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Olive Oil
Delicacy and unmistakeable taste: it took two thousand years to select such a delicate and perfumed product as extra virgin olive oil, one of the primary elements of the Mediterranean diet. Introduced to areas in the territory of Vicenza with southern exposure during the time of the Roman Empire, the olive became widespread in the Berici Hills during medieval times. The technique of oil selection and production perfected over the centuries did the rest.
Olive Oil
The History
There is a product of the land of great quality in the Berici Hills and Vicentine Piedmont area, produced with techniques of processing whose origins have been lost over the centuries: olive oil. The cultivation was brought here by the Romans, who were well aware of the great qualities of olives, but also of the necessary climatic conditions for the plant to grow. As early as eight thousand years ago, the olive was cultivated in the Middle East; the Phoenicians spread the cultivation throughout the shores of the Mediterranean, from Africa to Southern Europe. Olive cultivations became increasingly numerous with the Greeks, but it was the Romans who extended the diffusion to every territory they conquered. In many cases, they ordered the populations they had conquered to pay their tribute in the form of olive oil. The Romans succeeded in building the first instruments for the crushing of olives and to perfect the techniques of oil conservation.
Where it is produced
In Vicenza, the cultivation of olives is present in three distinct areas: the Berici Hills, the Piedmont of Mount Grappa and the Vicentine Lessinian Hills. These areas of production have been recognised and are protected by the Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) marking for “Euganean and Berici Hills” and “Veneto Mount Grappa” extra virgin olive oil. Overall, the Berici Hills area involves twenty municipalities distributed prevalently along the eastern Riviera, whose epicentre is in Nanto, which hosts the most important olive oil events in April and July. The reality of the Vicentine Lessinian Hills, in the western area of the province, is included in the Berici Hills production area to simplify the norms. This area includes the municipalities of Creazzo, Gambellara, Montecchio Maggiore, up to Castelgomberto and Isola Vicentina. As a whole, it is an oil producing area that is similar to the Berici Hills due to the characteristics of the soil and the varieties of olives cultivated. Finally there is the Mount Grappa piedmont area, which unites the olive groves of Bassano, which extend to Thiene and Breganze. The fulcrum of the Vicentine production in this case is the locality of Pove del Grappa. Overall production of olive oil in Vicenza amounts to approximately 900/1,200 quintals.
How it is produced
Production regulations call for the use of the Leccino and Rasara varieties for at least 50%, the Frantoio, Maurino, Pendolino, Marzemino, Riondella, Trepp (Drop, Pertegaro) and Matosso varieties for up to 50%; other experimental varieties are also permissible, up to 10%. The best technique, which is the most respectful of the fruit, but also the costliest method, is the so-called “brucatura” (or “grazing”) method, which consists in collecting the olives by hand, one by one, while they are still green. In most cases and in order to speed up the harvest, special pincers are used, which rake the olives
in from the small branches, so that they fall onto nets at the foot of the tree. After harvest the olives are sent to the mill for crushing within a period of time of no more than four days, during which the fruits are conserved in special holed containers, placed in fresh and
well-aired environments (this keeps the oil from accumulating an excessive level of acidity). Finally, the crushing takes place through two types of plants: the discontinuous one, which is the most widespread, where large stone mills prepare the mixture that will be placed on circular fibre supports for pressing, and the continuous one, where the olives are crushed by a mill with rotating cylindrical hammers. The paste produced is then sent to a centrifuge for extraction of the oil.
Product Characteristics
Olive oil must have an intense greenish gold colour, with a delicate and slightly bitter taste, a delicate and fruited perfume of varying intensity and a level of
acidity of less than 0.6%. In order to ensure the quality of the product, the three areas are monitored by technicians of the provincial phytosanitary service from the Strampelli Institute of Lonigo, who
protect the cultivations by promoting application of techniques called “integrated defence”, which calls for a
combination of actions to be taken with regard to the
cultivation (planting,
pruning, etc.) and actions to defend their actual
phytosanitary condition
against the most important biological adversities. The cultivation has adopted
special characteristics that refer primarily to these areas which are protected by the P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin).
TRADE FAIRS AND EVENTS
Pove del Grappa
(Palm Sunday): Fiera mercato dell’ulivo (Oil and Olive Market Fair)
Ph. +39 0424 80333
Barbarano Vicentino
(April): Festa dell’olio extravergine d’oliva e dell’ulivo (Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Festival)
Ph. +39 0444 788314
Nanto
(July): Manifestazione L’ulivo e il tartufo dei colli Berici (The Berici Hills Truffle and Olive Festival)
Ph. +39 0444 638188
USEFUL ADDRESSES
Consorzio di Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Veneto D.O.P.
(Consortium for the Protection of Veneto P.D.O. Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
“EUGANEI E BERICI”
(“Euganean and Berici Hills”)
“DEL GRAPPA” (“Mt. Grappa”)
Palazzo dell'Agricoltura
Via Locatelli, 1 - 37122 Verona
Ph. + 39 045 8678260
Fax. +39 045 8034468
e-mail: info@aipoverona.it
www.oliovenetodop.it
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