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Tag: extra virgin olive oil

  • The “Masoni Becciu” farm

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    After having met Franca Maria Serra outside the block of flats in which she lives with her family, we went upstairs to their combined apartment and office. She inherited a property with almond trees from her mother and after having graduated in agriculture at the University of Sassari, she started expanding the property by buying adjacent properties to the one she had inherited. Finally, the almond trees were uprooted and replaced by olive trees.

    During our interview with Franca Maria, she proudly showed us the awards her company had won in many competitions, but the most important one was “il Premio Biol” which was an award for making the best organic olive oil in the world.

    After the interview, we were invited to their property near Villacidro where rows of olive trees called Nera di Villacidro and Nera di Gonnosfanadiga are grown in an organic way. Since we arrived in the beginning of October and the harvest had just begun, we were able to see both kinds of olives they are cultivating. Franca Maria explained to us that by starting the harvest so early the performance of the olives will be inferior to one made in January or February, but the quality is better because when the olives are green, they contain a high quantity of polyphenols, that is natural antioxidants conserving the olive oil better over time and they are very important for the health of man. In short, an early harvest gives olives with more antioxidants and olive oil of the highest quality. In addition, as this article shows, olive oil is very useful in combating different types of cancers of the body.

    We also saw rubber tubes, extending along each line of olive trees, in order to irrigate the trees with water drops and the traps for capturing parasites before they deposit eggs inside the olives. The traps are allowed in organic farming and have been developed by professors of entomology at the University of Sassari. As a matter of fact, organic cultivation of olive trees and production of organic extra virgin olive oil by this business is guaranteed by the Italian Association of Organic Agriculture, and controlled by the Environmental and Ethical Certification Institute .

    Before the harvest, the ground is covered with a net and a vibrating mechanical harvester is used to make the Nera di Villacidro olives fall to the ground. Instead, the Nera di Gonnosfanadiga olives are picked manually one by one such that will not be subjected to any damage because they will be served with their skins intact after their bitterness has been removed. This is done by putting the olives in containers containing water and a certain amount of salt, then everything is left untouched for 10 months. In this way, the olives lose their bitterness in a natural manner because the salt water together with the olives will form yeast which will gradually decrease the bitterness of the olives. In fact, increasing the time the olives are kept in the salt water will make them less bitter and they can be kept like that for up to 2 years.

    This company doesn’t have its own olive press and sometimes they have had to wait for making olive oil. Instead, this year they have made an agreement with the owner of the olive press such that the waiting time should be as short as possible, the olives will enter the olive press within half an hour after arrival, which will impede leavening of the olives, ensuring a high quality of the finished product.

    The olive oil is poured into stainless steel containers of 50 litres before it is transported straight from the olive press to the storeroom in the cellar of the block of flats where the Serra family lives. There, the oil is poured into containers of 300, 1000 and 1500 litres where they are stored for from one month to a month and a half. During this time, particles in the olive oil are allowed to settle and by pouring out the contents of the containers twice and letting the heaviest part of the oil stay, a large amount of particles will be removed because no filtering is used. Then, the olive oil is ready to be sold.

    They are only producing extra virgin olive oil, which is sold in bottles of 100, 250 and 500 ml to restaurants, while clients, who buy directly from the company, use bottles of 3 and 5 litres. The olive oil is also sold in continental Italy and exported to Germany.

  • The Orro farm

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    The motto, which Davide Orro uses to define the quality of a good wine “Fragrance and Good Taste” describes the fundamental characteristics sufficient to determine the excellence according to himself. Other characteristics, although important, don’t have the same importance in determining «excellent quality».

    Davide is also a passionate student of chemical and biological processes, which are active at the preparation and during the various phases of maturing and conserving his main product «Vernaccia di Oristano». Moreover, he’s a persistent supporter of safeguarding the particular vine, which can only grow in special types of soil.

    The characteristics of the soil and the climate in the vicinity of the city of Oristano are ideal for letting the white vine of the vernaccia develop its best features. In fact, trials have been made to plant the vine of the vernaccia in various regions of Sardinia, but its characteristics have never been as good as those which grow in this area.

    The location of this restricted area for growing the vine of the vernaccia, in the valley of Tirso in the region of Oristano, makes it possible that it was brought to and grown here by the Phoenicians who founded the city of Tharros near Sinis.

    Regarding the vernaccia of Oristano, one can think of a selection of biodiversity in the sense that in this small area near Oristano converge various factors: the uniqueness of the climate and the soil, the vine of the vernaccia, the transformation of grapes into wine and the process of maturing the wine.

    Davide is young, but very mature and with exceptionally clear ideas. Having seen lots of his friends leave for work and studies elsewhere, after having graduated in agriculture at the University of Sassari, he has decided to stay put, whatever the difficulties.

    Doing a similar type of work as his grandfather and father, he has founded the Orro wine farm in order to have a job which gives him satisfaction and, at the same time, permits him to continue the tradition of his family. Both his grandfather and his father were peasants who always cultivated the vine of the vernaccia.

    Before the second world war, the farming families practised an intensive system of cultivation and managed multifunctional farms. According the Davide, the peasants owned small pieces of land from which they had to extract everything they could to feed their families. From these particular conditions arose the need for using a piece of land in multiple ways. Thus, the peasants had to feed both their families and their animals in order to have meat, milk, eggs and so on. Cultivating some vines and some olive trees were also common. Raising pigs for meat and sharing it between the extended family was widespread.

    After the second world war and especially during the boom in the 50s and 60s, the farm which were used in many different ways, were turned into a few large properties where only one type of plant was cultivated or large buildings were built to house cattle for meat production. In short, the peasants weren’t able to feed their families on their small pieces of land any more. Instead, they sold their properties and moved to the towns.

    Davide decided to put into practice methods developed by agricultural researchers at the University of Sassari. The overriding principle is to combine the many uses of the land which was practised by his grandparents with the modern methods of cultivation and production, followed by selective marketing. Thus, he’s safeguarding the health of his harvest, while at the same time maintaining traditional ways of working the land and continuing production of the «Vernaccia of Oristano».

    He founded his farm in 2006 where he’s now cultivating the aboriginal vine Vernaccia di Oristano and the aboriginal olive tree Tonda di Cagliari, which are widespread in the lowlands around Cagliari and Oristano, used both for olive oil and whole olives in brine.

    The maturation of the Vernaccia di Oristano is quite complicated, but Davide explained it to us patiently. The vernaccia is stored in wooden barrels, but they aren’t filled completely. Instead, a certain volume above the vernaccia is filled with air.

    The bacteria in the yeast pass through two stages: for the first 3 years they are consuming sugar and turning it into alcohol, maturing the wine at the same time. Most yeasts would die after all the sugar has been turned into alcohol, but the bacteria in this type of yeast are able to survive on alcohol which they themselves have produced. This yeast is called «Flor 11» , flor means flower in Spanish, which comes from Spain where it is used to produce sherry. Having used up all the sugar, the bacteria will start floating to the surface, forming a waxy covering and protecting the wine against further oxidation.

    In the second stage, they consume alcohol and produce essential fragrances, completing the maturation of the vernaccia simultaneously. Since the barrel is closed all the time, th fragrances will be mixed with the wine, influencing the taste and the fragrance of the wine.

    During the whole maturation, water molecules will escape the wine due to micro-evaporation. The alcohol molecules will also micro-evaporate, but since they are much larger than the water molecules, they will not be able to pass through the barrel. Thus, storing the wine for a long time will make it more alcoholic.

    Bringing on tradition through innovation is the cornerstone of the business philosophy of the Orro family. This principle not only presides over the selection of aboriginal plants for cultivation like the vine of the vernaccia and the olive tree «Tonda di Cagliari», but also selecting plants to e.g. enclose his fields of cultivation. Davide is using local reeds for this purpose like his ancestors did.

    The Orro family, having a great passion for safeguarding and bringing on familial traditions on the land from which they get their inspiration and all in all their work is maintaining the story of the people who lived in this area before them and respect for the particular rural area in which they live. In fact, the Orro family is also managing an educational farm receiving visitors like local school classes and tourists interested in their products.

    The annual «feast of Saint Martin – meeting rural culture» is an opportunity to rediscover, promote and spread the rural culture of Sardinia and for discovering the uniqueness of the products made by Davide Orro and his family.

  • Antonella Leda’ d’Ittiri farm

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    About midway between Fertilia and Santa Maria La Palma, we turned north and after about 500 metres, at Arenosu, we arrived at the great gate at the entrance of the guesthouse of Annamaria Delitala and Antonella Ledà d’Ittiri. After having entered the property, we passed a well-tended garden in perfect harmony with the superbly restored house.

    The city of Fertilia and its surroundings including Santa Maria La Palma were originally marshes where abundant flies made life miserable for the few locals who lived in this area, while malaria was widespread. The marshes were reclaimed by draining first by the fascists in the twenties and thirties, then after some years break, it was continued in the fifties with the stated purpose of giving small pieces of land to local peasants, but also to peasants as far away as Veneto and Emilia Romania on the mainland. A small farmhouse and a barn for housing the animals were built on each piece of land bordering similar-sized pieces of land on all sides.

    This farm is located in an extended flatland ranging from Alghero to Monte Doglia, a tree-covered hill looming behind the rows of vines of the farm, and it is situated inside the natural park of Porto Conte where animals like hares, fallow deer and wild boar live.

    Twenty years ago, the family d’Ittiri-Delitala bought and unified two adjacent properties in order to restore one of the farmhouses and create a guesthouse. The former farmhouse and barn have been turned into one building, housing a big, high-ceilinged meeting-room where their guests are welcomed and offered to taste the products of the farm, like red wine and extra virgin olive oil.

    In fact, in addition to managing a guest house, the owners have set aside 18 hectares for cultivation of vines and olive trees. They started planting Merlot and Cabernet vines before gradually starting to cultivate the Cagnulari vine, a native vine with red grapes which reportedly were brought to Sardinia during the Spanish domination (1326-1708). This vine was rediscovered and reintroduced, in particular in the regions of Usini and Alghero during the last decades. In fact, this vine is being cultivated in a limited area in the north-west of Sardinia where its excellent characteristics come to the fore. Being a delicate plant, apart from the north-west of Sardinia, it is only being cultivated in parts of Puglia.

    This vine is cultivated together with wild herbs and has to be treated with extreme care and both the harvest and the pruning are done manually.

    They are also cultivating Vermentino, a vine originating in the area of Alghero, but now widespread around the world.

    The philosophy of this farm is to make high quality products in low quantities, and offer a warm and welcoming hospitality to those who want to sense the tastes and fragrances of their products.

    Some years after having started growing vines, the owners also started growing olive trees, planting a typical species like the Bosana, the most common olive tree in Sardinia, the Carolea, an olive tree from Calabria and the Nocelllara which comes from Sicily. The olives are turned into extra virgin olive oil and, like the local tradition, laid in brine.

    Their products are sold directly to visitors and local restaurants. Limited quantities are exported to mainland Italy and abroad.

  • Lu Branu farm

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    Along the road between the cities of Palau and Arzachena on the ridge of a hill separated from the coast of Smeralda by hills of granite, the farm shop la Bruttéa, meaning the spring, is placed. It has a wide selection of typical products like liqueur of myrtle, liqueur of wild olive (one of the representative plants of the maquis), and liqueur of goat’s milk, an antique liqueur of Gallura, the region where la Bruttéa is located. In addition, they are selling olive oil, red wine. cheeses, sausages and cold cuts, fresh meat, fruits and seasonal vegetables. There, we met Antonello Colombano who manages the farm of the family, while his sister manages the farm shop.

    After our visit at the farm shop, we went to the ethnographic museum of the Colombano family. First, Antonello told us about the familial traditions which had been passed on from his great-great grandmother. In the museum, there were buildings from about 1800 containing tools for making wine and olive oil, millstones, tools for plowing, a workshop for repairing tools and making new ones, etc. There was also an annex where vagabonds could stay overnight as long as they brought news from where they came as payment, meaning that the farm was isolated, indeed.

    Having finished our visit to the museum, we went to the farm where they are raising animals. The pigs were outside, but inside a fence and being curious, almost all them approached us for a closer look. Instead, the piglets were inside a building, and we  heard them when we walked from the pigs to the wild boars. The wild boars lived inside another fence to which the adults stayed near, while two baby wild boars watched us timidly behind some bushes. After some time, they left the bush, but they always tried to have an adult between them and us.

    Both the pigs and the wild boars looked very clean even though they love taking mud baths. Maybe it’s too dry such that it isn’t possible where they live.

    The goats lived in a shed, while the kids lived separately in a small room. When Antonello liberated them, they jumped and ran around like gymnasts.

    The hens and one rooster lived inside another fence and they approached us during our visit. Instead, the ducks, which lived inside the same fence, didn’t notice us at all and continued what they were doing in a pool.

    We also met a small donkey which was very timid. In the beginning, it stood rock still, but with Antonello nearby, it approached us gradually. Instead, the horses were on a field and we could just see them from a distance. Also the cows of the race “rustic Sardinian” were on a field far from the farm.

    The farm has a workroom where food like gnocchi, ravioli and sweets, etc. are made manually. Likewise, meat, cold cuts and sausages are prepared in another workroom.

    Cereals are grown for making flour and feed for the animals, like barley for the pigs. Vines, olive trees, wild olive, myrtle, vegetables like garlic, zucchini, pepper and tomatoes are cultivated. Medical herbs are grown among trees where each herb has a small sign describing its name and medical use. Legumes are cultivated for domestic use.

    There is also a guesthouse and a large restaurant on their property where products made at the farm are served. The restaurant has been constructed using local materials like stones and wood, just like the ancestors of the Colombano family used to build their houses. The restaurant is wide and open consisting of stone arches, big windows, and a fireplace made of stone, while the height of the interior is quite high. There are also photos of their ancestors who lived in the buildings housing the present ethnographic museum. We finished our visit with a delicious dinner, beginning with pasta, sausages and pork for the main course and fruits for dessert. Naturally, we used olive oil made at the farm on the salads and we drank their wine Rosso di Surrau.

    All in all, this farm is a place where the animals are treated well, they know well how their ancestors lives, but they use modern tools and machines, they are practising organic agriculture, a farm shop with a wide selection of very healthy products and their visitors are met with real pleasure.