Those who read this article will have seen the usual hot and suffocating summer, with some storm during the end of the season coming to its end. We cannot predict yet whether the olive harvest, which in Sicily has just begun, will be abundant or, as unfortunately often happens, poor. Only Mother Nature will decide the abundance of its fruit.

The uncertainties from a naturalistic point of view can be completely overcome if – once developed some tips – you could proceed in the most appropriate manner in order to produce an oil of excellence.

A few tips to take as a guide to carry with you during the phases that will lead you, step by step, to the finished product.

– Why do not pick olives by choosing them from their varieties? We aim to recognize our oil depending on the cultivar. One day we will be able to distinguish Frantoio from Leccino, as happened for the wine.

– Never leave our olives relegated in a third row at the mill. It will be a sacrifice, but it will bear good fruit.

– Keep the obtained oil in steel tanks, maybe inactivating the atmosphere, for example with nitrogen. The organoleptic qualities of our product will remain unchanged for a long time.

– Create a label that is a real business card: advertise polyphenols, vitamin E (natural antioxidants), peroxides (indicate the degree of primary oxidation of the oil).

– Give a name that can distinguish one bottle from another. One day – by synecdoche – you will say: I tasted a Coratina. Really bitter.

Give the right value to a quality product. With the right spirit, we may hope for a brighter future for olive growing, by enhancing the substantial efforts made by those who think they can undo the gap with the world of wine.

Casaliva (Casaliva 100%), Comincioli, Puegnago del Garda, Brescia, Lombardy.

Earthy smell with hints of leaf, oil and an ending with walnut. In the mouth enters in a predominant and persistent way. It brings out the spicy notes of red and black pepper. Despite the palate remains very fragrant and clean. It really is an excellent oil that deserves structured couplings as wild boar stew and pasta alla Norma.

Poggio alla Rocca (Leccino – Correggiolo – Dolciano), Poggio alla Rocca, Pari, Grosseto, Tuscany.

Emerald green with topaz streaks. The olfactory set is intense with fruity notes of Golden apple and banana. The taste plays with touches of spicy hints and artichoke slights. It is an interesting and evolving product. To be coupled with a fillet of gilthead in potato crust or to enrich puréed peas.

Post Locone (Coratina 100%), Fratelli Ferrara, Foggia, Puglia.

Bright green hue. Vegetable nose of aubergine, tomato and freshly cut grass. In the mouth it wraps you with its spicy note of bitter almond. To embellish frise with pachino tomatoes and spring onion or paccheri with sea urchins.