Family dairy that began cheesemaking in 1955, when the shepherds Alessandro and Remo Busti came down from the upper Garfagnana. It runs guided tours with tastings, a factory shop and a restaurant at Acciaiolo.
Cheeses: Pecorino Toscano, Ricotta La Pec
Website: caseificiobusti.com
Aged Pecorino Toscano is firm and fragrant, with a sweet rather than salty taste. Chianti's high acidity and cherry fruit cut through the paste, and the cheese's mildness leaves the wine's grip intact.
A younger stagionato is sweet and fragrant rather than salty. Rosso di Montalcino brings Sangiovese cherry with moderate tannin, light enough that the cheese's gentle sweetness is not lost.
An aged Pecorino Toscano is firm, fragrant and pronounced in flavour, beside Vin Santo's dried fruit and caramel. The wine is much sweeter than the cheese, which the DOP product sheet calls sweet, never salty.
Address: Via Guglielmo Marconi 13 A/B, 56043 Acciaiolo di Fauglia (PI), Tuscany
Dairy at Poggibonsi founded in 1987 and run by the Morrocchi family, with a shop and morning visits that show cheese being made, followed by a tasting of eight pecorini and ricotta.
Cheeses: Marzolino del Chianti, Raveggiolo, Pecorino, Ricotta
Visiting: dairy shop, dairy visit from 9:30 (about 45 minutes), tasting of 8 pecorini and ricotta, bookable in the morning
Wine and olive oil estate that has made sheep cheese from its Sardinian flock since 1992. The shop sells cheese, and guided tours with tastings run on reservation.
Cheeses: Pecorino Ruota del Re, Dante, Marzolino del Chianti, Ricotta
Visiting: farm shop, guided tour of the winery and dairy (dairy seen from outside), tasting with cheese board and wine
Dairy cooperative begun in 1961 by Alto Mugello herders, part of the CLAI group since 2019. Its renovated shop sells its cheeses, including an organic caciotta, local cured meats and Tuscan specialities.
Cheeses: Caciotta biologica
Visiting: dairy shop, snack point (punto ristoro)
Family dairy at Montepulciano making Pecorino di Pienza since 1962, founded by a Sardinian family. Visitors can book a tasting that explains production, or an outdoor picnic.
Cheeses: Pecorino di Pienza
Visiting: farm shop, guided tasting that explains production from milking to ageing, outdoor picnic of its cheeses and local cured meats (booked online), B&B rooms
Working farm a few kilometres from Pienza with its own sheep and goat dairy making pecorino, caprino and ricotta from unpasteurised milk. Tours cover production from fermentation to ageing and end with a tasting.
Cheeses: Pecorino di Pienza, Caprino, Ricotta
Visiting: guided farm and dairy tour (about 2 hours, with a master cheesemaker), cheese tasting, cheese-making demonstration, restaurant with a panoramic terrace, cooking classes, online shop
Family dairy making sheep and goat cheeses: classic, fermented and spiced pecorini, with black pepper, walnuts or basil and pine nuts. Its shop is La Bottega del Naturista in Pienza.
Cheeses: Pecorino di Pienza, Goat cheeses
Visiting: cheese sales at its shop in Pienza
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