In conversation with Marco Viola

Marco Viola represents the third generation of olive oil producers. Based in Foligno, Umbria, his company Frantoio Viola continues a tradition of excellence in Italian extra virgin olive oil making that spans over 70 years.

Meeting Marco Viola is always very special for us, because it brings us back to many years ago when we first discovered quality extra virgin olive oil. While it was always part of our life before then, in 2001 we chanced upon Viola’s oil in a restaurant in Montefiascone, in the Lazio region. Mesmerised by its taste, we looked at the back label, took out maps (pre-smart phones) and plotted our way to Foligno, hoping someone would be there on a Saturday afternoon. Indeed we woke up his mother, bought a couple of bottles and treasured them, like it was gold in liquid form!  That was our lightbulb moment, something we will always treasure.

Marco was also extremely generous with his time and suggestions, when we set up Frantoi in 2016, and so it was a pleasure to spend some hours with him recently, walking through his groves, seeing the constant improvements he makes to his frantoio, and sharing a great meal together in his local town.

Azienda Agraria Viola was set up by Marco’s grandfather, with humble ambitions, in the area where they lived. Marco has taken this business however and single-handedly transformed it, raising his oils to global recognition and to be frequently crowned as the best in the world. With his family, he now owns many thousands of olive trees, and this requires daily dedication, commitment and passion – qualities that Marco exudes in abundance. Many trees are in extremely inaccessible areas. “This is not Puglia or Andalucia” he tells us. “The terrain is extremely steep and inaccessible to most mechanised equipment, making olive cultivation and harvesting in these areas logistically challenging and time-consuming.” The result, however, is extraordinary: His 100% Moraiolo monocultivar, Il Sincero, has earned nearly every major award in the industry — including a perfect score of 100/100 for five consecutive years in the Flos Olei, a feat that secured its place in the coveted Hall of Fame in 2024.

The Moraiolo grove from which Il Sincero is made overlooks the fertile valley of Foligno on slopes between 200 and 400 meters above sea level. He feels particularly proud because it validates the philosophy of “Combining the promotion of native cultivars with innovative technologies”. Indeed Marco is all about technology – his relatively small frantoio houses some of the most cutting edge machinery, updated on regularly basis “I want to get to the point that I can do the olive oil production process from home, tinkering and monitoring, but not being in the actual frantoio for more than 14 hours a day!” By choice he doesn’t offer a milling service to other growers, known as ‘conto terzi’ – this allows him more complete control of his production and ensures that his olives arrive in the frantoio within less than 4 hours from being picked and can immediately begin their transformation. The shorter the time the fruit spends in contact with oxygen, the higher its potential quality. “To make quality olive oil you have to have perfect control of the full process, from farm to mill to bottling. This has an enormous cost, but it’s worth it in the end.”

At lunch we stopped by his friend Chef Marco Gubbiotti’s Cucinaa (https://cucinaa.it/) a wonderful place to showcase Umbria’s incredible culinary talent and produce – including Viola’s oils. Here Marco’s personality came to the fore, amongst his culinary peers – his energy, command and attention to detail in full evidence. Marco’s work is his life, as is the case for any master frantoiano, getting involved in trade associations, local politics and the promotion of Italian extra virgin olive oil excellence. He doesn’t want or need to grow much more in terms of production, but his ambition is to scale the limits of quality, each year. He invests so much of himself in his olive oil each year – he learned this from his parents and has been the only member of the family that wanted to keep this tradition going. And Frantoio Viola is very much Marco: innate respect for his region and its people, excellence at the very heart of all he does and a passion for innovation. Marco, we love working with you, it is the hugest honour to bring your incredible oils to tables around the world where we can assure you, every second of your work is appreciated.