The opportunities that Gallo Rosso, the farmholiday circuit of South Tyrol, offers to spend a different and unusual vacation are really many.
Among the many activities carried out by farmers, for some it is essential to use the milk to make various types of cheese. Guests of farmhouses with on-site dairies have the chance to experience making cheese together with the farmers, from milking the animal to the finished cheese form, or even to watch the transformation of milk into other derivatives such as yogurt.
Farmhouses of Val d’Ultimo and Valdaora
Two Gallo Rosso farmhouses with four flowers, both organically cultivated and with an on-site dairy that also offer accommodation are the Bio-Hof Unterschweig in Val d’Ultimo, located at 1700 meters, and the Unterhoelzlhof in Valdaora. Both farmhouses have a shop where they sell their dairy products to guests as well as to outsiders: butter, yogurt, cheeses. In the shops it is often also possible to taste the various types of cheeses offered to choose the one that best suits your taste.
Cheeses of South Tyrol
The cheeses that are part of the Quality Products of Gallo Rosso are also sold in many grocery stores in South Tyrol, such as those from the farm dairy Lehmerhof in Nova Ponente, which makes them from raw cow’s milk of the highest quality, combining traditional peasant recipes with modern techniques. The result is delicious soft, cutting, and hard cheeses. A typical cheese from this area is the Graukäse, which is made with skimmed cow’s milk resulting from butter production and is the basis of an excellent South Tyrolean recipe, the Graukäse Cheese Soup.
David Perathoner of the farmhouse David’s Goashof of Laion has instead decided to focus on goat milk, establishing an organic farm with more than 60 goats, thanks to which it produces, in addition to fresh milk, goat cheese, organic yogurt and probiotic drinkable yogurt.
Other farmhouses with in-house dairies that produce cheeses and dairy products, some of which also have beautiful apartments where you can spend a wonderful holiday, are listed on the circuit’s website.
Who is Gallo Rosso
Gallo Rosso is the name of the brand that since 1999 promotes and supports the activity of over 1,600 farm holidays in South Tyrol and belongs to the Union of Farmers and Direct Growers of South Tyrol (Südtiroler Bauernbund). The classification of farmhouses offering accommodation (Agriturismo in Alto Adige) is organized in flowers, from 1 to 5; the higher the number of flowers, the more criteria the facility meets. Moreover, the Association supports the work of over 100 farmhouses dedicated to farm-style catering (Masi con Gusto), authentic handicrafts (Artigianato contadino), and the production of genuine gastronomic products (Sapori del maso). Since its origins, the main aim of Gallo Rosso has been to support farmhouse farmers in developing activities alongside agriculture. The philosophy of the Gallo Rosso Association is “Bringing people closer to the lifestyle of South Tyrolean farmers”.
