Most people visit Sotres because they are hiking the Picos de Europa. Sotres is the highest village in the region. We decided to visit Sotres purely because we heard they have amazing cheese. One cannot just drink hot chocolate all the time. There are other key food groups apart from hot chocolate, one important one being cheese. This was the next stop on our chocolate tour of Spain (previous stop, San Sebastian 3h45 away).
We decided to visit Queseria Main, one of the 28 cheesemakers in the region to learn about Cabrales DOP, a very delicious semi hard blue cheese made from unpasteurized cow, goat and sheep’s milk. It is DOP meaning that Cabrales cheese can only come from this specific region and needs to be made in a particular way to carry the name. There are many reasons way the cheese is so good here, but one is the natural cave systems that stay at a constant temperature and the mould that grows in these caves that helps transform the cheese. Some of these caves are very difficult to access, as you can guess from the mountainous landscape in these pictures. Others, like the one we entered, are a little easier (we had to climb in after a long hike up so “easier” is relative). Cabrales cheese is aged between two and four months in these naturally formed limestone caves. The cheese used to be wrapped in moist leaves but today this is no longer allowed by regulation and it wrapped in a dark green coloured aluminium foil. It may also be worth noting that a piece of Cabrales cheese holds a Guinness World record for reaching the sum of $16,000 at auction.
Of course, one does cheese tours for the tastings. We tasted the same cheeses matured over different time periods and served alongside natural cider. I splurged on a very large piece of my favourite cheese. I remember I did the same thing when I visited the Roquefort cheese caves several years ago. We didn’t have a fridge in our hotel room, so I put it on the window sil outside to keep it cool since it was winter. Problem is, we forgot it there. Every once in a while, I wonder how long it took them to notice it there. Perhaps a series of hot summer days…sorry. This one we didn’t forget and we enjoyed every last crumb.
A big focus of the tour was to help teach consumers about the difference between real and fake cheeses claiming to be from the region but originating in Denmark. The cheese maker explained that without labour or anything, the cost of making cheese is minimum 6euros so if you see it sold at 8euros then it can’t possibly be the real thing. This is a challenge we have in the chocolate industry as well. If you buy a chocolate bar for 1$, how much do you think farmers are making of that? Pretty much nothing is the answer.
We saw a lot more cows than people on our trip to Sotres. They roam around town freely with their cowbells leading them along. They seem so content (and in charge) so it isn’t surprising that they produce such beautiful milk. Why they ruin it with Colacao powder, which is what all the hot chocolate I had were made of here, I don’t know. But I don’t blame them. Who comes here for hot chocolate really? Focus. I decided to enjoy the milk without chocolate this time around. The rest I replaced with cider (when in Asturias…).
Another important food group needed for survival and happiness is “views of impossibly stunning things”. The drive up and back is ridiculously beautiful. We had so many moments where I felt we needed to pinch ourselves that such a beautiful place was hidden in plain sight. Windy mountain roads with goats hanging out on the sides, clear icy blue rivers, and the views! Amazing.
If you visit, we stayed at Hotel Pena Castil and have absolutely no complaints. They also have a restaurant that served some delicious food (except for the hot chocolate obviously, but that’s long forgotten).
Verdict: When in doubt, and when there is no hot chocolate, eat cheese.
