Genussbunker, Italy: Travelling 10 Hours to Eat Cheese from a disused World War II Bunker
Genussbunker’s unique cheese-ageing process inside an abandoned World War II bunker is an artisanal act of faith and patience. The spoils yield delicious.
I flew seven hours and drove three more to a mountainside in Northeast Italy to taste cheese left for two years inside an abandoned World War II bunker, but more importantly, so should you.
My steps inch into the darkness, crunching down a narrow pebbled path flanked by damp stone walls. A wet, low ceiling is studded with infant stalactites about a thousand years too young.
And then, that smell! A dank funk, not of rot or dying things, but of yeast, wood and damp.
Pendulous orbs hang from makeshift shelves. I leer and squint at these nets coated in a thick white mould, bulging and suspended like odd papier-mache testicles, and I ask myself: Are these delicious?
Genussbunker, Of Wars, Pigs and Cheese
Welcome is Genussbunker outside Brunico in South Tyrol, a smidge over three hours north of Venice. It’s an abandoned World War II bunker that fortuitously came into the hands of Hubert Stockner, cheese master and beer sommelier, albeit by accident.
A pig farmer invited Hubert back in 2016 to taste his Speck, a cured, lightly smoked ham native in these South Tyrolean Dolomites. Hubert’s career frustrations serving “Big Dairy” coincided with these Speck trials. Said pig farmer and Speck purveyor mentioned to Hubert in passing that his land cosseted a disused World War II bunker. Intrigued, Hubert visited the bunker, and the rest is history.
“I went home to my wife, and I told her that I had a new job!” jokes Hubert.
Genussbunker, Bunker Ageing Cheese is an Act of Patience and Faith
It takes a certain kind of person to overlook the evident impediments of a decades-old, disused bunker rather than entertain its potential. The clearance, the preparation, and the investment come after the challenges of a remote mountainside location.
“The bunker is very difficult to access because there is about half a metre of snow in the surrounding area”, notes Hubert.
It also requires courage of conviction. Ageing cheese is not as simple as hurling a wedge into the dampness and hoping for the best. It requires substantial time, expertise, and cheese, as well as trial and error – all before adapting to people’s changing tastes and preferences.
During our cheese and beer tasting (oh yes, we will come to the tastings), Hubert slips that cheese ageing is not traditional to South Tyrol. Ageing cheese, especially bunker cheese, is an act of patience and faith.
Genussbunker, “Trust The Process”
Cheese is a fickle mistress, and like you or me, not all cheeses age well. What’s that saying about ageing like a fine milk?
“If the cheese is too wet, then it won’t survive a month and, therefore, it is disposed of. However, you have to trust the process and accept that trial and error is part of the journey.” Hubert notes.
Hubert prefers cheeses made from thermasised milk, a sub-pasteurisation method of sanitising milk for short periods of low heat. Hard cheese is best for ageing due to its very low moisture content. Alas, South Tyrolean cheese leans towards soft or semi-hard, which spoils during the considerable ageing process. Therefore, Genussbunker sources outside of South Tyrol, including Southern Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. In fact, Hubert’s initial foray into bunker cheese sourced thirty-five kilos of ten different cheeses from Southern Germany.
Then he waited.
Worse, it takes between six months to two years to sample the moment of truth.
It’s labour-intensive, like many artisanal processes. Hubert wipes, cleans, flips and rotates cheese wheels that weigh 35 kilos — approximately the size of a 10-year-old child.
This process is repeated at least once a week.
Do the math. One wipe and flip once a week. There are at least four weeks in a month multiplied by at least six months. Therefore, each cheese is handled at least 24 times minimum.
Genussbunker is a passion project
I admire Hubert’s audacious foray. Lease a disused bunker on the side of a mountain, refurbish it, and buy cheese of exacting specifications sourced from outside South Tyrol as - and here is the kicker - local people seldom buy or produce this kind of cheese.
Genussbunker is not some middle-aged whim; it is a passion project that Hubert wanted to pursue even if the folly ended in failure. At least he would have tried and failed rather than never know and be left facing those agonising pangs of ‘what if’ that trouble people burdened by ambition. Worse, to witness someone else walk in the footsteps he never set for himself.
Genussbunker is the culmination of Hubert’s thirty-year career as a master cheesemaker. I compliment his youthful appearance, which he credits to the bunker.
“It is the bunker and the cheese that keeps me young!”
Genussbunker, from cheese and beer tastings to some of the world’s best restaurants
Genussbunker now supplies cheese to local chefs, including Norbert Niederkofler, one of Italy’s most awarded and well-known chefs.
“Today, with Instagram, if Norbert posts about the bunker, then some chefs order cheese if they see a three-star chef ordering [my] cheese.” (Read a review of his three Michelin-starred Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler restaurant here.)
Instagram for good!
Genussbunker continued during COVID-19 thanks to the support of local and national grocers. Some chefs in Puglia also bought cheese following an event there.
We sit in a narrow tasting room inside the bunker under fluorescent and neon lights to confirm first-hand what happens when cheese is left in a bunker for almost two years.
A Caprino cheese made from goat’s milk, my favourite, fades like ombre from a pale taupe while retaining a creamy centre. The signature tartness of the goat’s cheese is amplified. It is a cheese easily enjoyed on its own or stirred through a comfort dish.
Genussbunker’s creamy “Genussjager”, made from cow’s milk, is an award-winning cheese and a portmanteau of Genussbunker and Jaeger, as in Jagermeister. A Southern Italian Pallone di Gravina, a cheese typical of Basilicata and Apulia, stands out, and I wonder if I can sneak the rest of the wedge into my bag. (I did not.) Out comes a blue Buffalo cheese from Bergamo, as craggy as the bunker’s walls and rippled with blue veins. A palate cleanser of Guggenbrau Vignau Sour Beer made with Sauvignon Blanc is coupled with a sharp blackcurrant and apple drink.
Genussbunker is worth a visit if you find yourself within this remote area of Northern Italy frequented by skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer. You should keep an eye out for aged bunker cheese in local stores. Genussbunker is one of one.
Genussbunker, Montal 50, 39030 San Lorenzo di Sebato BZ, Italy. You can read more about Genussbunker on its website or via Instagram.
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You've taken me back! This is such a special experience, and I hope more people seek it out.
Did a double take when I saw blend of cheese and Jagermeister... thought, this sorcery should not exist. Re-read that again and all is well 🧀