Food & Wine - visit the producers: Nus, Verrayes

The Ambiente Grumei beekeeping farm is located in the municipality of Verrayes, in the Cherolinaz hamlet (just 4 km from the valley floor) at 800 metres above sea level and dominates the central valley at its widest point; in front of it are snow-capped mountains of 3,500 m and in the distance the first glaciers of the upper valley.

Entirely organically run, operational since '91, it is multifunctional: in addition to the prevalent beekeeping activity, it also practices fruit growing and horticulture, thus completing the entire supply chain, from production to processing up to the direct sale of products both at the point of sale and at the main trade fairs in the Aosta Valley.

It is also an educational and social farm and collaborates with professional guides offering nature-hiking activities throughout the Aosta Valley.

All products can be purchased at the company shop (we recommend giving advance notice by calling the numbers listed in the "Contacts" section).

The visit

• Farm visits for families or small groups: either short (about 45 minutes) or long (about 90-120 minutes)
• Farm visits for larger groups or schools: half a day or full day (with personalized programs to be agreed)
• Paid visits: discounts for children or organized groups
• Languages spoken: french, english, spanish

The apiary of well-being, an immersive experience:  give yourself a moment of absolute relaxation inside a large and comfortable hut: observe the bees in safety and appreciate their beneficial scents based on propolis, honey, wax with the pleasant background of their buzzing.

Honey tasting and visit to the honey extraction and transformation laboratories.

It is also possible to visit the orchards, vegetable gardens, and aromatic plant cultivations.

Possibility of having a packed lunch or tasting company products in equipped outdoor spaces.

Games and recognition of birds and flowers are organized for younger visitors.

Also proposed are excursions with a nature-hiking guide suitable for all age groups and throughout the region. Snow excursions with snowshoes in the winter. In the area, excursions along the "ru", ancient irrigation channels between larch and Scots pine forests, are worth mentioning. In May, the mid-mountain moors turn pink: it is the flowering of wild thyme.

Period of activity: from March to October for both structured groups (school or otherwise) and for families and/or tourists

Reception capacity: for structured groups (min 10 max 25)

How to get there

Traveling on the A5 motorway, exit at the Châtillon - Saint-Vincent toll booth and take the S.S. 26, following it for 8 km in the direction of Aosta until the Champagne di Verrayes roundabout. Turn right onto the regional road 42 (signposted Verrayes - Colle San Pantaleone) and go up to the 4th Km, where you will find the car park and a wooden sign indicating the hamlet of Cherolinaz.

The La Vrille holiday farm and winery (‘viticcio’ in Italian), located along the Via Francigena at 670 m asl, was founded in 2002 from a project dreamed of and conceived by Hervé, a former sailor and great-grandson of emigrants from Valle d’Aosta, who decided to return to the cultivation of his ancestors’ land and Luciana, a lover of life in the name of simplicity.
The vineyards, arranged in a natural amphitheater overlooking the Avic and Emilius mountains, are almost entirely cultivated with autochthonous vines such as Vuillermin, Petit Rouge, Cornalin and Fumin, with the one exception of Pinot Noir.
A large area is reserved for Muscat Petit Grain, used for the production of the historic Chambave Muscat, and for the award-winning Chambave MusctaFlétri, the company’s sweet wine.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Chambave Muscat
Red DOC wines: Cornalin, Fumin, Chambave, Pinot noir, Vuillermin
DOC straw wine: Chambave Muscat Fletry

The sales point is open upon phone reservation.

The visit
It is possible to visit the winery and the vineyards. Several types of tastings can be booked, based on requests and the number of participants.
Cost of the tasting: to be agreed upon at the time of booking.
The company can be visited upon phone reservation (Hervé Deguillaume).
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

How to get there
Coming from the A5 motorway, exit at Nus. After approximately 5 km, at the first roundabout, turn left towards Verrayes. Go up for about 600 m, turn right towards “La Vrille agritourisme, Crétaz, Clapey, Grangeon”. Follow the small road that goes up for about 800 m.

This is a small winery in the Aosta Valley, located in Nus and established in 2018 by the will of a few friends. It has always (i.e. since the owners started working the vineyards in 2015) followed the organic and biodynamic method.
The company’s philosophy can be summed up in the expression ‘less is more’: the aim is to reduce interventions to a minimum, so that nature takes its course. The focus is on eco-sustainability and the will to make the farm’s own way of working known through accompanied visits. All work is done by hand or with a draft horse.

The products
Five wines are in production, two of which are already available: the Fénic and the Pinot Noir. The other wines will be available soon.

There is no fixed point of sale, contact the company for more information.

The visit
The winery can be visited all year round. You can visit the vineyards in Fénis, on foot, by bicycle (rental is possible) or by horse-drawn carriage, with tasting of two or three wines. Visits to other agricultural activities in the area (cheeses, cured meats) can also be added, and it’s possible to have lunch in a restaurant with food from farm to fork.
The tastings can take place in the vineyard or at affiliated establishments in the municipality of Fénis (a hotel, a B&B and a restaurant).
Visits can be booked by phone or email, for a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 20 people, by contacting the owner Stefano.
Languages: Italian, French, English, Spanish and Arabic.

How to get there
The company’s premises are easy to reach, but it is advisable to contact the managers to make an appointment.

Our family-run company takes its name from the village of the same name located on the hill of Nus, at the adrèt, the sunny side of Valle d’Aosta. Liana and Gualtiero started this adventure and their children Edoardo and Beatrice joined them over time.
The company’s land extends for 3 hectares and makes it possible to produce 14.000 bottles of different varieties of fine wines.
Its location directly exposed to the sun, in fact, allows it to obtain a production of high-quality grapes, with an inebriating aroma and high sugar content. The hill of Nus is traditionally suited to viticulture; the temperature range favors the production of aromas and natural acidity in the wine, in addition to the strong exposure that favors aging. During the Middle Ages, the local producers supplied wine grapes to the canons of the Great Saint Bernard, as attested by the documents of the time.
The beginning of the activity took place in 1991 with the cultivation of old family vineyards, exploited mostly as a passion and so as not to let the crops planted with difficulty by their ancestors fall into neglect. Only later, with the expansion of the cultivated area, did the business turn professional, focusing in particular on the recovery and enhancement of the ancient local vines.
Initially the grapes were given to a cooperative; since 2005, with the creation of a modern and well-equipped winery, the production of wine has been carried out directly on the company premises. The vines grown are Vien de Nus, Cornalin, Pinot nero and grigio, Fumin, Mayolet, Vullermin, Ner d’Ala and Petit Rouge, varieties that have been present in the area for centuries and deserve to be again, and adequately, enhanced. Nus Malvoisie, Nus Malvoisie Flétri, Nus, Cornalin, Fumin and Pinot Noir are produced with these grapes.
The processing in the winery is reduced to a minimum, the fermentationis spontaneous and derives from the local yeasts of the grapes; apart from a minimum dose of sulfur, there are no other additives, and no filtrations or clarifications are carried out.

The products
White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Nus Malvoisie DOC, Vin Rosè “La Rose Rare”
Red DOC wines: Cornalin DOC, Nus DOC, Nus Superieur DOC, Pinot Noir DOC, Fumin DOC, Vuillermin DOC
DOC straw wine: Nus Malvoisie Flétri DOC

There is a sales point open all year round at any time, upon reservation.

The visit
The best times to visit the winery and vineyards are winter, early spring and summer.
It is possible to organize tastings, as well as dinners. Visits and tastings are to be arranged by telephone reservation, as are the number of visitors and the costs.

Languages spoken: Italian, French and a bit of English.

How to get there
From the Nus state highway, turn towards the Nus hill at the Rovarey village, from there, there are signs for Les Granges.