Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Single Origin Extra Virgin Olive Oil. What You Need To Know
Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Like single estate wine, a single estate extra virgin olive oil is an EVOO produced by a farm, exclusively with olives grown internally and not mixed with other estate’s olives or extra virgin olive oils. Why do we need to specify this? Because many olive oil producers own an olive mill and mill the olives of other farms of the area which don’t own a mill.
Often olive oil producers owning the mill are paid a percentage of the oil produced by milling other farm’s olives and they mix it with theirs.
This is not necessarily a sign of low quality but of course, they are using olives they haven’t grown and harvested so the control on all the production chain might be more difficult.
Usually single estate extra virgin olive oil is a high quality product from a farm who pridely pursue excellence and awards. The regulations don’t require to specify the nomination “single estate” in the front label so you need to check the back of the label and look for: “produced by [name of the farm].
You usually buy single estate extra virgin olive oil for finishing your best dishes, raw and cooked, and sometimes for a delicious stir fry.
See our range of single estate extra virgin olive oils.
Single Origin Extra Virgin Olive Oil
As I mentioned above, mixing extra virgin olive oils from different estates is not necessarily a sign of low quality.
When the farm owns the mill and proper storage facilities, they can opt for a different strategy: they produce their single estate with their own label and also a so-called “single origin”, either mixing local producers’ oils they have milled or mixing different oils coming from around the country. In the latter case, they usually use extra virgin olive oils from medium size farms who prefer to sell in bulk rather than develop their own brand. This is just a business choice that guarantees a smaller but secure and quick income. It’s got nothing to do with low quality but with business stability.
In the estate milling and mixing third parity olives / oils there is always an olive oil sommelier that decides how to mix different extra virgin olive oils, more or less intense and with different hints of flavour and aroma to create a perfectly balanced blend with a low level of acidity and a great aroma and flavour. The quality of the extra virgin olive oils used and the blending skills of the sommelier make the quality of the final product. If the final product is organic single origin extra virgin olive oil, all the oils mixed in the blend and the bottling company have to be certified. The final product is tested in a lab and the production and supply chain are guaranteed by the MIPAAF, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Affairs.
You usually buy single origin extra virgin olive oil for everyday use, cooking or finishing.
Check our 100% Italian Single Origin Organic EVOO.
Which Extra Virgin Olive Oil Shall I Buy?
In Italy, we usually stock some 5L cans / wicker bottles for everyday cooking and a few 1L cans / bottles for finishing special dishes. We are aware that the world of extra virgin olive oil is very complex, should you have any questions regarding our products, get in touch via email, phone or social media. We are advocates of transparency and traceability.