The olive tree is not only generous in its infinite life (we find olive trees over a thousand years old in Italy and elsewhere) but it represents a cultural heritage, it defines our landscapes and offers us its oil of the highest quality.
When we talk about the olive tree we must remember that there are many different varieties, each one representative of a territory; they are plants that adapt to the soil and climatic conditions of the place, interpreting it in the best possible way.
In Italy there are more than five hundred varieties, a very rich heritage that could be expressed in as many types of oil, giving rise to an infinite possibility of uses and combinations.
The most advanced companies know this and offer the public both mono-varietal oils, also called monocultivars, and blends.
With blends, many possibilities open up, since it is a combination of oils produced with multiple varieties of olive trees, you can make infinite combinations, one could even speak of tailor-made oils, as for high fashion, a real tailoring of oil itself where the customer can ask the producer for a more or less fruity or more or less intense oil.
Can we say that the monocultivar is better than the blend?
Absolutely not, both or neither can be excellent. Quality oil is a product that aims for excellence, the producer follows the entire production process, from the plant to the mill, optimizing it with appropriate packaging. One thing is certain, when you taste a quality product, you never go back, you enter the marvelous world of extra virgin olive oil.
Desirée Nieves
Olivicoltore
Sommelier dell’olio
Assaggiatore professionale