Food & Wine - visit the producers: Donnas

In 1975 Pietro and Camilla started to make Fontina cheese in a small cooperative dairy in the lower Aosta Valley: today, this same dairy processes almost two million litres of milk a year, producing around 25,000 forms of Fontina ‘DOP’ (cheese with Protected Designation of Origin), in addition to fresh and matured cheese and butter.

Products

Fontina, Fresh and Matured Cheese, Flavoured Cheese, Reblec Cheese, Primo Sale Cheese, Salignun Cheese, Ricotta, Milk, Butter, Yoghurt, Desserts.
In addition to dairy production, the shop offers a wide selection of local products from the Aosta Valley. Open from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., on Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Visit

The winery is open to visitors all year round, subject to booking by email or telephone (3533217975) at least one week in advance.
You can watch the company video in the tasting room and visit the maturing cellar.
Minimum number of visitors required for a tour: 20; maximum: 60 people.
It is also possible to book paid tastings at the shop.

Accessibility

The tasting room, the maturing warehouse and the shop are completely accessible to wheelchairs.

How to get there

If coming from Aosta, turn left half way along the straight road in Donnas, 20 meters after the dairy road sign.
If coming from Turin, turn right half way along the straight road in Donnas, 20 meters after the dairy road sign.

‘Bonne Vallée’ was established in the heart of the Lower Aosta Valley in Vert, a charming village located on the right side of the Dora Baltea river in the municipality of Donnas, with the aim of reviving the ancient and genuine flavours of the past.
In 1990 the first success was achieved in the rotational cultivation of the ‘potato-corn’. Furthermore, the rediscovery of an old wood-burning oven opened a new and exciting path: the production of rye bread following natural sourdough fermentation methods.
In the farmhouse surrounded by corn fields, the owners dedicate themselves to the production of baked products using various kinds of cereals, free from unnatural tampering.

Products

Rye, corn and chestnut biscuits
Pies, micòoula and farin’el bread
Wholemeal bread
The shop is open every day, except Sundays, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Visit

The farm can be visited all year round, except for in August and December, upon telephone reservation (contact: Monica Genestreti) to be made at least 10 days in advance.
You can visit the fields, the mill and the workshop; tasting is available.
Number of visitors per visit: min 5 / max 15.
Languages spoken: Italian, French and English.

How to get there

If coming from the A5 Turin-Aosta, exit at the Pont-Saint-Martin toll gate. Follow the trunk road towards Aosta. At the end of the long straight road that leads to the built-in area of Donnas, turn left and follow the signs for the hamlet of Clapey. Immediately after the motorway under pass, turn left again and follow the signs to the Chappoz farm

The municipality of Donnas boasts a long tradition of vine-growing, as evidenced by numerous historical documents, including one dating from 1214; even Napoleon, in May 1800, had the opportunity to sample Donnas wine. It was precisely to preserve these noble winemaking traditions that, in 1971, after obtaining the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) designation for the wine, a group of winegrowers formed a cooperative with the specific aim of safeguarding and guaranteeing the quality and authenticity of the wine.
The cooperative has an annual production capacity of around 80,000 bottles.
In 2025, we introduced a new label to our range: the Valle d’Aosta DOC Donnas “Miniere”. After 12 months in oak barrels, the wine completes its maturation at over 2,000 metres in the evocative Magnetite Mines of Cogne, the highest in Europe. 

The products

White DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: Valle d’Aosta doc Pinot Gris “Rêve d’Or”
Red and Light Red DOC wine: Valle d’Aosta doc Donnas Supérieur “Vieilles Vignes”, Valle d’Aosta doc Donnas “Napoléon”, Valle d’Aosta doc Donnas, Valle d’Aosta doc Nebbiolo “Barmet”, Valle d’Aosta doc Nebbiolo “Picotendro”, Valle d’Aosta doc rosé “Larmes du Paradis”
Vino Miniere: Valle d’Aosta doc Donnas “Miniere”
Other productions: Rouge des Caves, Blanc des Caves, Ronc (rosso), Donatium (vino aromatizzato rosso), Dernier Soleil, Grappa di Nebbiolo

The shop is open Monday to Saturday from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm; it is closed on Sundays and public holidays. Opening hours may vary during the Christmas period and in the summer.

The visit

Visits to the winery with wine tasting are available by booking only, during opening hours and subject to the production schedule.
We offer two types of tasting:
Quick tasting: tasting of 4 wines served with breadsticks, €15 per person.
Slow tasting: tasting of 4 wines accompanied by cold cuts and cheeses from the Aosta Valley, €25 per person.

Spoken languages: Italian, French and English.

How to get there

Coming from Pont-Saint-Martin: from the Pont-Saint-Martin motorway exit, turn left onto the SS26 and continue for about 3 km. The property is located along the main road, on the right-hand side, and has a large forecourt
Coming from Verrès: from the Verrès motorway exit, turn right onto the SS26 and continue for about 13 km. The property is located along the main road, on the left, and has a large forecourt

For 396 years, a horse chestnut tree had been growing in a courtyard, becoming more and more imposing, so much so that the farmhouse all around it became commonly known as Pianta Grossa (Big Plant). In 2009, due to an illness, the 25-meter big plant was cut down. So that the strength of the tree would continue to permeate that place, Luciano, in 2014, decided to also call his newborn winery ‘Pianta Grossa’; his winery is housed in the old farmhouse.
Behind the winery is the moraine mountain with the family vineyards, growing on the steep pergola terraces where the Nebbiolo Picotendro grows.
The wine business is set in the wake of a family tradition that has been alive for three generations. The cultivation of grapevines takes place over an area of about 2 hectares with Valdostan pergola cultivation. The vineyards are located on steeply sloping terraces in the municipalities of Donnas and Pont-Saint-Martin (about 400/500 meters above sea level). The soil of glacial origin is sandy and rich in organic matter. The sand gives the wine finesse and aroma while the organic substance ensures an adequate moisture content in the soil, the necessary nutrients and a balanced biological life: necessary conditions for obtaining healthy and well-ripened grapes. The organic substance is obtained on site from the mowing of the grass that grows under the pergolas and which, left on the ground as mulch, protects it from the cold winter and from the degrading action of the summer sunlight. Thanks to the management of the soil via natural methods, our company has never had to use herbicides or irrigation. The phytosanitary treatments are carried out according to the European guidelines of the PMI (Pest Management Integrated), while for the containment of some insects (moths), the fight for sexual confusion has been successfully adopted, in the most rigorous respect of the environment.

The products

Red DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) wines: 396 aesculus hippocastanum Valle d’Aosta DOC Nebbiolo, Dessus Valle d’Aosta DOC Nebbiolo, GEORGOS - γεωργός Valle d’Aosta DOC Donnas.There is a sales point open from 8 am to 8 pm from Monday to Sunday upon phone reservation (call +39 348 0077404).

The visit

Visits to the winery and vineyard tours with tastings are organized upon reservation.
Cost for the tasting: depending on the package, the tasting costs range between € 10 and € 15.Languages spoken: Italian, French and English.

How to get there

From the Pont-Saint-Martin motorway exit go in the direction of Aosta. The winery is located on the main road on the right at the beginning of the village of Donnas.