Gianfranco Becchina Olio Verde Extra Virgin Olive Oil Harvest 2012, 16.9oz
Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil | In the gentle uplands of northwestern Sicily, Becchina & Company's country estate is an ideal location for growing olives. The olives used are 100% Nocellara del Belice. These fine trees are not chemically treated in any way. Some of them are 300-year-old-stock onto which younger trunks are grafted. A spring is tapped to deliver water directly to every tree through an elaborate irrigation system. The olives are hand picked.They are captured while still green, but coated with a light whitish sheen that only exists for two weeks at the most. This is called the white phase and is regarded by many as too early to harvest-usually in October when yields are low. But Becchina & Company seeks the strong green flavors in their oil. This also helps to preserve the oil's intense aroma and high quality. The olives are stone-crushed under huge millstones, then laid on mats and pressed gently. The unfiltered oil is stored in rotund terracotta amphorae until spring, naturally clarifying itself. It is never filtered; Becchina & Company prefers that the chlorophyll suspended in the minute particles of sediment act as a natural preservative. The oil is decanted into the distinctive Olio Verde rectangular bottles. REGION | Castelvetrano, Sicily OLIVE VARIETY | 100% Nocellara del Belice. Unfiltered, Estate-bottled. DESCRIPTION | Deeply green, well-balanced, fruity olive flavor, long peppery finish. Redolent of fresh-cut grass with a fresh green olive vivacity. TRADITIONS | Drizzle over fresh greens, grilled meats or over a thick piece of toasted Italian bread. † Gold Award Winner at the 1998 Fancy Food Show in New York City.