From the tree
Olio Nobile’s olive trees are pruned every March to let more light and sunshine reach the blossom and developing olives. Of every 100 olive flowers, just one becomes an olive by autumn. Then, around mid-October, the olive harvest begins. The earlier the harvest, the more intense, aromatic, peppery and robust the oil’s aroma and flavour. Olio Nobile’s growers harvest when the olives begin changing colour from green to black or red.
The early harvest we aim for means a lower yield, but higher quality. The time between harvesting and pressing has a major impact on the quality of the oil. Our producers are required to press their olives on the day they are harvested, and we check that they do. Harvested olives left sitting around begin to oxidise immediately, losing flavour and valuable nutrients: acidity and peroxide levels rise, while the health-promoting polyphenols decline.
Industrial olive groves rely entirely on mechanical harvesting. Tractors grip the tree with metal arms while spreading a net beneath it. The trunk is shaken vigorously until all the olives fall from the branches. This takes around five minutes per tree.
Smallholders and quality-focused producers such as Olio Nobile’s growers harvest their olives by hand. Harvesting a Tuscan olive tree takes around 45 minutes. A gentle, battery-powered olive harvesting comb reduces the time by around 20 minutes per tree.
Olio Nobile’s producers harvest by hand. In the evening, they carefully remove the small bits of debris that inevitably fall into the nets alongside the olives.
To the mill
After a demanding day’s harvesting, Olio Nobile’s growers bring between 400 and 700 kilograms of olives to the mill in the evening. The olives are washed again, then finely chopped with their stones into a paste using sharp blades. In modern presses, this brown olive paste is stirred and mixed under vacuum for no more than 20 minutes at a maximum temperature of 27°C.
Under EU guidelines, cold pressing must take place at no more than 27°C. Higher temperatures or longer pressing times destroy essential vitamins, among other things, and drastically alter the flavour.
Two centrifuges then separate the oil from the olives’ water content over ten minutes. The fragrant, green-gold new olive oil flows into a steel container. An emotional moment for every olive grower!
We supervise the pressing of Olio Nobile olives at the mill to ensure a healthy, vitamin-rich extra virgin olive oil with an intense flavour.
Crucial mistakes can be made during bottling and storage. The longer olive oil is exposed to air and oxygen, the sooner it starts to deteriorate. It oxidises, becomes rancid and loses flavour and quality. After pressing, Olio Nobile oils are immediately filtered and bottled in amber glass. We avoid intermediate storage in steel tanks or other containers, because the oil is already vulnerable to deterioration at this stage. Straight from the tree into the bottle.
To the table
From spring blossom to aromatic fruit in late autumn, we take delight in every olive as it grows in all its bright green glory. The journey from tree to table is shaped by craftsmanship and a love of detail. For every litre of Olio Nobile we enjoy at home, 10 kilograms of olives are carefully picked, carried and processed.
