Food & Wine - visit the producers: Aosta, Brissogne, Charvensod, Fénis, Pollein, Saint-Marcel

The Ottin winery was founded in the early nineties from the passion of a young farmer for wine and for his land. A passion that comes from afar, inherited from the family, mountain winemakers for generations. In 2007 a new challenge: vinification of the grapes on his own, until then it had been carried out by a local cooperative.
Ottin wines are produced largely from local vines, grown in areas naturally suited to viticulture, where the vine thrives with balance, according to environmentally friendly production techniques.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Petite Arvine Vallée d’Aoste DOC,
Red DOC wines: Pinot Noir Vallée d’Aoste DOC, Torrette Supérieur Vallée d’Aoste DOC, Fumin Vallée d’Aoste DOC.
Other wines:
White wines: Nuance (Petite Arvine)
Red wines: L’Emerico (Pinot Noir)

There is a sales point open upon appointment.

The visit
The company can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by email or by telephone (Elio Ottin) with a few days’ notice.
The winery offers three tasting experiences (details are available here).
Number of visitors required to visit: min 1 / max 20.
Languages spoken: Italian, French and English.

How to get there
From the centre of Aosta, take the regional highway to Roisan. The company is located about 3 km from the town.

The winery was born out of the dream of bringing the noises, smells and emotions deriving from the transformation of an agricultural production back to the centre of the city of Aosta, within the historic premises of the ancient Mulino della Ressaz.
The great-grandparents Tanteun and Marietta, with their life’s work and their stubbornness, gave their great grandchildren the opportunity to take their first steps in the great and wonderful world of wine.
Tanteun bequeathed the space in which the winery is located, where with foresight he kept the old mill hidden and protected; Marietta passed on her passion for wine and vine cultivation, making her grandson Emiro promise to replant his vineyard in Champagnole, where it all started.
Since 2012, the creators of the company Federico and Alessandra have been cultivating two hectares of old vineyards and transforming the grapes into 10.000 bottles of white and red D.O.C. (Controlled Denomination of Origin).

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: La Tocca, Vallée d’Aoste Muscat Petit grain, Valle d’Aosta Pinot gris “Bizelle”
Red DOC wines: Lo Toque, Valle d’Aosta Pinot noir “R.E.M.”, Valle d’Aosta Pinot noir “R.E.M. X”, Valle d’Aosta Rouge “Farouche”, Valle d’Aosta Rouge “Boheme”

There is a sales point open upon appointment.

The visit
The winery, located in the historic premises of the old Ressaz Mill, can be visited all year round, by reservation, and during the visit it is possible to taste the products.
There is no minimum number of people required, large groups can be split into smaller groups if necessary.

Languages spoken: Italian, French, English and Portuguese.

How to get there
The company is located in a courtyard of the 1700s, opposite the central bus station of Aosta; it can therefore be reached by public transports, by car or on foot.

The ‘La Chèvre Heureuse’ farm, founded in the 2002, is located at an altitude of 1400 metres on the mountain of Saint-Marcel. About 60 French chamois goats are bred on the farm, a species which combines the excellent predisposition for the high mountain with good milk production.
The company is also willing to open its farm restaurant.

Products
Champchevrette cheese, fresh goat cheese, sheep milk cheese, tometta goat cheese, soft goat cheese, mixed tometta cheese, ricotta goat cheese and kefyr goat cheese.
There is no shop on the premises but the cheeses can be tasted and purchased directly in the farm.

Visit
The farm can be visit from May to October upon reservation to be made by e-mail or telephone at least one week in advance.
The tour includes a visit to the pastures, the stable, the aging cellar and the vegetable gardens.
Languages spoken: Italian, French, English and Spanish.

How to get there
From Saint-Marcel follow the signs to the Les Druges picnic area until the hamlet of Champremier (about 12 km from Saint-Marcel).

Since 1947, the La Valdôtaine distillery has been producing grappa and other distilled spirits, liqueurs and bitters, in addition to jams, marrons glacés and dry-cured ham.
The grappa is strictly steam-distilled in small copper stills in line with the ancient tradition. The boilers dating back to 1932 and 1947 are loaded with 400 kilos of marc and produce 16 litres of grappa in around 2 and a half hours. The alcohol content of the grappa can vary between 58 and 65 degrees.

Products
Liqueurs, jams, dry-cured ham.
The onsite shop offers locally manufactured handicrafts and a rich selection of DOC wines (wines with Controlled Designation of Origin) from the Aosta Valley region, in addition to products from the La Valdôtaine distillery.
Shop opening hours: from Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Visit
The visit includes a tour of the distillery and the dry curing factory as well as access to the snack & tasting area, followed by tasting sessions.
Costs of the tastings:
Spirits only: free
Tasting for groups with spirits and dry-cured ham: € 6.00 per person
Full tasting for couples: € 15.00 per person.
The farm can be visited all year round upon telephone reservation (Paolo Fabris) to be made at least one week in advance.
Number of visitors per visit: min 2 / max 50.
Languages spoken: Italian and English.

Accessibility
The factory, tasting area and shop are fully accessible to wheelchairs.

How to get there
Coming from the Turin-Aosta A5 motorway, exit at the Nus toll gate and proceed towards Fénis and then Saint-Marcel.