agritourism gastronomic tours

A unique cheese-making lesson at a real Italian cheese factory - an extravaganza of His Majesty's Cheese and an amazing “belly festival”! Elite cheeses according to the most ancient recipes of the Italian province of Calabria - with your own hands. Secrets of a hereditary Italian cheese maker and incredible delights of amazing Italian cuisine on your table! With a walk through the La Fattoria Little Italy farm, a cheese-making master class, tasting of unique cheeses and a wonderful festive lunch. And also get to know the beautiful Tver... Exclusive excursion. Group up to 18 people!

Price: from 3670 RUB

A unique Cheese Festival at a real Italian cheese factory farms "La Fattoria Little Italy"! Today you can taste Italy itself!

And not only try, but also prepare with your own hands the gastronomic “calling card” of this amazing country - world-famous Italian cheese of several varieties!

We will prepare magnificent cheeses according to ancient recipes families of hereditary cheese makers from the Italian province of Calabria, one of the unofficial “cheese capitals” of sunny Italy.

And the decorations for our magical holiday will be a small “piece of Italy” on Tver land- a unique farm of a real Italian Pietro Mazza in the village of Mednoye.

This sunny Italian, who by the will of fate ended up in Russia in the 90s, did not get lost in the vastness of our vast Fatherland. Together with his beautiful wife from Tver, here, in one of the most ecologically clean and beautiful corners of the Tver region, on his own farm, he is doing what his great-grandfather, grandfather and father did in Italian Calabria. He cooks Cheese. From the milk of our own Tver cows, fed with our own grown, environmentally friendly Tver feed. And he generously shares the magical taste and family secrets of making real Italian cheeses with his guests...

Today we have a unique opportunity to learn the basics of “proper” cheese making, taste cheeses freshly prepared with your own hands, and later even apply the acquired skills in your own kitchen!

The real one cheese ovens An exciting action begins, and we, dressed in aprons and gloves, become its most direct participants. And so that you can see, hear and remember better, especially for this tour, we have formed a very small group of tourists.

Today you will learn:

How to prepare milk for making cheese

How does the fermentation process work?

What is a cheese curd?

How is the cheese curd cut and formed?

You will learn how to make and harvest three varieties of Italian cheese, even the names of which sound like music: "ricotta", "juncata" and "caciotta", and during the cheese making process you will be able to taste the resulting culinary masterpieces.

The process of making cheese is not very fast, so in the intervals between the stages of its production, hospitable hosts invite us to a real Italian feast!

Waiting for us in the colorful hall of the restaurant tasting of a cheese plate of seven types of cheeses produced on the farm- butirro, burrata, provola, mozzarella... You won’t even try these in Moscow! And the person accompanying the tasting a story about the secrets of cheese production and the secrets of Italian cooking - this is a real a one-man show, temperamental, funny and unforgettable.

Italian cuisine is one of the most delicious in the world and today you will see for yourself! We will be treated to a festive traditional Italian lunch made from the freshest village ingredients. Everything is our own, everything is grown here, with our own hands!

Cream soup with our own parmesanino cheese

Steamed beef with spezzatino vegetables

Profiteroles cake with the most delicate cream

Delicious pagnotta bread from our own bakery!

A Home wine, which is specially brought from Italy (by the way, the ancient Greeks called Calabria the “Country of Wine”) in 14 liter barrels - this is hot, living Italian sun in a glass! (A glass of red wine (~100 g) is included in the price!)

During pauses between dishes, you can visit the farm’s signature shops: buy unique cheeses, wine, olive oil, or real Italian souvenirs - Murano glass, clay crafts...

A charming end to our delicious and so healthy adventure in the country of Cheese - walk around the farm and get to know its four-legged inhabitants, including a colorful black boar, beautiful horses and even ostriches!

And our magical holiday begins meeting the beautiful Tver. This is a city of breathtakingly picturesque river vistas and beautiful ancient architecture. Catherine the Great loved Tver so much that she considered it second only to St. Petersburg the most beautiful city in our country. You will admire the most outstanding sights of the majestic city.

Since ancient times, Tver was especially famous for its skilled gold seamstresses. Gold embroidery is the most recognizable Tver brand. Today you will have the opportunity not only to admire amazing golden masterpieces, but also to purchase an elegant handmade Tver souvenir at a unique exhibition of gold embroidery. It turned out to be such a magical weekend - useful, entertaining, interesting, and most importantly, very tasty! Leningradskoe highway, 220 km.
Travel time: ~ 3 hours (approximately one way).
Duration of the excursion: ~14 hours ( approximate).

Program cost:

adult - 3670 rub.

child - 3670 rub.

Look at photos of our tourists from this excursion

Meeting place: st. m. "Voikovskaya" at 07:30. Bus departure at 07:45.

Practical information:
- You will visit a working farm, there are no staged props or gloss here, please treat some points with understanding.
- Don’t forget to take photo and video equipment with you, it will be very interesting.
- Please note that in the autumn, winter and spring seasons, due to the short daylight hours, in exceptional cases, visiting some of the objects stated in the program may occur in the dark. Attention! We gather no more than 18 people for this excursion.

And also look at the two-day program Italian charm of the Russian province (Tver-Torzhok-Georgians-Bernovo-Staroe Knyazevo-Znamenskoye-Raek with accommodation in a family hotel on an Italian agricultural farm and participation in a unique Cheese Festival, 2 days)."

The tour price includes:

The information on the site is not a public offer and is for informational purposes: for clarification, please contact the managers.

Travel time and duration of the excursion are approximate.

On all excursions you must have your passport with you, and for children - a birth certificate.

Foreign citizens must have a migration card with them.

Other important conditions for booking excursions.

Reviews for the program

Add a review

Contact the quality department

Total reviews: 2 10 25 50 100

01/26/2015 Lukina Irina

On November 23, 2014, my daughter and I went on an interesting excursion “Cheese Festival at the La Fattoria Little Italy cheese factory (with lessons on cheese making and Italian lunch)”, we spent a long wonderful day on Tver soil. It’s a bright Sunday morning, sparkling frost has dressed up everything around, the river is strewn with ice fishing enthusiasts, and on the embankment in Tver, under the monument to Afanasy Nikitin, crowds of ducks are scurrying around, the blue-green necks of drakes shimmer in the sun. Tver is a wonderful old Russian city with its own special architecture and rich history. Many prominent people come from this city. We walked along cozy Tver streets and embankments, received a wealth of information about these regions, and visited two ancient churches. And then we went to the village of Mednoye, where for many years there has been an Italian farm, maintained by the family of Italian Pietro Mazza and his wife, Tver resident Zhanna. It was the holiday of Cheese! Under the leadership of Zhanna, those who wished to participate in the preparation of soft ricotta cheese, boiled in a huge cauldron from organic milk from local cows. During the break between the stages of production, a cheese tasting was arranged - 7 types of cheeses on a “cheese plate”, and then an Italian lunch in a restaurant with wine and dessert. A wealth of detailed information about cheeses, sampling the cheese mass at different stages, the opportunity to buy this most delicate and delicious product. Then we, well-fed and satisfied, walked around the territory, talked to the animals, and especially enjoyed the horses. There were several guides during the day, all fans of their profession, the driver Alexander is simply an ace. The traffic jam at the end of the road is tolerable. This is one of the best excursions from the Travel Store, and we have traveled with them a lot. About three years ago, my daughter was on the “Cheese Piece of Italy” excursion through Torzhok, she was also pleased, and decided to repeat it with me, but this time everything was more detailed and more satisfying. Thank you!

10.10.2014 Maria

We were already there last year as part of a large group from the Travel Store, then we were still visiting Torzhok. We liked. This time we saw a new product in the MP assortment, “Cheese Holiday”, and decided to try it. Me, my son (12 years old) and my husband. It all started as standard, a sweet guide (Anna from Tvericha), a small group of 15 people (this immediately won me over when purchasing the tour), a very comfortable Mercedes minibus. First we went to Tver, respect to the guide, she was able to link the excursion with the Italians in Russia. It was on topic. Last time they told us for some reason about the Second World War, apparently they knew what they were telling us. We looked at Tver, went to the Golden Sewing store, I bought a small velvet bag for jewelry, embroidered with gold thread, it looks very stylish! We went to the farm. There have been no obvious changes on the farm over the past year, but the main thing is that they opened a cool hotel, with a very nice interior. just a few rooms. Made to resemble an ancient castle. Inside there are antique furniture from all over Italy. The spirit of Italy is here! You feel like you're in a museum in Florence (I recommend visiting it). By the way, this time I asked the hostess why everything is so beautiful inside and not presentable from the facade, to which she replied “the Russian outback has its own specifics, the locals are not very fond of the “bourgeois” .....”
So, the cheese holiday itself. Firstly, it was led by the owner Zhanna herself. Well done and smart, seven arms and seven legs! Can speak Italian, Russian, Uzbek and other languages, and at the same time! To say that I liked it is an understatement! It was simply amazing! She showed and explained everything in detail, and everyone was able to take part in the process. At home, of course, you can repeat this, but only if you invite Zhanna and Pietro.)) Zhanna talked a lot. Starting from what brands of dairy products can be bought in our stores, ending with a review of a huge number of recipes for preparing Italian dishes. It's just a living cookbook! She talked about her collective farms in the Tver region, about problems and tears, about joys and victories... It was heartwarming! The process of making cheese takes time, but it flies instantly, everything is very interesting.
Now about lunch. The dishes are completely different than just on a farm excursion. They are big, restaurant style. Everything was prepared very tasty. Cheese plate - don't eat it! We took the menu for interest and calculated how much such a set of dishes would cost if we came “from the street” - 2,570 rubles. per person! Like this!
Lastly, we bought different cheeses, not cheap, but everything was very fresh and incredibly tasty. By the way, Zhanna said that their cheese business has taken off, due to the sanctions, all the restaurants and stores are now lining up for them, thinking of buying another collective farm. This makes me happy! Good luck to Jeanne and Pietro! Thanks to our beloved Magput and we are waiting for new products! I recommend to everyone!

Gastronomic tour to Pereslavl-Zalessky, with a visit to a private cheese factory and a tea tasting museum.

On the territory of the Pleshcheyevo Lake reserve, not far from Pereslavl-Zalessky - one of the most beautiful cities of the Golden Ring, in the birthplace of St. Alexander Nevsky, there is a private cheese factory, created on the model of traditional European craft production.

In the Tsarist Empire, the Yaroslavl province was the most cheese-rich region of the country, in which more than 300 cheese factories operated (late 19th century). It was here that a special breed of cows for cheese making, the Yaroslavl, was bred. To this day, alas, not a single cheese factory has survived, and little is known about the recipes of Russian cheese makers of tsarist times. But we will be lucky enough to become guests of people who have realized their dream - to revive the artisan cheesemaking of Russia. The milk for the local cheeses comes from cows of the Yaroslavl breed - the same breed that historically produces milk suitable for cheese, especially rich in protein and has a high fat content. All the principles of artisanal cheese making are preserved here: the cheese is hand-brewed exclusively from raw whole milk, and the maturation of the cheese takes place in special cheese rooms, thanks to which the cheese acquires a special refined taste and aroma. Also, traditional dairy products are prepared at the cheese factory: cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir, yoghurts.

We are waiting for a tour of the cheese factory, which will allow us to plunge into the world of artisan cheese-making, into the aromas of milk and cheese, look at the holy of holies - the cheese ripening chambers (through a special showcase), understand the features of Italian, Dutch, French recipes, learn about the history of Russian cheese-making , observe the production process. At the end, we will have a tasting of the best cheeses that are prepared in the cheese factory (5 types of cheeses).

There is a store attached to the cheese factory where you can purchase all the products produced.

After visiting the cheese factory, we will have a sightseeing tour of the colorful, fabulous and bright Pereslavl-Zalessky - a real miracle city on the shore of the ancient Lake Pleshcheyevo. In 1688, Peter I began the construction of an amusing flotilla on Lake Pleshcheyevo, and the royal boat “Fortune” has survived to this day, which you will definitely see when you visit the Boat of Peter I museum.

From the ancient city to the present day, Red Square has been preserved - an open-air museum, in the center of which is the pearl and pride of Pereslavl - the Transfiguration Cathedral of the 12th century - the oldest building of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture. Nearby is another wonderful rarity - the stone tented church of Peter the Metropolitan, built in the 16th century. You can take a break from the everyday bustle of the city in the unique archaeological ensemble of the Goritsky Monastery of the 17th century, which now houses the Pereslavl History and Art Museum. Here you will visit the Sacristy - a collection of masterpieces of Russian jewelry and applied art of the Pereslavl principality.

Well, we will finish our busy program at the Tea Tasting Museum, where we will have an interactive excursion with a tasting of 3 types of Ivan tea, jam and Guryev porridge. We will find out what kind of tea they drank in Russia until the 19th century, when Chinese and Indian teas came to us en masse. A girl herbalist will tell you about Russian Ivan tea, and we will also find out what kind of tea they drank in Siberia and the Far East and when they learned to ferment it in Russia. They will tell us what desserts were served at the table. We will also have a unique opportunity to try a masterpiece of Russian culinary art - Guryev's Porridge. It cooks for six hours in a Russian oven. Both peasants and Russian tsars ate it. And, of course, we will visit a tea shop, where you can buy gifts for yourself, your family and friends!

A pleasant addition will be the opportunity to walk around the “Russian Park” - a cultural, historical, museum and entertainment complex dedicated to the great achievements of the Russian people in science and invention, architecture, arts and crafts, music, fashion and folk culture. Here we can take many colorful and unforgettable photographs as a keepsake!

A unique Cheese Festival at a real Italian cheese factory dairy farm "La Fattoria Little Italy"! Today you can taste Italy itself!

And not only try, but also prepare with your own hands the gastronomic “calling card” of this amazing country - world-famous Italian cheese of several varieties!

We will prepare magnificent cheeses according to ancient recipes families of hereditary cheese makers from the Italian province of Calabria, one of the unofficial “cheese capitals” of sunny Italy.

And the decorations for our magical holiday will be a small “piece of Italy” on Tver land- a unique farm of a real Italian Pietro Mazza in the village of Mednoye.

This sunny Italian, who by the will of fate ended up in Russia in the 90s, did not get lost in the vastness of our vast Fatherland. Together with his beautiful wife from Tver, here, in one of the most ecologically clean and beautiful corners of the Tver region, on his own farm, he is doing what his great-grandfather, grandfather and father did in Italian Calabria. He cooks Cheese. From the milk of our own Tver cows, fed with our own grown, environmentally friendly Tver feed. And he generously shares the magical taste and family secrets of making real Italian cheeses with his guests...

Today we have a unique opportunity to learn the basics of “proper” cheese making, taste cheeses freshly prepared with your own hands, and later even apply the acquired skills in your own kitchen!

The real one cheese ovens An exciting action begins, and we, dressed in aprons and gloves, become its most direct participants. And so that you can see, hear and remember better, especially for this tour, we have formed a very small group of tourists.

Today you will learn:

What is a cheese curd?

How is the cheese curd cut and formed?

You will learn how to make and harvest three varieties of Italian cheese, even the names of which sound like music: "ricotta", "juncata" and "caciotta", and during the cheese making process you will be able to taste the resulting culinary masterpieces.

The process of making cheese is not very fast, so in the intervals between the stages of its production, hospitable hosts invite us to a real Italian feast!

Waiting for us in the colorful hall of the restaurant tasting of a cheese plate of seven types of cheeses produced on the farm- butirro, burrata, provola, mozzarella... You won’t even try these in Moscow! And the person accompanying the tasting a story about the secrets of cheese production and the secrets of Italian cooking - this is a real a one-man show, temperamental, funny and unforgettable.

Cream soup with our own parmesanino cheese

A Home wine, which is specially brought from Italy (by the way, the ancient Greeks called Calabria the “Country of Wine”) in 14 liter barrels - this is hot, living Italian sun in a glass! (A glass of red wine (~100 g) is included in the price!)

During pauses between dishes, you can visit the farm’s signature shops: buy unique cheeses, wine, olive oil, or real Italian souvenirs - Murano glass, clay crafts...

A charming end to our delicious and so healthy adventure in the country of Cheese - walk around the farm and get to know its four-legged inhabitants, including a colorful black boar, beautiful horses and even ostriches!

And our magical holiday begins meeting the beautiful Tver. This is a city of breathtakingly picturesque river vistas and beautiful ancient architecture. Catherine the Great loved Tver so much that she considered it second only to St. Petersburg the most beautiful city in our country. You will admire the most outstanding sights of the majestic city.

Since ancient times, Tver was especially famous for its skilled gold seamstresses. Gold embroidery is the most recognizable Tver brand. Today you will have the opportunity not only to admire amazing golden masterpieces, but also to purchase an elegant handmade Tver souvenir at a unique exhibition of gold embroidery.

It turned out to be such a magical weekend - useful, entertaining, interesting, and most importantly, very tasty!

Leningradskoe highway, 220 km.
Travel time: ~ 3 hours (approximately one way).
Duration of the excursion: ~14 hours ( approximate).

Cost: adults/children - 3670 rub.

Meeting place: st. m. "Voikovskaya" at 07:30. Bus departure at 07:45.

Excursion program:
- Travel information;
- Tver, sightseeing tour.
-Visit to an Italian agricultural farm with cheese tasting, Italian lunch and master class on cheese making.

Included in the price: transport services (foreign minibus), travel information, excursion around Tver, stated program at the Italian farm with lunch, services of an accompanying guide.

Practical information:
- You will visit a working farm, there are no staged props or gloss here, please treat some points with understanding.
- Don’t forget to take photo and video equipment with you, it will be very interesting.
- Please note that in the autumn, winter and spring seasons, due to the short daylight hours, in exceptional cases, visiting some of the objects stated in the program may occur in the dark.

Attention! We gather no more than 18 people for this excursion.

ITALIAN CHARM OF THE RUSSIAN PROVINCE (Tver-TORZHOK-GEORGIANS-BERNOVO-OLD KNYAZEVO-Znamenskoye-RAIK WITH ACCOMMODATION IN A FAMILY HOTEL ON AN ITALIAN AGRICULTURAL FARM AND PARTICIPATION IN A UNIQUE CHEESE FESTIVAL, 2 DAYS)

Arrival dates: 02/06/16, 02/27/16, 03/26/16, 04/23/16, 05/28/16, 06/25/16, 07/30/16, 08/20/16, 09/17/16, 10/22/16, 11/19/16, 12/17/1 6

« And five-domed Moscow cathedrals
With their Italian and Russian soul,
Reminds me of the Aurora phenomenon,
But with a Russian name and in a fur coat” (O. Mandelstam)

Russia became the second homeland for many sons of Italy. Over the centuries, Italian architects, painters, sculptors, and actors have come to our country. Under the Russian sky they lived, created, made friends, found students. And they gave this harsh northern country all the fervor of their southern temperament, transforming the austere appearance of Russian cities into magnificent urban ensembles with a unique Italian flavor.
The Italians created not only ceremonial architectural ensembles of the imperial capitals, but also rebuilt modest, provincial Russian cities and estates, decorating them with lovely Empire mansions and majestic classical churches, monumental porticos and graceful colonnades.
The Tver land is especially lucky - great people worked here Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli and Carlo Rossi.

Tour program:

1 day

7.15 - Group gathering st. m. "Volokolamskaya". On Volokolamsk Highway, opposite house 88, towards the region. Guide with a sign saying “tour name”. Departure at 07.30 in a comfortable minibus along the Tverskoy tract to Torzhok. Tver -"On the street of the architect Rossi" Panoramic tour of the architectural ensemble of the city center (on the road). Tver - An ancient city with a unique history, for 200 years the powerful Grand Principality of Tver waged an irreconcilable struggle with Moscow for dominance in Rus', but was defeated, and the fire of 1763 completely destroyed medieval Tver. But from the ashes of this terrible fire a city grew, about which Catherine II said: “I believe that after St. Petersburg, Tver is the most beautiful city in Russia.” The creator of the Tver city ensemble was an ItalianCarlo Rossi - in the future a great architect of St. Petersburg, and then a young aspiring master . Russia carried out a complete reconstruction of the city, creating its integral architectural ensemble in the best traditions of Italian classics. For Russia this was the first experience in urban planning - an experience so successful that Karl Ivanovich later brilliantly used it to create the world-famous architectural ensemble of St. Petersburg. We will drive along the central street of Tver and admire the architectural ensemble, which became a kind of “test of the pen” for the builder of Northern Palmyra, the predecessor of Brilliant St. Petersburg. Transfer to Torzhok. Torzhok- one of the oldest cities in our country, which is more than 1000 years old. It is unique in that it has preserved almost intact the architectural ensemble of a wealthy merchant city of the 18th-19th centuries. Its recognized pearl is the magnificent Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral (1822) , built according to the project the great Carlo Rossi. A native of Torzhok, a wonderful Russian architect N.A.Lvov considered himself a follower of the great Italian architect Andrea Palladio , and its famous double “Lviv dome” is a reflection of the Russian architect’s admiration for the majestic Roman Pantheon. And the monumental one he built Boris and Gleb Cathedral in the Novotorzhsky Monastery (1796) It is no coincidence that it resembles austere ancient temples. We will visit the ancient Borisoglebsky monastery, founded in the 11th century, admire the picturesque embankment of the Tvertsa River, talk about the famous Pozharsky cutlets and the Pozharsky tavern, through which “the entire Russian culture of the 19th century passed.” Lunch at a city cafe. Departure to Bernovo. “Old estates are scattered throughout mysterious Rus'...” (N. Gumilev). We will drive along the ancient Staritskaya road, literally strewn with the cozy noble nests of the Tver landowners the Wulfs, Poltoratskys, Panafidins... Rarely does anyone travel this road today, and therefore its surroundings have retained their charm and pristine nature. And we will be transported to the bygone world of noble Russia of the 18th - 19th centuries, we will talk about Tver estates and their inhabitants. Russian nobles adored their family nests, filled them with the best works of art, invited famous architects, and sometimes even in the wilderness you can find masterpieces of great masters. The features of Italian architecture are also clearly visible in the appearance of a classic Russian estate: grottoes, ancient ruins, arched bridges, rotunda gazebos - recognizable native images with clearly Italian roots. Georgians (on the road). The once brilliant estate of the Poltoratskys, to the creation of which 3 great architects had a hand: a large stone house was built B.F.Rastrelli, subsequently reconstructed it V.P. Stasov, and the manor park was designed by “ Genius of taste" N.A. Lvov. The owner of the estate was Mark Fedorovich Poltoratsky - the best Russian opera singer of the 18th century. He was the first Slav to receive the right to perform in the famous Italian Opera. Bernovo. An ancient noble estate of the Tver landowners the Wulfs. Here is the museum of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who visited this house more than once. The museum exposition will tell us about Pushkin’s visits to Staritsky district; we will visit the poet’s room, where the original furnishings of that time are preserved. The childhood years of Pushkin's famous muse, Anna Petrovna Kern, passed in this estate. At the end of the excursion, we will walk through the ancient park, “where the twilight of linden alleys is.” There are 40 linden trees preserved in Bernovo, which are more than 200 years old. And leaving Bernovo, we will find out why Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, came here in the strictest secrecy. Old Knyazevo (on the road) - “I see wonderful freedom...” Tverskoye village Old Knyazevo - the birthplace of one of the best tenors in the entire history of Russia, Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev. A man of the era, a man of legend, a singer gifted with a voice of exceptional beauty, a unique timbre - Lemeshev was a “singer-nugget”, who in childhood was not taught academic singing, was not “trained in voice”. They said that the very nature of Old Knyazev, standing on the high bank of the Tmaka River, was conducive to singing and gave rise to vocal talents. And we will travel through those picturesque places where Lemeshev’s incomparable voice first sounded - “a sweet voice, with silvery tops, reminiscent of the ringing of Valdai bells.” Moving to the village of Mednoye to the Italian farm " Little Italy » (90 km) Our immersion into the world of Italian culture will end, as it should be, in the kitchen. True, in Italian cuisine. All Italians are obsessed with food, and Italian cuisine is not just a way to satisfy hunger, it is a real ritual, it is a whole layer of the nation’s culture, it is a true sacred rite! But, as they say, it’s better to try once than to hear a hundred times! And upon arrival at the farm, first of all, a traditional Italian dinner awaits us. Well, in order to fully join the world of Italian cuisine, you need to cook a real Italian dish yourself at least once. And such an opportunity will present itself to us on the second day of the trip, when we will become not only guests, but also active participants in the exciting Cheese Festival. Arrival at the farm, accommodation at the hotel. Italian dinner: salad and hot dish. Farm hotel is an intimate, family hotel, decorated in the style of traditional Italian inns. Saddles and all kinds of horse harnesses greet guests at the entrance with the warm smell of leather, and a charming small living room with a real fireplace and soft sofas invites you to relax after a busy day of sightseeing. Cozy rooms await us, lovingly prepared by the hostess and her daughter - comfortable beds with crisp linens, handmade quilts, intricate embroidery, antique rugs on the floors. Silence, fresh air, a pleasant aftertaste of natural village food will allow us to fully experience the delights of rural life. And falling into sleep, we will see the Russian starry sky in a semicircular Italian window...

2 day

Italian breakfast in a trattoria. Strong Italian coffee or tea, fresh homemade cakes. Time to make visits - we visit the estate next door (15 km). Znamenskoye-Raek - one of the most beautiful estates in Russia. The luxurious palace in the style of Italian palazzos was a magical gift from the owner of the estate, Fyodor Ivanovich Glebov, to his young wife. The place for the palace was not chosen by chance: 38-year-old General-in-Chief Glebov madly loved and was jealous of his young wife. And he hoped that here, among the Tver forests, his beautiful wife would belong entirely to him. The story of this very unusual love still lives in the empty halls and overgrown garden alleys of Raik. And the loving husband entrusted the most romantic architect of that time, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lvov, a supporter of classical Italian architecture, to embody this Hymn of Love in stone. And he created a true masterpiece, a piece of Italy in the Tver wilderness, which still stuns with its grandeur and splendor. The years have not been kind to Rajek; now the palace is under restoration, which is still far from completion. But this gives us the opportunity to see Lvov’s masterpiece in the original, the way it came to us, without modern alterations and tricks of restorers. Return to the farm, where hospitable hosts are already waiting for us for a unique Cheese Festival. We are visiting the amazing Russian-Italian Matza family. Farm owner - Pietro Matza , seventh generation cheesemaker, native of Sunny Calabria, which is called "the cheese capital of Italy" . It has been 15 years since this unusual Italian, together with his Russian wife Zhanna, settled in the village of Mednoye near Tver, and from our Tver milk received from his own dairy herd, he cooks real Italian cheeses according to the old family recipes of the Matza family. And today Pietro and Zhanna Matza invite guests to share their joy with them Birth of Cheese! The birth of cheese is like the birth of a child; it does not tolerate fuss and idle curiosity. That's why we gathered a very small group for this tour - so that there would be no crowds, no bored observers, so that everyone would become a full participant in this intimate action! At a real oven for cooking cheese, dressed in white coats and gloves, under the guidance of our hospitable hostess Zhanna, we will learn: - how to prepare milk for making cheese - How does the fermentation process work? - what is a cheese curd? - how to cut and shape a cheese curd Under the watchful eye of Zhanna, we will make three varieties of Italian cheese, even the names of which sound like music: “ricotta”, “juncata”, “caciota”, and, of course, we’ll try them right there, by the stove! No, sorry, let's taste it! We are already professionals after all! And since the process of making cheese is not fast at all, in the interval between stages, while the cheese is ripening, the owners will invite us to real Italian lunch made with the freshest country ingredients, grown right here on the farm! Lunch in Italy- this is a whole performance, fascinating, temperamental and unforgettable! Italian cuisine is one of the most delicious and healthy in the world, and since only the freshest products are used for cooking and subjected to the most gentle processing, the dishes retain their natural taste, beneficial properties and delicate aroma! And our lunch menu can be read like a poem: - cheese plate of seven varieties of cheese produced on the farm: butirro, burrata, provola, mozzarella... - creamy soup with our own parmesanino cheese - steamed beef with spezzatino vegetables - profiterole cake with the most delicate cream - delicious pagnotta bread from our own bakery! And of course a glass of homemade dry red wine (100g), which is specially brought from Italy in 14 liter barrels - to emphasize the taste of Italian cheese! And since an Italian dinner is not only a feast of gluttony, but also a rare opportunity for live human communication, our meal will be accompanied by a real Cicerone, which will become our guide to the world of Italian cheeses and Italian cuisine. At the end of the holiday, we will take a walk around the farm and get acquainted with its four-legged inhabitants, including a colorful wild boar, funny ostriches, beautiful horses and even one cheeky pony! And returning to Moscow, overwhelmed with impressions, lulled by the rustle of wheels in a comfortable bus, we will try to answer the main question: How can we tell our friends where we have been? Either in Russian Italy, or in Italian Russia... Arrival in Moscow in the evening, depending on the congestion of the route.

Tour cost for 1 person, in rubles, accommodation in Medny in a hotel on a farm.

The Little Italy Cheese Farm Hotel is an intimate, family-run hotel, decorated in the style of a traditional Italian inn with a charming small living room with a real fireplace and soft sofas.

In cozy rooms -- comfortable beds with crisp linens, handmade quilts, intricate embroidery, antique rugs on the floors.

Tour cost:

Double room - 6980 RUR/person.
Single room - 8980 RUR/person.
Third place in the adult/child room. - discount 200 rub.
For a child under 12 years old, a discount of 100 rubles.

The tour price includes: transport service by minibus (tour class, foreign car), services of an accompanying guide, hotel accommodation, stated excursion program, entrance tickets to museums, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner, 2 lunches, master class on cheese making.

Attention! For this tour we gather a group of no more than 18 people

NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE ITALIAN FARM LA FATTORIA LITTLE ITALY

Arrival dates: 12/31/2016

While those remaining in Moscow are cutting salads and languishing in New Year's lines, we begin our carefree journey into an Italian New Year's fairy tale!
A symbolic holiday surprise for us will be getting to know Tver, an amazing Russian city with a unique Italian flavor. The most talented sons of Italy worked here, decorating the harsh appearance of the northern city with their sunny creations. No wonder the Great Empress of Russia Catherine II considered Tver the most beautiful city in Russia, of course, after St. Petersburg. Today we will admire Tver New Year's Eve- magnificent and stunning unique lighting in the festive lights... The romantic highlight of our New Year's excursion is a glass of champagne at the foot of the majestic monument to the traveler of all times and peoples Afanasy Nikitin. Traditionally, on New Year's Eve, Tver residents come to their Afanasy to make wishes. They say that the great merchant-navigator is especially willing to “help” in fulfilling desires related to travel. For example, imagine a trip to Italy...
And we are going to an unforgettable meeting New Year's Eve in Italian at the farm "La Fattoria"LittleItaly» to the village of Mednoe.
On this unique farm, the Russian-Italian family of Italian Pietro and Tver resident Zhanna produces elite Italian cheeses according to ancient recipes from the milk of their own cows, organic sausages and smoked meats, bakes their own bread and organizes amazing extravaganzas of taste for everyone who wants to join the magical world of Italian gastronomy...
Every visit to the farm is a colorful and unforgettable holiday, and New Year's Eve- this is an absolutely incredible, bright, cheerful, and most importantly, very tasty event! In a festively decorated Italian restaurant "Trattoria del Sole" everything is ready to welcome the most long-awaited night of the year!
Enjoy the delights of festive Italian cuisine using the freshest farm products, washed down with excellent Italian wine and sparkling spumante. Wine for meals is specially brought from Italy, in 14 liter barrels - this is real Italian sun in your glass!
The New Year's table menu sounds like Italian music!
Our own dry-cured deli meats of elite varieties, Caprese salad with our own mozzarella cheese and grilled vegetables, bresaola rolls (dried veal) with fresh ricotta cheese and herbs.
Lasagna alla Bolognese, veal with tuna in a creamy sauce with capers and pickled vegetables, as well as the most Italian dish of the New Year's table - "cotecino" (a classic Italian New Year's dish of minced pork with lentils and spices).
A delicious Italian dessert - custard swan with cream; fruits, tea, coffee, mineral water, as well as the freshest delicious Italian bread from our own bakery.
Our festive banquet is a real New Year's trip to Italy: live Italian music, a show program, congratulations from the Italian Santa Claus, with fiery dancing in the company of Italian guests and farm owners, with festive fireworks. The most spontaneous, temperamental, southern fun, the most carefree, the most romantic, the most magical night!
But how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it! So let the whole next year be as temperamental, bright, colorful and generous as this fabulous night in little Italy!

Program:
- Travel information
- Evening New Year's tour of Tver with a champagne treat.
- Festive New Year program
- New Year's banquet

Cost of the program per person adult/child. - 9800 rub.
Collection at 16:15. Departure at 16:30 from the station. m. "Voikovskaya"

Departure to Moscow (approximately at ~3-4 am). Arrival in Moscow (tentatively) for the opening of the metro.

Included in the price: transport service (foreign car bus), travel information, excursion around Tver with champagne, New Year's banquet + New Year's program.

The price includes 0.5 liters of red wine and 1 bottle of sparkling Italian wine for two.

When planning a trip to Switzerland, a visit to the cheese factory was a mandatory part of the program. Some of the most popular open to tourists (even, rather, promoted) are the cheese factories in Gruyères (you can see modern production) and Emmental (production is available for viewing both in its “original” form and with minimal human intervention). Of course, it was very interesting to visit the production facility in Emmental, but the itinerary would have included a cheese factory in Gruyères, where I went.

Gruyères (station name - Gruyères) can be reached from both the German and French parts of Switzerland. For example, from Montreux to Gruyères you can take a GoldenPass (with a transfer). Moreover, on the way there you can look at the Classic train, and on the way back you can take a ride on the Panoramic (you can select it when planning your route on the website sbb.ch, where it is indicated what kind of train it will be).

The cheese factory is located a minute's walk from the station.

A visit to the cheese factory is included in the Swiss Travel Pass. The cost of a ticket without it is 7 CHF. It includes an audio guide (also available in Russian, narrated on behalf of the cow Cherry) and a small package with three pieces of cheese of different ages (6, 8 and 10 months).

A tour of the cheese factory is possible every day from 9 am to 6 pm in the low season (October to May) and until 18.30 in the high season (June to September). The restaurant closes a couple of hours later. In addition to the restaurant, there is also a store where you can buy cheese and various gifts and souvenirs. Several days a year (namely: December 24 and 25, as well as December 31 and January 1), the cheese factory is open until 16.00.

It must be borne in mind that it is possible to observe cheese production in real time only from 9.00 to 11.00 and from 12.30 to 14.30. The rest of the time you can only watch videos, information stands and listen to the audio guide. This, of course, is also interesting, but not the same. Moreover, I noticed (including from reviews of other travelers) that people usually come to the cheese factory in the morning (i.e., between 9.00 and 11.00, and not after lunch), which, in principle, is logical considering features of the cheese making process (which will be discussed below).

The tour begins in the first hall, where there is nothing particularly interactive, except for funny things through which you can sniff a couple of aromas (for example, grass that a cow eats). At the same time, the audio guide will tell you that a cow has four stomachs (to be more precise, four sections of the stomach) and by eating 100 kg of grass per day and drinking 85 liters of water, it can produce 25 liters of milk per day.

Milk is supplied to the factory 2 times a day: in the morning and in the evening. It is declared that despite the consistency of suppliers, a sample is necessarily taken from each batch of milk. After the morning milk is delivered, it is mixed with the evening milk and placed in large vats. The demonstration room contains 4 vats, each of which holds 4800 liters of milk. One vat of milk produces 12 heads of cheese, 35 kg each. The cheese factory produces about 500 tons of cheese per year.

To better understand the scale, it is easy to calculate that to produce 1 kg of cheese you need 12 liters of milk.

After the morning and evening milk have been mixed, it is heated slightly (to a temperature of about 30 degrees) and yeast and an enzyme (from the stomach of a young calf) are added to it, under the influence of which the milk curdles.

This process lasts approximately 50 minutes. After this, the cutting of kalje begins - the clot formed when milk curds. There are three large knives in the vats for this purpose (the photo shows the process of pouring the mass into molds, but these knives are clearly visible).

The cutting process continues for about 10 minutes until small grains are formed. After this, the heating process continues for about 40-45 minutes at a temperature of almost 60 degrees. The cheese makers waste no time and are already preparing the molds.

The mass with the formed cheese grain is transferred into these forms using a pump (through a blue hose). This procedure takes only a few minutes. The entire mass fills the mold, and the whey flows into the tank underneath it, which is then used as feed for piglets.

If you believe the audio guide, then there is no clear time for each stage (there are, of course, approximate guidelines) and the cheese making process is actually creative. That is, it is the cheesemaker who decides when to start slicing the kalje and when the mass is ready to be moved into the molds.

By the way, it is worth noting that the vats look like new: immediately after all the mass goes into the mold, the vats are washed with a special solution.

After the future cheese has taken shape, the cheese maker prepares it for identification - stamps are applied containing information about the date of manufacture and the number of the cheese factory.

On the website www.gruyere.com this number can be used to determine where the cheese was produced.

Once all the heads have been identified, they are sealed into molds.

The 12 promised wheels of cheese are ready to move on.

Next, the cheese is placed under a press for 16 hours - initially 300 kg, but gradually increasing the weight to 900 kg. After this, it’s time for a salt bath, where the cheese is sent for another 20 hours so that it absorbs the salt.

The final stage in cheese production is its ripening. To do this, the cheese is placed in special chambers (the thermal conditions are usually changed), but the cheese is still not ignored. So, in the first 10 days, a head of cheese is coated with saline solution and turned over every day; subsequently, this procedure is performed less frequently: in the next 3 months - 2-3 times a week, and then - only once a week. The crust of the cheese is formed approximately 3 months after production. Then, the cheese is usually moved to a cool chamber with a temperature of no more than 15 degrees, where it remains until it is sold.

By the way, you can also see where the cheese is stored at the cheese factory.

Address of the cheese factory La Maison du Gruyère : Gruyères, Place de la Gare 3.
Website: www.lamaisondugruyere.ch
The site may not open on some networks, but it works.

A trip to the cheese factory is usually combined with a tour of the city of Gruyères, where the Gruyères Castle and the Giger Museum (with an original cafe) are located. In addition, on the same day you can go to the nearby chocolate factory (in the town of Broc) (from Gruyères to Broc the train takes 26 minutes, to the factory 5 minutes from the station).

I visited the cheese factory in April 2016, prices and opening hours are as of March 2017.