IMPOLLINATORI

Our special “Pollinators” label is dedicated to those cultivars considered inferior. Often small and difficult to collect. At times the olives are harvested too mature, because farmers first dedicate themself to the grape harvest to produce wine. Because of this, the olives produce a less fragrant oil. In the world there are many cultivars, and Italy is considered to have the largest variety. The different cultivars present in our soil are of considerable importance. They have the task of pollinating our precious Itrana olives with the help of flowers and the wind. These olive trees were planted scattered in the middle of the olive grove. We collect the olives separately and at the right degree of ripeness in October. Our limited edition of “Pollinators” is a blend of olives resulting in a blend of aromas. Different are the tastes of consumers, different are the tastes of olive oil and the dishes we eat. We encourage you to not stop at just one extra virgin olive oil, but to taste as many different types of olive oil as possible.

ROSA & MEO

Our special “Rosa & Meo” label is dedicated to Rosa Moroni and Mariano (Meo) Cappa. Our grandparents who handed down the passion of olive cultivation. The olives selected for this oil are of the Itrana cultivar. Itrana is the indigenous variety of the Provence of Latina on the Lazio coast. The village of Cori, where our company is located, is the second largest producer of this cultivar. A duel-purpose cultivar, highly prized, can also be transformed into a table olive. An olive that ripens very slowly, from November to March. Within the harvest period the olives ripen in various stages and colors. Beginning at the unripened stage of green, eventually turning purple, and eventually when fully ripe, black. In the latter case, the olive is placed on the market under the name of Oliva di Gaeta PDO. We harvest when the ripening begins and when the perfume of the olives is at its best. In 2012, our oil was recognized as the best oil in the country. In 2017, Gambero Rosso awarded our oil the highest rating of “three leaves”.  Over the years, other awards have been given to our oil, but the most coveted recognition we have is the appreciation of our customers.

LA RISPOSTA

In the past, the land was owned by the “Signori” or large landowners and the Church. The workers worked hard to feed their family. A portion of the harvest was counted as part of their earnings. These additional earnings had various names, and one was called “La Risposta” (The Answer). Sometimes it was the fifth part of the harvest, other times it was the third. It was up to the discretion of each landowner. Over time, the workers became known as “sharecroppers” because they received a portion of each harvest. Today, the land inherited from our ancestors is not cultivated, and in some cases, it is possible to harvest the olives by giving part the oil produced to the owner of the land. Our label, “La Risposta” is dedicated to all of those growers who became owners.

LE RECERCATORE

Maria “la zerella”, Teodora “la marcutella”, Filomena “la luca” – a few of the names and nicknames of “Le Recercatore”. “Le Recercatore” or the researchers – as they are translated to in English – are people who used to pick up the olives from the ground after the men had finished climbing the olive trees to harvest and prune this way getting olives for their own production. Sometimes “Le Recercatore” were considered burglars, because they were entering the property without the owner’s permission. My grand parents, Rosa and Meo, left their daugther to keep an eye on their farm when they had to go away to work for bigger owners of land. Other times “le recercatore” asked for the owner’s permission to enter the fields and pick up the wasted olives on the ground. They were fast in picking up olives, but they still needed a lot of days to collect the amount of olives necessary to be pressed in the mill. Therefore the quality of the olive oil wasn’t the best, but for “Le Recercatore” it was important to produce oil for the year. In modern times with the new machinery, it is possible in just one day to harvest enough olives for a year’s consumption and in a better quality. And the olives lost on the fields are not collected anymore. Years ago there were trees so big that they required a whole day to be harvested by ten workers. Today five workers can harvest one hundred trees in one day. During harvest time today, we hear the noise of the tractors, in the past it was the song from the workers that we could enjoy. Today the workers in the fields are called “squadre” (teams), usually formed by four workers and one leader (il capo squadra). Usually men. Their names are Tommaso “pizzitonico”, Felice “mattonella”, Pietro “picoccio”, Maurizio “fumone”. One thing still remains from the past, the nickname “soprannome”. To the workers of the olive fields we dedicate this olive oil and the table olives.

LOVE ME

To me, the little poem “Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fierisentio et excrucior” describes how difficult the world of olive oil can be. For my grandparents, Rosa and Meo, the farm did not give enough profit to make a living. So, their wish for me was that I should find a normal job with a monthly salary. One of the reasons for the difficulties was, and is, that the olive trees do not produce the same amount every year. You never know how much oil you can get from the trees. The land needs maintenance, and you don’t know if you get back the money you have invested in it. The last harvest (2014) was the worst in many, many years. According to an old farmer the worst since 1955. Some people think that you can just increase the price after a bad harvest. Small quantity – high price. But this business rule doesn’t really work for a small producer. Therefore, I made a choice to be able to get a larger amount of oil to offer my clients. I harvested for other people in the area. People, who do not harvest the olives in their property. Usually people, who have a job with a salary who do not have the time or the ambition to run a farm. Therefore, I went up to the mountains and I made this olive oil out of my harvest. Even though it was a small production, it was important for me to have something good to offer to the people who are following me in my constant effort to produce excellent olive oil of unique quality. As we take care of our olive trees, the fruit they produce care for our body, both internally and externally. Thus as in the past, the oil was used as a beauty ointment for the skin. Today, we offer cosmetics prepared with our oil.

RITORNELLA

In the oil production declarations of the oil campaign 1973/1974 it reads: “Ritornella” Prevalent Varieties. If we performed a more advanced search, we could also read Olivella, Minuta, Mignola, and many other names to identify several olive cultivars. Sometimes, different names indicate the same cultivar, but not always does the same olive produces the same oil. Indeed, there are many factors that affect the production of olive oil. We could say that as a different grape variety can make us taste different wines, an oil from the same olive can cause a different appreciation of the dish we are going to season. Over the years, the olive variety “Ritornella” has disappeared. This could have taken place due to the explantation of the tree, or by capillation and grafting of a new cultivar. In 1985, after a devastating frost, some farmers have carried out this practice in their olive groves. Following this, we can verify that the same tree can show two different cultivars. “Ritornella” is our bottle dedicated to those olive groves that were abandoned but are now being brought back into production for the need for their own oil. We also want to announce a new challenge of our company. We are planting a small vineyard just to taste our own wine. Will we be able to tell  from our wine what we already know and say about our oil?

CAT

“The perfect man is the one with the least defects”. One of the many sentences that cross my mind. We would all like to appear “perfect” without wanting to recognize our limits, and try to hide our flaws. Many call me “Cat”, short for Catullo. If we read these three letters in English and translate into Italian we would speak of the “Gatto” (cat). Very often, I have heard that the defect of an olive cultivar is expressed with the scent of cat urine. In the list of defects reported in ECC regulation 2568/91 and subsequent amendments, this scent is not mentioned. The mentioned regulation guides us in the classification of olive oils. The distinction of the main categories of oil is between Extra Virgin, Virgin, and Lampante. The category most recognized by the consumer is Extra Virgin olive oil. This category inspires a lot of discussion because it often does not correspond to what is actually in the bottle. My comment is not meant to be a criticism, but with my few 50 limited edition bottles, I would like the consumer to have a more expanded view of olive oil. For all of the small producers of olive oil who do not bottle their own oil, and who do not ask themselves in which category it would be classified, the use of this oil would be daily. Small defects could be found, but they are not as important as saying that the oil is the oil of your olives. The defects that are often found in oil can be identified with the sense of smell. The defects we identify in some wines is often compared to quality. The distinction between oil and wine is that wine is placed under the nose and then tasted, where oil is already on the plate and combined with other ingredients. We hardly smell the food we ingest. A new challenge is proposed. What will make us choose our olive oil? Is it the bottle? The logo? The product name? Reputation? Or the price?