delicate robiola of the nineteen municipalities of Langa Astigiana, without rushing the process. Visitors to the farm can follow the entire journey, from pasture to finished product, and observe firsthand how grass becomes milk and then the final cheese wheel. It's a visit that explains, better than any label, why the closed loop isn't just a slogan but the very condition of this robiola: stopping here means seeing it born where its milk is also born.

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