Description: Picos de Europa, also known as Valdeon, is a Spanish blue cheese produced in the Valdeon Valley of Castile-Leon region of northwestern Spain. Made all year round from cow and goat's milk, the cheese has very dense blue veining and comes wrapped in maple or chestnut leaves. Since leaf wrapping is no more allowed these days, it comes wrapped in leaf printed aluminium foil. Queso di Valdeon has been awarded a status of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for regulating the production, processing and preparation of the cheese. In 2005, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food granted the cheese an award for best Blue Veined Spanish Cheese. It also got a Silver Award at the World Cheese Awards in 2015. The pate of Valdeon has a soft, granular texture and pale yellow color and is full of small cavities filled with blue moulds. Covered by a coarse, inconsistent rind in dark grey shades with tiny red marks, Valdeon is very strong and spicy in taste similar to Roquefort. The rich smell of the cheese makes a good company with fresh fruits and red wine or sherry.