 |
Like a great wine or any other cultivated gourmet product, extra virgin olive oil is as good as the region it comes from because that determines the type of tree, the soil and the climate in which the olives are grown. The harvesting methods, and the press used in the area also affect quality. In Vordonia, everything is perfect:
- Hot dry summers
- Mild, wet winters
- 800 meters above sea level
- The right soil ( aspropoulo )
- Single cultivar ( Athenolia )
- Hand-picked harvest
- Cold-pressed
- Cold-separation
- Low acidity
- Select limited quantities
- A history of olive oil farming dating back to ancient Sparta
- Like the ancient Spartans: no compromise
Because the temperature remains high enough to prevent frost on our farm, our Athenolia olives mature on the tree. We have five months during which we can harvest ( November-March ), giving us greater flexibility in terms of flavors we can produce. An earlier harvest, when the olives are greener, results in a stronger extra virgin olive oil with a bigger kick in the back of the throat. Later in the season, when the olives are riper, the taste is smoother. Other producers are beholden to their climate, forcing them to ripen their olives in warehouses or incubators. They must pick by mid-December to avoid frost, their olives have little fruit and larger seed, giving them limited flexibility in terms of acidity, nutrients and flavor.
A measure of high quality extra virgin olive oil is the percentage of oil pressed from olives. Our Vordonia Athenolia olives produce 33% extra virgin olive oil from 100lbs. of olives. Italy, Spain, France and California average 6% to 15% olive oil from 100lbs. of olives. Why do other regions harvest more olives and press less oil? Fear of cold weather destroying the olive crop means they must harvest before the olives have ripened on the tree. As a result the immature olives have as much seed as they have fruit. We describe these olive oils as olive seed oils.
When you have more of the oil pressed from the olive seeds than from the olive fruit, you'll get a taste described as grassy, artichokey, peppery, dried leaves, milk, myrtle, burnt oranges and a host of other colorful and rather unflattering words. By contrast there is only one way to describe the taste of Vordonia Athenolia Extra Virgin Olive Oil. OLIVES.
|
|
