Oh-LEE-Vay!
Raccolta delle Olive (pronounced ‘Oh-LEE-Vay’)! Olive Harvest is here! With Vendemmia, the wine harvest, finished, attention turns to the silvery trees that equally cover our landscape in the Tuscan countryside. Outsiders may think that olive harvest not only follows wine harvest on the calendar, but that it follows in terms of importance as well. Nothing is farther from the truth. Along the spectrum of ‘quintessential Italy’, one might think olives fall somewhere between wine and vespas or soccer (calcio), but in reality, to the locals, olives (and more importantly, extra virgin olive oil) top the list.
While many landowners craft their own wine or sell their yield to a winery, for the most part, all landowners have olive trees whose fruit is a most prized possession. Raccolta, therefore, marks a really important time for every Tuscan (and our Abruzzo too!). Whether you have 10 olive trees or 100, it is a serious labor of love and pride. The all important liquid that presses from the olives is generally hoarded as a precious commodity.
Large producers deploy large groups of workers and sophisticated ‘tree shaking, upside down umbrella’ contraptions to vibrate the fruit loose. In juxtaposition, on small plots of land, families gather their generational workforce, to come together to lay nets under their groves and rake small fruit from the branches. (For those of you in California, I’m pretty sure we used a beach toy sand rake for our raccolta). For the super high olives or for any stragglers hiding deep inside the trees, an electric rake on a long pole is used to vibrate any holdouts clinging to their branches. The nets are pulled and lifted and the olives tumble together in a mini stampede. Their homogeneous pile is poured into crates, gently crashing together, creating an audible harvest finale. With a heave into the back of an ape (scooter truck), the crates are ceremoniously off to the frantoio or olive mill. The ultimate excitement is the velvety, cloudy, green liquid that pours into the vat.
Thus is born Olio Nuovo. Without a doubt, the most awaited product of any give year here in Tuscany. New oil. Extra virgin, first press and fresher-than-fresh. Cherished in every way. Bottled in dark glass (or tins) and stowed away in the darkest of pantries, this oil is used sparingly - fresh bread, leafy salad, drizzled every so delicately over a fresh made pasta, or better yet, perfect grilled bistecca. It is a family’s honor, the village co-op’s pride, and a large producer’s prize.
In Tuscany, Olio Nuovo is bright green. It is fiery and peppery and luscious in the very best way. It’s forward bitterness is sometimes an acquired taste, but as it coats your mouth it melts into a smooth, deliciousness that makes your cheeks pucker. When it hits the throat, a unique heat kickstarts a tastebud explosion from the back of your throat to tongue. I have yet to taste anything in this world that brings all the senses together like olio nuovo.
From year to year, the taste and quality of the oil may very, but the pride emanating from the frantoio is unyielding. Regardless of the outcome, ‘Buon olio’ (a term reserved for the very best tasting EVOO), and the traditions around raccolta - fruit, family, frantoio and fresh EVOO, are cherished above all else across Tuscan valleys every Autumn.
Come for a visit next year, you’d be hard-pressed to experience a truer Tuscany. (Sorry, if you know me, you had to know it was coming).
Interested in experiencing Raccolta, Olive Harvest, next Fall? Join us for a very special week in Tuscany. Contact us today to book your personal, custom week.
Would you like to TASTE the nuovo oil of our village agricola (farm)? Email us for our special offer to ship door-to-door.
Let us share our Tuscany with you! We plan, you vacay and experience what your life might be if you lived here too. Find more information on our websites, BICI ITALIA for private cycling tours, Bella Vita Vacations for custom tours and ROAM Voyage for all your travel needs.
