At the end of March, the BIOL 2017 prizes were awarded, the XXII edition of the international competition for organic extra virgin olive oils from the last vintage held in Ostuni. On the podium of the top ten, in first place, Olivastro of the Lazio company Quattrociocchi of Alatri; second Francibio of the Tuscan Franci in Montenero d'Orcia; and in third place the biodynamic Andalusian oil Finca La Torre – Hojblanca.
Three hundred and fifty oils in the competition from 15 countries and with Italy as the absolute protagonist. Let's remember that our country boasts the largest number of olive cultivars: over 500 out of the almost 1600 total, a record that the world legitimately envies us. Il Palato Italiano also participated in the joy of two of its producers who received coveted awards. The Campania company Tenuta Romano with its Gold Bio oil received the Extragold Medal, the highest recognition issued by the prestigious international competition; the Sardinian producer Giuseppe Brozzu with Meliddu received the Gold Medal.
These certificates of quality confirm the meticulousness with which the Italian Palate chooses the companies that become partners and which, through their products, contribute to reinforcing the value of Made in Italy in the agri-food sector in the world.
The vastness of the national olive heritage is to be attributed primarily to the variety of cultivars but also to numerous other parameters which materialize in almost infinite combinations. From north to south, differences in latitude and altitude affect as well as -largely- characteristics of the single and often restricted territories and microclimatic peculiarities that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Think - considering two extreme examples - of the diversity existing between the delicate oils of Garda and the power released by those of Sannio. The harvest also affects the result: if early, i.e. when the olives are not yet completely ripe, there will be a higher content of precious polyphenols which, in addition to being beneficial for health, give typical notes such as a bitter accent and a slight sting . Overall, a more decisive taste develops, although for the producer the yield will be lower because the less ripe olives have a lower content of oily part. A harvest that vice versa takes place only when the fruit is fully ripe will guarantee a more delicate flavour, with nuances of greater sweetness but the polyphenol content will be lower. There is therefore a precise balance that the producer finds, from time to time, thanks to the experience and knowledge of his own olives. After the harvest comes the milling. For the extra virgin olive oil it is done cold and only with mechanical methods and can also be made with pitted olives, a precise choice that will give life to an oil with softer tones, suitable for example for the delicacy of freshwater and boiled fish.
Italian producers are masters both in the creation of monocultivar oils (that is, produced only with one variety of olives) and in the production of blends, in which olives of different cultivars leave their traces. Only expert producers obtain the best blends which - fortunately for us - are also almost inimitable.
