Gourmet Tour
The tour starts early in the morning. This is the ideal time to see the most important moment – the birth of Parmigiano Reggiano.
The cheesemaker, together with his assistants, work every day, making a product that is unique in the world. After the “birth”, large moulds of cheese are laid out in the lounge where they lie for one day. The cheese is then transferred to the salting room and then laid out in the storage rooms, where thousands of cheese heads are aged for at least one year.
At the end of the visit to the cheese factory there is usually a tasting and an opportunity to buy the cheese.
The second part of the tour is an introduction to the production of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar in the province of Reggio Emilia. The farm is surrounded by numerous vineyards of the Lambrusco and Trebbiano varieties, the only ingredients of T.B.U. It is indeed a royal product, very valuable, with a centuries-old history (the first document talking about this product dates back to 1046) and today requires special attention and patience because it will only be ready after a minimum of 12 years (young) maturing in small wooden barrels. More valuable vinegars are aged 20 (medium) or 25 (old) years.
At the end of the visit it is possible to taste T.B.U. 12, 20, and 25 years old with explanations about their use.
The last stage is the Parma Ham factory, located in the southern part of the Parma territory near the hills. This place has an ideal microclimate for the production of Parma ham, blown by the winds from the Ligurian Sea.
