Jaunted

The place doubles as a retail store and gift shop as well, so just be sure to let them know you’re interested in a tour before you start gobbling up plenty of free samples. They had pretty much every kind of cheese in their dairy empire on display for a taste, but just beware of the adults who kind of double-dip when they reuse their toothpicks—um, gross. That being said, it might be worth it to BYOCrackers and just pick up a couple options out of the cooler for a snack back in the car.

Tours run regularly, and we recall that the whole thing was over in less than an hour. First there’s a somewhat interesting—but somewhat boring—documentary about the business, the farmers, and the cows. You’ll learn some stuff about the dairy business, like how it takes a little over a gallon of whole milk just to make a pound of cheese. After that it’s off to the hallways of the factory where you can check out the curds and whey doing their thing along with plenty of processing, packaging, and other factory stuff. The day we were there workers were putting in the OT working on a Saturday, as apparently the Greek yogurt has just been flying off the shelves.

For foodies—or just fans of cheese—this is definitely worth the stop. It’s a little off the main drag, but it’s a nice drive that’s kind of an attraction in itself. We’re sure the kiddos will love it too, and it’s definitely a very Vermont thing to do even if it is a little cheesy—oof, couldn’t resist!

[Photos: Jaunted]