Olive Oil

Our organic olive groves are situated on a wide plateau at the foot of the Maiella mountain in Abruzzo. They form part of the ancient archaeological site ‘Cluviae’ which dates back to Roman times, and indeed, olives have been cultivated here for over 2000 years. We are proud to be the guardians of this historic tradition, producing our extra virgin oil with care and attention.

Our trees are maintained to the highest organic standards, with inspections three times a year. They are pruned every Spring, fertilised with organic products only and the ground itself, being full of stones, is harrowed and ploughed every year in order to aerate the soil and to allow the rain to trickle down to the roots. We harvest by hand, either with baskets strapped around the waist for the smaller trees, or with hand held rakes and nets spread beneath the trees for the rest. The olives are milled within 24 hours of picking to ensure that all the goodness is retained.

We have three types of olive trees: Gentile di Chieti, Intosso and Leccino (these last producing abundant drupes of small shiny black olives). This mixture of varietals, traditional to the area, produces a stunning extra virgin oil with a fantastically rounded yet piquant flavour.

Our olives are milled at the acclaimed ‘Trappeto di Caprafico’, a family owned and run olive press whose land runs alongside ours. Their attention to detail, devoted professionalism and state- of- the- art equipment (a ‘continuous production’ machine worked without heat) ensure that the oil is pressed in the optimum conditions and both their oil and ours has won prizes and commendations over the years.