The Prep and Destinations

Hello, my name is Jim Wallace and I have been the tech person for New England Cheese Making Supply Co. for the past many years. I also teach many workshops on the original aspects of cheese making. My primary resource is the traditional cheese makers of Europe. To do this I must make many trips to visit these folks on their home turf (I know I know ... but someone has to do it!).

I have begun this journal to allow folks to follow on a day by day basis (hopefully I can find some Wi-Fi even in the mountains).

So ....!

September 2009 we are off to spend 3 weeks visiting more cheese makers in the mountains of France, Switzerland, and Italy.

Following many weeks (months actually) of emails and phone calls we have the trip pretty much organized.

Flying into Geneva we will begin in Savoie France, then to the Etivaz area on the eastern end of Lake Lausanne. Following this we cross the Alps dropping onto Lake Como and into the Valtellina region, then to Bolzana and the Trento region of Valsugana for their regional cheeses made in the mountain huts. Asiago is also found at the far end of this valley.

Following this we will travel to the Cinque Terra for a few days to catch our thoughts, then onto the great Cheese Festival sponsored by Slow Foods in Bra Italy. This is one of the largest events of its type with cheese makers from all over the world. We will then wrap it all up with a visit to the Beaufort area of Savoie and back to Geneva.