NicolettaA stone’s throw from the Valle d’Aosta, the Agricola Nicoletta farm raises local Pezzata Rossa Valdostana cattle. Using their milk and that from the cattle of small local farmers, since 2003 Jari and Alice have been making traditional cheeses, in some cases using new technologies. The farm produces raw-milk fresh (tomino, robiola, crescenza) and mature cheeses, such as Toma Rovarnerina (named after the Rovarnero mountain pasture), Quadrifoglio (a Taleggio-style cheese) and Grinch (a hard cheese aged for 18-24 months), and Fior di grotta (matured for at least nine months in natural stone cellars). Especially in the seasoned cheeses it is possible to appreciate the influence of the diet of the animals, which stay out at pasture as long as climatic conditions allow. The farm also produces fresh pasteurized organic milk, butter, yogurt and ricotta. All produce is on sale at the farm shop (8am-12 noon and 4pm-7pm, every day except Wednesday and Sunday), at farmers’ markets (Rivarolo, Castellamonte and Pont Saint Martin) and at the La Ciuenda agriturismo in the Rovanero district, at an altitude of 1,250 meters (open from April to October).
