Montasio, certified as a DOP in 1996, is produced in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the provinces of Belluno and Treviso in Veneto, and in parts of the provinces of Padua and Venice. Its origins are thought to date back to the 1200's, when monks from the Abbey of Moggio Udinese, located on the Montasio plateau, after observing the processes used by cheese-makers on the mountain pastures, refined their production techniques and created a recipe that is still used today.

The rind is straw-yellow and has the characteristic Consorzio di Tutela inscription on the heel. 

The paste of Montasio Dop is pale straw-yellow, it is compact, the texture is soluble and creamy on the palate, becoming harder as the cheese ages. The taste is sweet (diminishing with the months), spicy, slightly acidic, slightly piquant in the very mature product. The aftertaste is long, full-bodied, with lactic and vegetal notes when the cheese is fresh, shifting to lighter tones of dried fruit, even toasted, when the cheese is more mature. The aftertaste is long with delicate notes of sea salt, wood and vegetables.