europeannovice

I have read there are different regions in Italy where certain cheese productions are a specialty. Parma for parmesan. Pienza for pecorino and Sorrento for Mozzarella among them. Is it fun to do a cheese factory tour and tasting or is it cheesy? (no pun intended).

For Sorrento if it is worth while doing what is the best cheese factory to tour? Can you combine this with a limoncello tour? You can drink limoncello almost everywhere in Sorrento it seems so is it worth a tour of how it is made or just a silly tourist trap kind of thing to do?

My dilemma is determining how many days to split between Sorrento and Rome. If I add a relaxing day for Sorrento for the pool and one of these cheese tours then I am taking away a sight seeing day in Rome. I am playing with 4 nights in Sorrento and 6 nights Rome or 5 nights in each.

For Sorrento I want to do Pompeii, Herculaneum, Amalfi towns and a visit to Capri. For Rome I have a longer list.

Thanks in advance for your feedback

italy2012

ttt

ekscrunchy

From Sorrento you can visit the area around Paestum which specializes in cheeses made from buffalo milk, most often mozzarella. The most popular farm, and the only one I know of that offers organized, scheduled tours, is Vannulo. I wrote this small report about one of my visits to that farm. They offer tours in English:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ar-paestum.cfm






Agerola is closer to Sorrento and the specialty there is mozarella made mostly from cow milk (fior di latte). I do not know of any tours, and certainly none in English. But often in Italy, if you make friends with the cheese maker at their shop, they will offer to let you watch the process the next day; thisd usually takes place in the morning, before the shop opens.

This is the site of a well-known maker in Agerola; best to have a car to get here although there are limited buses; you might call in advance, or have someone call for you to speak in Italian. If you go you should buy cheese if they offer to give you a tour:

http://www.caseificioruocco.com/dove.html

A limoncello tour would not offer too much as the process is very simple. You can taste in many shops. There are a few rural agriturismo farms on the Sorrento Peninsula, near Massa Lubrense; I'd contact them and ask if they make limoncello.

For example; call and see if you can visit and have lunch at either of these, or they can recommend a place:

http://fattoriaterranova.it/class-an...emon-flavored/



http://www.torrecangiani.com/products/

ekscrunchy

Also, pecorino is made in many sheep-raising areas. Pienza is famous for high quality sheep cheese, but not the only place.

You can probably find a tour of Parmesan makers by searching around on the internet. There are lots of outfits that arrange tours to cheese makers and to makers of balsamic vinegar.

Here is a list of cheese (Parmesan) makers who will let you visit; best if you speak Italian or have someone make the call. I would not show up without calling; prepare to rent a car or take a taxi from your base, or else book a stay at a farm in the region; some of the cheese makers offer rooms:



http://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/wh...i/default.aspx