Agricultural companies - Other products: Arvier, Avise, Introd, Saint-Pierre, Valgrisenche, Villeneuve

Cristina is a naturopath with a passion for herbs. She grows medicinal herbs and flowers at an altitude of 900 metres in the Aosta Valley, in the municipality of Saint-Pierre in the hamlet of Champretavy.
She loves wild and spontaneous herbs and organises harvesting courses and workshops to know something more about these plants, depending on the season, directly in her field or in other municipalities.
She also grows particular vegetables and small fruits with the utmost respect for the earth.

Products
Edible salts from herbs and flowers, herbal teas and seasonings, essential oils and aromatic waters, hemp seeds, berry syrups, dried vegetables and fruits, fresh vegetables and small fruits.
Products are sold:

• on Thursday mornings at the Morgex market;
• Friday afternoon at the “Terra che ride” market in Via San Giocondo in Aosta;
• on Saturday mornings directly in the field.

The visit
You can visit the field (from March/April to November), the cultivation of medicinal herbs and the surrounding meadows.
The activities vary according to the season: in spring wild herbs are harvested, in summer lavender and various distillations are carried out, and in autumn berries and roots are cultivated.
Visits must be booked at least two days in advance.
Number of visitors required for the visit: min. 5 - max. 15.
Languages spoken: Italian, French, English and Spanish.

How to get there
From Aosta take the national road S.S. 26 in the direction of Courmayeur until you reach the village of Saint-Pierre; continue in the direction of Saint-Nicolas and then turn right at the crossroads indicating the village of Champretavy. Pass the village of Champretavy and follow the road; after 3 hairpin bends you will find the field, located under the road, on the left.

The Glarey beekeeping farm boasts a long family tradition and practices nomadic beekeeping, following the various blooms in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont. Currently, the farm has about 120 productive hives that are left to winter in Villeneuve. With the arrival of summer, the hives are relocated to the Gran Paradiso National Park (Rhêmes and Valsavarenche Valleys) for producing rhododendron and upper mountain wildflower honey. For the dandelion honey, the hives are taken to the Matterhorn Valley to a height of around 1500 m above sea level. The chestnut honey is produced in the municipality of Donnas whilst the lime tree honey and the spring wildflower honey is produced in Villeneuve. For the acacia honey and the honeydew honey - the only two products that are not autochthonous of the Aosta Valley - the hives are taken down to Piedmont in the municipalities of Lessolo, Strambinello and Rivarolo.

Products
High mountain wildflower honey, rhododendron honey, lime tree honey, dandelion honey, chestnut honey, acacia honey and honeydew honey.
The shop is open on the following times: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Visit
It can be visited all year round (the visit of course is definitely more interesting between June and September, during the production period) upon reservation to be made by e-mail or telephone at least 3 days in advance.
The visit includes a tour of the production areas. Between April and October the hives can also be visited, whereas the honey extraction phases can be watched in the period from June to August.
Number of visitors per visit: max 15.
Languages spoken: Italian and French.

How to get there
Coming from the A5 motorway, exit at the Aosta Ovest toll gate and head to Courmayeur on the SS26 trunk road. The farm is in the centre of Villeneuve.