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)

November 29, 2021 In EVOO

The 2021 New Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oils

2021 has been a challenging season for our growers as they battled with late frost, followed by unsettled weather during flowering, over all significantly less water throughout the growing season and then a countrywide heat spike in August that impacted most regions.

When it comes to olive growing, we are used to a cycle of an abundant year, followed by a less abundant year (that typically follows pruning, so the tree tends to give less as it regains its composure). 2021 however has been drastic in terms of volume for many.  Those of you who have been reading the Cold Press for some time will know that we live in rural Tuscany and here in particular, the yields have been significantly hit – for many small growers, it wasn’t even worth harvesting.

Likewise, in the far North of Italy, the yields have been much lower this year, in some places the harvest has been only 10% of the volume achieved in 2020.

In terms of quality, you need not worry in the slightest, for whilst this is a very small harvest, the oils are looking sensational.  Aromas are very fine and the concentration of polyphenols is high, which is just what we need in particular for the winter ahead.

We’ve done our absolute best to get an allocation for you, to ensure these wonderful oils are at your table for the year ahead.