Metsovo Cheese: Metsovone, Metsovela and the Tositsa Factory

The Cheeses

The Tositsa cheese factory opened in 1958. Evangelos Averoff, the Metsovo-born politician, wanted it to be a working school as well as a business: young men from shepherd families trained in Italian dairies, came home and set up their own cheese rooms. Their Italian training produced Metsovo's best-known cheeses.

• Metsovone: a smoked cheese, a relative of provolone, made mainly from cow's milk with up to 20% sheep's or goat's milk. It has PDO status.
• Metsovela: mainly sheep's milk with some cow's and goat's milk, modelled on pastorella.
• Rezzana Tossizza: 100% cow's milk, aged for at least 30 months in numbered 35 kg wheels.
• Graviera: from the milk of sheep and goats grazing above 1,200 m, made mainly in summer.
• Metsovisio goat cheese with pepper, Geladisio Metsovou (cow's milk) and fresh butter.

The Region of Epirus also names Metsovo chevre, flavoured with cracked black pepper and made only in spring, as a match for a glass of tsipouro.

Where to Buy

The Region of Epirus lists three places to find Metsovone and Metsovela: the Tositsa Foundation's cheese factory, Metsovo's traditional cheesemakers, and selected shops elsewhere in Greece. In town, the easiest place is the central square, shaded by plane trees, where the shops sell local cheese, sweets and other regional products. The factory does not publish shop hours; the Foundation's office in Athens answers on 210 3231569 or [email protected].

Wine With It: Katogi Averoff

The Katogi Averoff winery in Metsovo is open daily from 10:00 to 16:00. A 30-minute guided tour of the cellars runs through the day, with the last at 15:00, and wine tastings of about an hour must be booked at least a day ahead on the winery's booking site. The Averoff gallery has guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays at 13:00. Phone +30 26560 31490.

Getting There

KTEL intercity buses link Metsovo with Ioannina and Kalambaka. From Athens or Thessaloniki, take a bus to Ioannina and change there. By car, Metsovo sits just off the Egnatia motorway between Ioannina and Kalambaka, so it fits neatly into a drive between Epirus and Meteora.

When to Go

Metsovo is a year-round town. Winter brings skiing on the nearby slopes and the best weather for heavy mountain food; summer is cool for hiking.