Food & Wine - visit the producers: Aymavilles, Villeneuve

La Cave inaugurated its production with the 1990 grape harvest.

La Cave des Onze Communes has made it possible right from the start to recover territories doomed to abandonment in time and, thanks to the union of small and medium-sized enterprises, to use the best technologies to produce only high-quality wine, focusing above all on increasing the cultivated area for DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines.
Its vineyards, located in eleven municipalities, cover an area of about 70 hectares, worked by the 160 wine growing members, and they make it possible for the cooperative to produce more than 500.000 bottles every year.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Vigne Alte DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin), Chardonnay DOC, Petite Arvine DOC, Pinot Gris DOC, Müller-Thurgau DOC, Traminer Aromatico DOC
Red DOC wines: Syrah DOC, Fumin DOC, Anciens Cépages DOC, Cornalin DOC, Fumin Barrique DOC, Gamay DOC, Pinot Noir Barrique DOC, Torrette DOC, Pinot Noir DOC, Petit Rouge DOC, Torrette Supérieur DOC, Mayolet DOC, Rosé DOC
DOC straw wine: Flétry Muscat Petit Grain DOC
Other products: table wines

Opening of the retail outlet
Monday to Friday from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
Saturday from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
Closed on Sundays and public holidays.
In July, August, September and Christmas holidays open from Monday to Saturday from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm; Sunday from 10 am to 12.30 pm and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.

The visit
The company can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by email or telephone. The visit to the wine cellar and the vineyards is enriched by a collection of antique equipment of the viticulture in the Aosta Valley. The visit can be followed by a wine tasting, or wines accompanied by local products.
Languages spoken: Italian, French, English and Spanish.

Accessibility
The cooperative is accessible and has a bathroom for disabled people, as well as convenient parking.

How to get there
Aosta Ovest motorway exit; continuing on the regional highway to the Cogne Valley, the Cave des Onze Communes is located to the left of the Aymavilles castle.

The Les Crêtes winery was founded in 1989 by Costantino Charrère and is now managed by his family who, owners of a historic 18th-century water mill and the ancient wineries of Via Moulins, have been involved in the production of agri-food for five generations. The area devoted to the cultivation of vineyards extends for 25 hectares, and the total annual production is 200.000 bottles.
The Rifugio del Vino (Wine refuge) of Les Crêtes was founded in 2016, as an emotional tasting room, next to the historic winery, to which it is structurally connected. The Charrère family opens its doors to enthusiasts who intend to undertake the philosophy and knowledge of the world of Les Crêtes.
Rifugio del Vino, because it lies in the Alps with a reference to the typical high-altitude architecture and because it is a construction designed to protect wine, has an authentic heritage of the mountain terroir. Its profile is reminiscent of a mountain massif, the same that becomes the symbol of Les Crêtes and distinguishes its brand. Under this large covered courtyard there is space for the production of wine and a wine shop, held together by an interesting itinerary for a visit.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Petite Arvine V.d.A.(Valle d’ Aosta) DOC, Chardonnay V.d.A. DOC, Chardonnay Cuvée Bois V.d.A. DOC, Petite Arvine Fleur Valle d’Aosta DOC, Pinot Gris Valle d’Aosta DOC, Neige d’Or Valle d’Aosta DOC
Red DOC wines: Torrette V.d.A. DOC, Pinot Nero V.d.A. DOC, Syrah V.d.A. DOC, La Sabla, Fumin V.d.A. DOC, Merlot Valle d’Aosta DOC, Nebbiolo Sommet Valle d’Aosta DOC
Rosé DOC wines: Rosé Valle d’Aosta DOC

Other wines:
White wine Mon Blanc (blend of native and international white-berried grapes)
Mon Rouge red wine (blend of local and international dark-berried grapes)
Wine from Doré overripe grapes (aromatic variety with white Muscat grapes)
Neblù Brut Rosé - Classic Method Quality Spumante Wine

There is a sales point open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 1.00 pm and from 2.45 pm to 6.30 pm, Saturday from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and from 3.00 pm to 6.30 pm. Closed on Sundays and public holidays, except Sundays of July and August (open from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and from 3.00 pm to 6.30 pm).

The visit
The company can be visited all year round upon reservation to be made by email or by telephone +39 0165 902274, or on the company website. You can visit the winery and the vineyards. It is also possible to make visits with tastings in the tasting room called “Il Rifugio del Vino”, located in a very suggestive place near a vineyard with a privileged view over the city of Aosta, with the possibility of tasting local cheeses and cured meats, too.
Tasting programms are available on the website.

Languages: Italian, French and English.

How to get there
Coming from the A5 motorway, take the Aosta Ovest-St. Pierre exit. Take the state highway 507 keeping to the right at the crossroads, and continue on towards Cogne/Aymavilles until the roundabout of Piazza Chanoux in Aymavilles. At the roundabout, take the 4th exit (direction Gressan) to the village of Ferrière. The company is located 400 m on the right.

The Glarey beekeeping farm boasts a long family tradition and practices nomadic beekeeping, following the various blooms in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont. Currently, the farm has about 120 productive hives that are left to winter in Villeneuve. With the arrival of summer, the hives are relocated to the Gran Paradiso National Park (Rhêmes and Valsavarenche Valleys) for producing rhododendron and upper mountain wildflower honey. For the dandelion honey, the hives are taken to the Matterhorn Valley to a height of around 1500 m above sea level. The chestnut honey is produced in the municipality of Donnas whilst the lime tree honey and the spring wildflower honey is produced in Villeneuve. For the acacia honey and the honeydew honey - the only two products that are not autochthonous of the Aosta Valley - the hives are taken down to Piedmont in the municipalities of Lessolo, Strambinello and Rivarolo.

Products
High mountain wildflower honey, rhododendron honey, lime tree honey, dandelion honey, chestnut honey, acacia honey and honeydew honey.
The shop is open on the following times: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Visit
It can be visited all year round (the visit of course is definitely more interesting between June and September, during the production period) upon reservation to be made by e-mail or telephone at least 3 days in advance.
The visit includes a tour of the production areas. Between April and October the hives can also be visited, whereas the honey extraction phases can be watched in the period from June to August.
Number of visitors per visit: max 15.
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

How to get there
Coming from the A5 motorway, exit at the Aosta Ovest toll gate and head to Courmayeur on the SS26 trunk road. The farm is in the centre of Villeneuve.

The history of Maison Anselmet is not linked to the birth of the company in 2001, but it is a witness handed down by generations of men who have linked their lives to the land and its fruits: it is a story of passion, effort, work, it is the life of the Anselmet family. The first certain trace of an Anselmet winemaker is in 1585 through a contract for the purchase of a vineyard in Villeneuve. From then on, the passion for making wine was handed down from generation to generation, until the end of the seventies.
In 1978 Renato Anselmet, Giorgio’s father, decided to continue the family tradition, but to start producing wine not only for his own personal consumption, thus laying the foundations for what would become in a few years one of the most important and esteemed wine producers in the Aosta Valley: Maison Anselmet. Year after year, the vines were selected, the surface of the vineyards expanded and the production increased in terms of quantity and quality. Technical and technological innovations have been introduced, courageous choices have been made that have transformed a small company into a reference point for viticulture, not only in Valle d’ Aosta. From the 70 bottles bottled by Renato in 1978 with labels made by the same hands that worked the vineyard, Giorgio exceeded 70.000 bottles in 2008.The next milestone, ambitious but soon reachable, will be the 1.000 hectoliters, after the 100.000 bottles of 2015. The most recent date that the Maison engraves in its history is the one linked to the inauguration of the new winery in the village of Vereytaz, a facility that in the area of reception has maintained the values and characteristics of the historical buildings of the valley: recovered ‘old’ wood, ancient stone only brushed, recent wrought iron but respecting the handmade work of local artisans. In the area of production, on the other hand, thanks also to Beppe Caviola’s valuable advice and passionate suggestions, technology reigns: no frills, but all that is needed to optimize procedures and work. And the collaboration with Beppe continues, with great satisfaction, and brings increasingly comforting results.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Main et Coeur, Chardonnay Barrique, Petite Arvine, Chambave Muscat, Chardonnay, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Gris
Red DOC wines: Semel Pater, Pellerin, Henri, Fumin, Pinot Noir Tradition, Torrette Superieur, Broblan, Rune Brune

The sales point is open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm.

The visit
Each guest will be taken on a tour of the cellar and vineyards, followed by a tasting. There are two tasting sessions to choose from:
Tasting of classic wines: 20 € per person
Tasting of the best crus and reserves: 40 € per person
The company can be visited all year round upon booking to be made at least 2 days in advance. For tastings and visits, fill out the form on the company's website or contact the company by phone.
Number of visitors required: minimum 2, maximum 15 people.

Languages spoken: Italian and French.

How to get there
Beyond the village of Saint-Pierre you will find the La Meridiana Hotel. Turn right onto the uphill road. After the first intersection, turn left and, after the bridge, turn right.