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)

It's so good for you, you should drink it
September 5, 2020 In Health

You need to be drinking this!

You need to be drinking this.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an incredibly powerful natural anti-inflammatory.  It is exactly what nutritionists and immunologists are talking about us needing during this global pandemic.  But it’s not a concocted supplement; it’s a naturally pressed juice with no additives.

By integrating a high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil in to your daily diet, you are setting yourself up in the best possible way.
Check out the nutritionist Rosemary Ferguson, who has an incredible 14 day anti-inflammatory programme.  Benefits include: improved gut health, clearer skin, improved sleep, increased energy levels, balanced hormones, mental clarity.  This is essential stuff for the autumn and winter ahead.

If you are located stateside, worth investigating Amy Shapiro based out of NYC  or Karyn Forsyth Duggan on the West Coast both of whom offer tailor-made programmes.
 
Newly pressed extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) was first noticed by US scientist Gary Beauchamp, to induce a strong stinging sensation in the throat, not unlike that caused by solutions of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We now know from a wide range of evidence that these phenolic compounds (of which there are at least 36 present in EVOO) are endowed with anti-inflammatory magic.  Predominantly, this is thanks to the compound oleocanthal*.  For a more in depth understanding, this article is pretty good: https://olivewellnessinstitute.org/article/oleocanthal-a-phenolic-compound-with-anti-inflammatory-action/
 

The concentration of oleocanthal varies from one Extra Virgin Olive Oil to another.  The highest values occur in oil where the olives are harvested early.  Certain cultivars also have higher concentrations naturally.  Coratina, Bianchera, Nocellara del Belice and Moraiolo all have particularly high values.  We have put together a selection box of olive oils that focus particularly on high polyphenol levels, it’s called To Your Good Health and it is exactly what you will need this season.