La Mancha: It is the biggest natural region in Spain, which goes from the hills of Toledo up to the montains of Cuenca on the west, and from la Alcarria up to 'Sierra Morena'. It is a plain region, with very little trees but with a lot of 'saline' vegetation, appropiate for sheeps. It is without a doubt, one of the most important cheese producers regions in Spain, where the famous Macnchego Cheese is elaborated since ancient times. This can be considered the most representative cheese in Spain, and the most popular, internationally speaking.

 

Pastureland: La Mancha pasturelands are of great diversity: crop residues lands , rosemary lands, etc . Thus , plants like cinoblanco , sage , lavender, the thyme, and teucrios are the typical aromaticbushes of the pasturelands whereManchega sheep flocks feed, hence some scents pass into the milk, giving special organoleptic characteristics to theManchego cheese.

 The Manchega sheep: The flocks live and feed in pastures which are typical of the region of Castilla La Mancha, at an average altitude of 700 metres and with an extreme climate, which can range from temperatures below zero in winter to around 45ºC in summer. These characteristics affect the grazing land where the sheep feed and this, combined with natural feeds which also come from the same area, makes Manchega sheep’s milk distinctive from other milks. 

                                        

The sheep manchega milk: Without a doubt, the quality and richness of the Sheep Manchega milk depends on the pasturelands where the sheeps flocks feed, and the livestock farmers are well aware of this, trying always to use the best ones.  In the cheese elaboration, milk with the highest quality has to be used, this coming from animals that have a healthy and adequate diet. 

                   

The Manchego Cheese: The Manchego Cheese is a product of the Autonomic region of Castilla La Mancha, an important economic sector; the Denomination of Origin of 'Manchego Cheese' represents a guarantee of the quality of the product. Manchego cheese is the one that has been elaborated in Castilla La Mancha, with milk from sheep flocks registered under this Denomination of Origin, which feed in these pasturelands with a minimum maturation of 60 days. 

 

'La Solana': cheese tradition for 8 centuries: the origins of 'La Solana' are from the XII century. In the XII century, the re-population came from livestock farmers using pasturelands of  'La Moheda' & 'La Veguilla', where there was water available for the livestock. Beside 'La Moheda', there was a water fountain called 'de La Solana', which gave name to the region. In the XVIII century, 'La Solana' population and activity increased, and livestock was the main source of income; the number of livestock farmers increased up to 150. At the beginning of the XX century, 'La Solana' started growing significantly, keeping the traditions, with the Manchego cheese elaboration amongst them, passed through generations from the Middle Age.