The olive oil of Podere Il Casino

Olivastra Seggianese

The Olivastra Seggianese grows at 350-600 meters on the north-western foothills of Monte Amiata. This indigenous variety of olive tree was presumably introduced by monks from the nearby monastery San Salvatore in the early Middle Ages. Already in the 10th century, the abbot of this monastery mentioned Seggiano as a production region of fine olive oil. The Olivastra Seggianese is largely climate-resistant and thus perfectly adapted for the altitude, which is unusually high for olive trees. Many legends have grown up around the origins of the wild Olivastra. Is it a direct descendent of the original trees in Syria? Was it perhaps brought from the mountains of Dalmatia? Or did the monks themselves cultivate it for Seggiano?

Whatever the case may be, the trees throve and olive oil production became one of the most important means of income in the area of Seggiano, Castel del Piano, and Montegiovi. As late as in the Eighties of the last century, 40 oil mills were still active in Seggiano. In 1985 the great frost destroyed many trees, and production fell so markedly that the two remaining traditional oil mills continued to be operated for private use only. In recent years, the Olivastra is once again on the upswing. Several small estate-producers have joined together to form a cooperation committed to the quality production of Olivastra oil. Thanks to their efforts, olive oil made from Olivastra Seggianese will be awarded the D.O.P. mark. Furthermore, since 2003, a newly-built oil mill has been buying olives from local farmers, selling the resulting olive oil throughout the world under the Veronelli label.

The olive grove

Fortunately, the 350 Olivastra Seggianese around the Podere Il Casino survived the great frost of 1985 undamaged. These great trees, now between 200 and 1000 years-old, rise up to 8 metres and, unlike plantations in more level areas, cannot be farmed by machine. Both pruning and harvesting must be done exclusively by hand. The olive grove is cultivated according to the guidelines of organic farming. For greenery, a mixture of many varieties of herbs has been created from legumes, grasses, cereals, and medicinal plants, which allegedly improves the crumbling and water-retaining capacity of the soil thanks to deep root penetration and the resulting accumulation of organic substances.

The olive oil

An olio extravergine must be fruity, slightly bitter and pungent, must not demonstrate any distortions in flavour and must have a free acidity expressed as oleic acid (an indication of quality) of no more than 0.8% per 100 g. Extra Virgin oil is made from perfect olives crushed as soon as possible after harvest and processed without the use of heat, thus maintaining the flavour, aroma and vitamins of the olive fruit. Thus fine raw material, timing of the harvest, rapid processing of the olives, the choice of oil mill, and correct storing of the olive oil are all critical to achieving this quality. For the hand picking harvest, nets are laid out beneath the trees and the olives are combed from the branches with small rakes. The olives are harvested when their colour changes from green to violet.

While olives harvested further along yield more, they lose their maximum content of healthy polyphenols (important antioxidants, controlling the overproduction of free radicals) and aldehydes (responsible for the oil’s bouquet and fruity flavour). Olive oil has about 77% of monounsaturated fat which helps to decrease the LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and to increase the HDL (good) cholesterol. In order to avoid alterations, which will produce oils with a higher degree of acidity, lower stability and worse flavour, the day’s harvest is transported to a modern oil mill that same evening, if possible, and at the very latest the following afternoon. There it is ground according to the latest recommendations for quality production, extracting the oil by using a modern continuous system, undergoing no other treatment than washing, decantation and centrifugation.

The olive oil is stored in stainless steel containers and filtered prior to bottling.

The olio extravergine di oliva from the Podere Il Casino is made exclusively from Olivastra Seggianese. An early harvest guarantees a harmonious, flavour-intensive quality oil with low acidity. The bitter note indicates the high level of polyphenols. The extravergine quality has a lifespan of up to one and a half years, at which point the oil loses its bitter and pungent note as well as its fruitiness. Olivastra oil is perfect for fresh salads, carpaccio, roasted fish, grilled veal and fowl, and boiled vegetables.