Defendi specializes in the production, aging and selling of cheeses common to northern Italy, though Gorgonzola, the most famous of Italy's blue cheeses, and Taleggio, a local speciality, are on center stage here. Bolstered by more than 150 years of experience, production focuses on these two crown jewels and includes Sweet and Sharp Gorgonzola PDO (Bacco and Bacco Verde, respectively), Capriccio (Gorgonzola and Mascarpone), Taleggio PDO (Il Caravaggio), Quartirolo Lombardo PDO, Primavera di Caravaggio (a washed-rind cheese made with cow's milk, whose flavor is both sweet and mild). There are also cheeses made with buffalo milk. Their Baffalo Blu is a blue cheese, and they offer a buffalo Camembert. Bufaletto is a buffalo-cow milk mix (a washed-rind cheese that's similar to Taleggio). Their cheeses are made through a combination of modern technology and manual methods using only Italian milk from select producers.
