Many oil groves in central Italy – for various reasons are being used only little or not at all and are abandoned. Our goal is to give these abandoned olive tree their agricultural significance and restore them to the tradition of oil production – just as farmers of this region have cultivated for centuries. The olive groves we cultivate are all privately owned and leased by us. The olive plants show a lot of variety and are very characteristic for the region: Moraiolo, Leccino, Frantoio and Canino. The trees are of all different ages – from 15 years and thus only in their early harvest generation to almost 100-year-old trees.
The season starts with the pruning of the olive trees between the beginning of February and the end of April: a cut of the branches aimed at directing the energies of the plant towards the production of more fruits. The residues, together with the mowed grass, are returned to the ground for the purpose of recycling the organic substances.
The olive fields are located between the hills of Orvieto and Bolsena. We do not carry out any plant protection treatments of any kind against olive pathogens since the heights and slopes in the growing area are optimal and intervention is not necessary. In the rare case that there is an acute infestation by the olive fly, the plant is treated with a mixture of rock powder (caolin), water and lime: this forms a thin patina, which makes it impossible for the fly to penetrate the plant and lay their egg in the fruit.
The fruit reaches its final size between the end of August and the beginning of September, thus completing its growth cycle. At the beginning of October, the harvest of the fruit begins, which will take place during the invasion phase (i.e. the phase of fruit ripening, in which it will change color from green to purple): this is the most important time of the year.
When harvesting, we mainly use electric olive shakers, but also harvest to a smaller extent by hand. The use of electrical devices is kept to a minimum out of respect for the health and integrity of the plants and to avoid injuries and defoliation of the plants. At the same time, the devices are very efficient and save precious working time.
From the time of harvesting to pressing, it only takes a few hours for the mill to receive the freshly picked fruit. This way, a maximum of fragrance, taste and structure can be retained. We choose the olive oil mill for cold pressing from the same motives: The mill works at a temperature of no more than 27-28 degrees Celsius, which preserves the excellent, organoleptic properties of the oil. Our partner mill is located in the village of Bagnoregio, just a few kilometers from the olive groves.
As soon as the oil comes out of the mill, it is stored in stainless steel containers in the absence of oxygen in order to prevent oxidation. The storage takes 30 to 40 days so that the residuals can decrease. Only after this time the precious oil is finally bottled and ready for shipment to you.
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