THE STORY: Il centenario oil is part of the Slow Food ‘Presidio Olivi Secolari’ project. Presidia are Slow Food projects that protect small quality productions to be safeguarded, made according to traditional practices.
The land and the variety
Our 400 centuries-old olive trees of the Correggiolo variety are located in a hilly area between 100 and 300 metres above sea level. The climate is characterised by hot, sometimes dry summers and cold winters with the risk of severe frosts. The soil is clayey-silty with the presence of yellow sands characteristic of the Romagna hills where the olive groves are located.
Cultivation
The soil is not fertilised, wild grasses and smaller residues from pruning are chopped up and left in the field to enrich the soil with organic substance and limit water loss from the soil, the larger residues are removed. Irrigation is not practised. For the control of diseases and pests, only wood di- steate is used.
Harvesting
To begin the harvest we assess both the veraison of the drupes (the beginning of ripening marked by the change in colour), which must be in its first stages, and the degree of ripeness of the pulp, which generally occurs in the second half of September. Harvesting is carried out using facilitators that cause the olives to fall onto nets lying on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, the olives are picked by hand, placed in perforated boxes and transported to the mill every evening.
Processing
Within a few hours after the harvest, the olives are transported to the Il Conventino oil mill in Monteciccardo (PU), about 18 kilometres from the olive groves. The olives are washed and pressed. The resulting paste is pressed and passed through the 2-stage decanter. The oil is transferred directly into the plate filter, without passing through the separator, to contain the loss of polyphenols.
Storage and packaging
Il Centenario extra virgin olive oil is stored in the absence of oxygen and then bottled in dark glass or bag-in-box.
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