Dairies

This dairy farm was founded in 2004 with the aim of streamlining the production and transformation of the milk of the Valley according to the methods of ancient cooperative dairies, where different farmers used to work together alternating in shifts. The Fromagerie Haut Val d’Ayas brings together 65 local farmers who contribute with their own milk and processes almost two million litres of milk a year, obtaining about 18,000 types of Fontina cheese. Areas and museums depicting scenes of rural life lie at the heart of the cooperative and panels are displayed inside which illustrate the journey of the milk, from the milking process to transformation into cheese; you can also watch the Fontina cheese being made first hand.

Products
Fresh and matured dairy products, honey, wine, juices, spirits, medicinal herbs, local vegetable products (in summer-autumn), frozen yoghurt, products baked with yoghurt and butter from the Fromagerie.
The shop is open all year round from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. (2:30 p.m. on public holidays) to 7:30 p.m.

Visit
The company can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by e-mail or telephone at least 3 days in advance (Contact: Egle Dondeynaz or Franca Compagno).
You can visit the cheese aging cellar and, upon request, the cattle stables of the cooperative members located close to the dairy. It is also possible to observe the milk being processed from a window inside the shop.
Tastings and a buffet can be organized upon booking at a pre-agreed price.
Number of visitors per visit: min 10 / max 50.
Languages spoken: Italian, French and English.

How to get there
From Verrès, follow the regional road 45 in the direction of Ayas until you reach the built-up area of Brusson (about 16 km); the dairy has an adjacent yard and is on the right if arriving from Verrès.

This small family-run business started off as a simple self-consumption project but reinvented itself in 2003, expanding into the marketing and sale of its excess products, adhering to the concepts of the short chain and zero-km production.

The products
Fresh and ripened cheeses, jams, fruit and vegetables, eggs and meat.
All the products are available seasonally at the company’s shop: to find out its opening hours, please contact the owners.

The visit
The stables, vegetable gardens, wine cellars and production premises are open throughout the year depending on the season and by reservation, which can be made by email or telephone at least one day in advance.
Number of visitors required for the visit: min. 1 - max 12 people.
Languages spoken: Italian, English, French and German.

How to get there
Coming up from the bottom of the valley, driving along the SR 45, turn left at the entrance of the Brusson municipality when you reach the village Arcesaz.

The Lo Copafen farm is located in the municipality of Chambave, and nature and time have maintained a fundamental role in the production of cheese, the same as they did 100 years ago.
Today, the Perraillon family, by adopting a more technological and innovative process, has preserved the organoleptic characteristics of the cheese products of that time and, for some years now, has also been producing cured meats. A large number of the cheeses are matured at high altitude and rest in a cellar that can store up to 2,000 wheels.
The farm produces Fontina, butter, goats cheese and Toma, available for sale in the shop.

The visit
Guided visit of stalls, the dairy and the traditional store throughout the year, subject to booking by phone.
After the visit, it is possible to taste the products.

How to get there
From Chambave, on the national road, take the road for Fénis and then follow directions for Septumian.

'La Tchavana de Metsan' farm is a livestock farm that raises dairy cows and dairy sheep, which feed almost exclusively on pasture grass. It is located at the Alpe Metsan, in the municipality of Ayas at an altitude of 2000 metres, where nature reigns in days of peace and quiet. 

Products
Fontina DOP, fresh dairy products (ricotta, tomini, pasteurised milk), sheep's milk cheeses including Gran Gessato d'Ayas, sheep robiola, Bonbleu and Neige de Brebis.
The point of sale is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The visit
The farm can be visited from 15th June to 15th September by prior reservation via Whatsapp at +39 347 7347523 (Luca Toja) a few days in advance.
You can visit the cowshed and milking area, the cheese dairy and the cheese maturing cellar. The owners will tell you about life in the mountain pastures and the history of the Bagnod family.
It is possible to visit the mountain pasture at the Alpe Metsan, which can be reached on foot from the hamlet of Mandrou (30 minutes, uphill path) or from the hamlet of Barmasc (1h15 along the Ru Courtod, flat path) - Accessible by car only by disabled people or people with mobility difficulties (via the dirt road located 500 metres before the hamlet of Mandrou).

Tasting sessions are available:
30-minute visit: 10 €
45-minute visit with tasting of 4 kinds of cheese: 20 €

Spoken languages: Italian and English.

How to get there
The farm can be easily reached on foot either from the hamlet of Barmasc, along the beautiful and easy Ru Courtaud walk, which can also be done by mountain bike or on horseback, or by climbing up from the hamlet of Mandrou on the path that offers a beautiful view of the Monte Rosa. 

Le Beson farm was founded in 2018, initially with just a few animals. In 2021, a new stable was built, where there are currently around 75 dairy goats and sheep! A variety of cheeses are produced and, in a smaller part, the Guichardaz family also cultivates 1 hectare of land for the production of vegetables, potatoes and red fruits. The farm is located in the beautiful setting of the Sant'Orso meadows in Cogne. 

The products

Production of fresh cheeses (primosale, ricotta, cacioricotta, stracchino, robiola), semi-matured cheeses (brie, goat cheese), mature cheeses (toma cheese, raclette, blue cheese), yoghurt, pasteurised milk, panna cotta. Seasonal vegetables, red fruits and potatoes. 

Point of sale at the farm in the hamlet Cretaz (please contact the farm for the opening hours) and at the 'Boutique agricole' shop in Rue Bourgeois 7 in the centre of Cogne (open Thursday to Monday throughout most of the year).

The visit

It is possible to visit the company all year round by prior booking at the following phone number +39 345 5909741, at least three or four days in advance. During busy periods for the farm, the visit may not be possible. You can visit the animal housing area, the cheese cellars and the dairy where the milk is processed. 

Tasting sessions are also possible (cost € 10 per person).

Number of visitors required for the visit: min. 5.
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

How to get there

The farm is located in the hamlet of Cretaz, at the end of the Sant'Orso meadows, where the Valnontey and Lillaz streams meet. 

Products
Alpine fontina, butter, reblec cheese, various toma cheeses, yoghurt, ricotta and cream.
The point of sale located in Rue Grand Paradis is open from mid-October to May, while the one located at the Pra-su-piaz mountain pasture is open from June to mid-October. In Pra-su-piaz there is also a farm restaurant open from June to October.

Visit
The farm can be visited upon reservation to be made by e-mail or telephone. The visit includes a tour of the cattle stable and the cheese aging cellar. It is also possible to organize tastings of local products.
Number of visitors per visit: max 20/25.
Languages spoken: Italian, French and English.

How to get there
Just after exiting the town of Cogne you will find the farm on the right, a little further down the road that leads to Valnontey.

In 1975 Pietro and Camilla started to make Fontina cheese in a small cooperative dairy in the lower Aosta Valley: today, this same dairy processes almost two million litres of milk a year, producing around 25,000 forms of Fontina ‘DOP’ (cheese with Protected Designation of Origin), in addition to fresh and matured cheese and butter.

Products
Fontina, Fresh and Matured Cheese, Flavoured Cheese, Reblec Cheese, Primo Sale Cheese, Salignun Cheese, Ricotta, Milk, Butter, Yoghurt, Desserts.
In addition to dairy production, the shop offers a wide selection of local products from the Aosta Valley. Open from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., on Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Visit
The dairy can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by e-mail, fax or telephone (contact Lea Vallet) at least 1 day in advance.
You can visit the dairy as well as the cheese maturing room.
Tastings are also available for a fee.
Number of visitors per visit: max 60.
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

Accessibility
The tasting room, the maturing warehouse and the shop are completely accessible to wheelchairs.

How to get there
If coming from Aosta, turn left half way along the straight road in Donnas, 20 meters after the dairy road sign.
If coming from Turin, turn right half way along the straight road in Donnas, 20 meters after the dairy road sign.

The family run farm was founded in 1972 to produce typical dairy products of the Aosta Valley.
Over time there have been changes with regards to the agricultural machinery, nevertheless the production of the various cheeses, the most known being the Fontina, has remained as it once was.
This unique feature ensures the authenticity of the farm product.

Products
Fontina cheese, toma cheese, reblec, ricotta, mozzarella cheese, yoghurt, tomino cheese, brossa and butter.
The shop is open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Visit
The farm can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by telephone at least one day in advance.
The visit includes a tour of the stable, the dairy and the aging cellar.
Cost of the visit per person: € 5.00, € 10.00 with tasting.
Number of visitors per visit: min 6
Languages spoken: Italian and French

How to get there
From the trunk road 27 of Great St. Bernard, take the regional road towards Valpelline; the farm is on the right hand side, at a lower level than the road.

The ‘La Borettaz farm’ was established in 2000 to carry on a family tradition which had been alive for centuries in the history of farming in the Aosta Valley. Breeding Aosta Valley red spotted cattle and Aosta Valley brown cattle. The large surface area of the Farm allow to feed the cattle in the best way possible, using the fodder and the hay produced on the farm, all year round.

Products
Milk, DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) Alpine Pasture Fontina, DOP Fontina, Matured cheeses, Toma cheese, Toma cheese flavoured with thyme, chilli, kummel or garlic, Fresh cheeses such as reblec, ricotta, stracchino, mozzarella, Brossa, Butter, Yoghurt and Dessert, fresh meat and sausages. 
The farm has a 24-hour raw milk vending machine.

The point of sale is open every day from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 3.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Visit
The farm can be visited all year round upon reservation by e-mail or telephone (Bisson Fabrizio, Viérin Gabriele or Matthiou Thierry) at least three days in advance.
You will visit the cattle shed, the calf shed, the milk processing room and the cheese maturing room. A final tasting is also available.

For further information about availabilities and prices per person, please contact the owners.
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

Accessibility
All the rooms are on the ground floor, easily accessible even for disabled people in wheelchairs.

How to get there
The farm is located on the regional road for Gressan, two km from Aosta.
Exit the motorway at the Aosta Est toll gate, follow the signs to the Pila ski resort until the junction for Gressan and then carry on for about 1.5 km.

Guided tours are available for groups and individuals subject to booking.
Sale of Fontina (whole forms only).
The store is closed Saturdays, Sundays and Monday mornings.