LOCATION AND CLIMATE

 

As you might expect, olives grown in cooler areas where there is more moisture (rainfall and dew) exhibit leaner, more restrained characteristics.  This doesn’t however mean that great oil can now be made in Iceland – you need a minimum amount of sunshine to make your Extra Virgin Olive Oil taste remarkable, similarly to tomatoes or stone fruit.

Olive trees are sensitive to winter freeze (the Casaliva cultivar is more resistant to cold, hence being grown in the Garda region).  It is also easier to farm organically where the climate is more stable and less chemical sprays are required to keep the trees healthy.

OLIVE MATURITY

 

Here’s the thing – all olives are green.  When they become fully mature, they turn black.
Olive maturity at the time of harvest is a major factor in flavour and quality: olives harvested earlier (green olives) feature more bitter, grassy characteristics, with lower yields and with the highest anti-oxidant content.  The oil is a much more intense green colour and has a longer shelf-life.  In terms of production, milling can take longer with green olives (a longer malaxation - the action of slowly churning milled olives to release droplets of oil - is needed and can be more complicated) but the results are far superior!  Don’t choose olive oil from over mature fruit: it lacks all the potential goodness and flavour.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN GROVE AND MILL

 

People who care passionately about what they make and follow it personally every day have the capacity to create products with far higher quality, with integrity, and that taste of where they come from.  They are also able to do this by caring for the environment they inhabit.

FRANTOIO DI RIVA BOX

This box contains 6 bottles of extra virgin olive oil made exclusively by Frantoio di Riva from groves on the banks of lake Garda.

Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO green label x 3 bottles (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO organic white label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO blue label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, ULIVA Garda Trentino DOP x 1 bottle (50cl)

Sensory Analysis: What we think we like | Frantoi
Appearance: If Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been produced from green olives (and the best have) then immediately after pressing, your oil will be quite a vivid green colour. This drops back to a golden tone throughout the oil’s shelf life (around 18 months).
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Frantoi - Sensory Analysis
May 26, 2020 In EVOO

Sensory Analysis: What we think we like

Appearance: If Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been produced from green olives (and the best have) then immediately after pressing, your oil will be quite a vivid green colour. This drops back to a golden tone throughout the oil’s shelf life (around 18 months).

A cloudy appearance to your oil indicates that it hasn’t been filtered. This is fine if you are consuming the oil in the first couple of months of its life or close to the source, however unfiltered oils can become unstable if exposed to different temperatures as can happen during transit. For this reason, we ensure our oils have undergone a light filtration to ensure they are totally stable and you get the very best quality.

 

Taste: Bitterness and pungency in extra virgin olive oil are typically indicators of healthiness (especially antioxidants and anti-inflammatories). Fresh olives have a pleasant bitterness detected on your tongue, the pungency is a peppery sensation that you feel at the back of your mouth and in your throat and indicates a high nutrient content. Unfortunately, many have become accustomed to more mellow oils that don’t have any spice or fruitiness, that are golden and cloudy – but these are not actually quality indicators!