Italian Olive Oil Olive trees are an iconic and integral part of the Italian landscape, and while Italy is the second largest producer of olive oil after Spain, no other country is more highly associated with olive oil, from the romantic images of olive groves in Tuscany, to the oil’s dominant influence in nearly every Italian recipe, from pasta, fish and vegetables to cake. Olive oil educational programs in partnership with the International Culinary Center. Olio Taibi is a fabulous delicious tasting olive oil from a family farm in Italy. World Olive Oil Competition. While the Southern regions of Puglia, Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily produce the largest quantities of olive oil in the country, other unique, premium quality extra virgin olive oils are produced all over Italy, not only in the well-known regions of Tuscany and Umbria, but also in the lesser-recognized regions of Lazio, Molise and Trentino Alto Adige. Olive trees are an iconic and integral part of the Italian landscape, and while Italy is the second largest producer of olive oil after Spain, no other country is more highly associated with olive oil, from the romantic images of olive groves in Tuscany, to the oil’s dominant influence in nearly every Italian recipe, from pasta, fish and vegetables to cake.Premium Italian extra virgin olive oil is almost exclusively produced by family-owned estate operations who often own their own frantoio (crushing mill) and oversee every step of the process, from tree to bottle. Luciana Squadrilli introduces us to the world of Italian olive oil and sheds some light on ten EU-protected varieties.Calabria is a close second to Puglia in terms of olive oil production, and there are four different PDOs ; Lametia DOP – in the Lamezia Terme area – is regarded as the best. Despite the scandals and alleged frauds that sometimes grab headlines in the international press, Italy is home to many excellent, honest producers and the quality of Italian olive oil is universally recognized as outstanding in international competitions.
Italy is home to over 350 different olive varieties (which increases to 600 if you include regional clones), each of them characterized by their specific flavours and characteristics. The oil must be made with at least ninety percent Carolea olives, which creates medium fruity, gently scented oils with pleasant hints of freshly cut grass, green apples and almond, proving that southern Italy can produce oil that’s just as delicate as those found further north.– In the eighteen Italian regions where olive trees grow, there are roughly 902,000 farms, 179 million olive trees and 4,500 pressing mills, with an overall cultivated area of over a million hectaresThe main distinctive feature of Italian extra virgin olive oil lays in its biodiversity.
There are many reasons why it’s considered unique.This classification covers the entirety of Umbria, split into sub-areas Colli Assisi Spoleto, Colli Martani, Colli del Trasimeno and Colli Amerini. Italian oil millers decide whether it’s best to enhance each variety's features in single-cultivar oils, or to harmonize them in excellent blends. Tasting and smelling the oil – perhaps using a special tasting glass or on a slice of warm, unsalted bread – is the best way to learn how to identify and recognize a good quality extra virgin olive oil, and to honour the hard work of the producers.Italy is the word's second producer of extra virgin olive oil, just behind Spain. Our on-line olive oil shop offers the opportunity to buy an extensive selection of exceptional oils personally-selected by our management team from award-winning producers Frantoio Franci, Frantoio Pruneti, Gradassi, Viola, Agraria Riva del Garda and Quattrociocchi and include smaller, lesser-known high-quality brands such as Olio Guglielmi, Sciroppo, Fratelli Masturzo and Le Masciare.While olive oil quality in Italy has come under the radar recently in the press, due to the importing and repacking of often lower-quality olive oil from other countries to meet the world demand for “Italian” olive oil, it is all the more important to acknowledge the hard-working, smaller estate producers whose hearts and livelihoods are dedicated to producing some of the most honest, best Italian extra virgin olive oil in the world.✅ Pricing is automatically removed from the packing slip on all gift orders.