Roquefort Cheese Cellars are open for visitors Aug 27, 2009

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The travel bureau of Roquefort, France started conducting guided tours and excursions inside its cellars. These cellars, needless to say, store some of the world's most famous cheese. The cellars are in the ownership of the Roquefort-sur-Soulzon commune in the department of Aveyron. The cheese ripens properly only under the right environmental conditions – the proportion of air and water, which get into the cellars through the porous stone walls. Year round the humidity is maintained above 90-95%, while the air temperature varies between 7 and 16°C. In order to learn more about the production process of Roquefort cheese, you can simply visit one of the custom cellars located along Avenue de auras, informs eTurboNews.

Access to the Papillon cellars is absolutely free. The first organic cheese in the region was produced here. In addition, the Papillon family is the only family that collects the spores of molding fungi from rye bread of its own production. A short free visit to the Gabriel Coulet cellars will help visitors understand how five generations of cheese producers managed to create top quality cheese without changing the old traditions. Société is a star of all cheese cellars. For only 3 Euros you could walk around a vast underground network beneath the limestone arches, that host the growth and ripening of 33 thousand Roquefort cheese rolls.

Carles is the smallest cellar and the only one in the commune where Roquefort is still being prepared by hand. Unfortunately you cannot go inside the cellar. But Jaques Carles, the owner, has his own store where he sells his cheese and will be more than happy to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about cheese production. In Combes Le Vieux Berger cheese has been produced since 1923. The owner of the cellar conducts special master classes for visitors wishing to learn about Roquefort production.

Les Fromageries Occitanes cellars are closed for visitors, but tourists can easily get access to one of the sheep farms, that produce the milk for the production of La Pastourelle Roquefort (the pastor's Roquefort). We recommend dressing warmer for the tours as the temperature in the cellars is quite low and the tours last no less than an hour.