The Novella&Vignolo family has several hectares of olive groves, planted with cultivars:
Taggiasca, Favolosa, Pinola and Leccino.
Vediamo nel dettaglio le caratteristiche di ciascuna di queste qualità
Taggiasca
Also named “Lavagnina” to spread the cultivation of this quality and to build the first terraces on the hills where the Benedictine were, between the end of the 7th and the beginning of the 8th century they settled in the Argentina valley and built their convent in Taggia.
The olive tree of taggiasca variety, which takes its name from that small Ligurian village, comes from the grafts that the monks realized by joining the plants of native wild olive trees to the “marze” brought with them by Cassino.
The plant, is particularly big and robust, has sloping fronds and a twisted trunk. It can reach a height of fifteen meters and produce fruits for more than 600 years.
Its traditional cultivation area extends from the Albenga valley to the Principality of Monaco and goes into the Imperia hinterland up to an altitude of about 700 meters.
The valleys of the western Ligurian Riviera, arranged on the sea, are naturally protected by the Alpine climate and by the semi-continental plain Valley where the climate is temperate by the sea breeze.
The microclimatic conditions, together with the particular geomorphological characteristics of the territory, allowed this olive variety to assume over the centuries characteristics of great value, such as the production of superior quality olives.
The taggiasca olive is small and tapered, has rich and consistent pulp, stands out for its fruity flavor, light and delicate. Dark and gritty, it has colors ranging from green to black through shades of brown and boasts extraordinary organoleptic properties.
It is a rare and precious variety: from one hectare of olive grove are usually obtained twenty quintals of olives taggiasche, compared to the sixty/one-hundred quintals produced by olive trees of other varieties.
In the past, for the occasion, working men came from all the villages in the area and from the nearby mountains. The women had the task of collecting the fallen fruits on the ground and placing them in the “cavagni”, baskets in the local dialect. The “beating” competed to the men instead. Equipped with long sticks, called “traps”, they physically shake the branches of the olive trees, to drop as much fruit as possible on the mats below.
Not only in Imperia also in the eastern Riviera over the years this quality of olives has been planted, commonly called “Lavagnina”.
The olives are harvested from November until December.
The olive is detached from the tree by means of rods and poles passed manually between the trees.
The olives are selected and crushed during the day for cold extraction.
Taggiasca olive oil has a very limited acidity and therefore has an extremely low percentage of oleic acid, less than 0.5%, as proof of the high organoleptic qualities of the product. Its peculiarities are the fragrance, the fruity taste not too intense but sweet, with an aftertaste of pine nuts or raw artichoke, slightly spicy. It should be kept in dark, cool and dry places to be consumed mainly cold.
Favolosa
The Olive Favolosa originates from the Frantoio cultivar, one of the most widespread in central Italy.
Due to its characteristics, the result is a variety, suitable for both high-density olive cultivation and traditional plant cultivation.
Productivity: high. Production: constant. The mill Yield: high (>18%).
The Olivo Favolosa adapts to different pedoclimatic conditions.
La Favolosa is an Italian genotype cultivar that derives from the variety of the mill patented by the National Research Council.
The fruit has an average size (2-4 g), with a red colour and a symmetrical spherical shape.
The oil obtained from Olivo Favolosa is of excellent quality: it has a medium-high content of polyphenols and a high content of volatile substances that give a pleasantly fruity taste and herbaceous hints.
Caratteristiche dell’olio: si caratterizza per un elevato tenore di sostanze volatili che lo rendono gradevolmente fruttato.
Pinola
Last of our qualities is the pignola or pinola is a variety of late olive, small and black.
The oil obtained has an aftertaste of pine nuts slightly bitter: the fruit is more intense than the other varieties of the area. The fussy tree is smaller than the Taggiasca.
The fruit is rather small, roundish, black in color. Its ripening occurs lately and the pulp of the fruit is consistent.
Leccino
The olive tree Leccino looks like a tree aesthetically very pleasant and can reach large dimensions. One of its peculiarities is having falling branches that recall, in some way, those of a weeping willow. The crown is thick and expanded. The inflorescence is rather short and the flowers is big. The abortion of olive ovary is less than 10%. The ripening is early and the olives, present in small groups of 3-5, do not resist much detachment.
The seasonal production of olives of this variety is very high and they are often quite large. This olive tree has characteristics that are not found in other varieties. It stands out, because during the winter months, it is capable of withstanding quite low temperatures. This plant, born in Tuscany, is certainly one of the most rustic varieties cultivated in our country.
The olives harvested before the complete maturation give an oil of excellent quality, fresh, fruity and fragrant.
However, in most cases, the oil obtained from Leccino has a neutral flavor not too aromatic, with a bitter and slightly spicy aftertaste. Some connoisseurs recognize in the oil of this variety, especially in certain vintages, aromas of basil and mint, artichokes and almonds. The colour of this oil is golden yellow with greenish fades.
The oil yield of this variety reaches a maximum of 21%. Many times, the oil is mixed with oils of other varieties with more intense taste to the aim of obtaining a more valuable product.
Always Closer to nature.
Nature retains the authenticity of the flavors.
The respect and protection of nature are the challenges of our time.
The closer we are to them, the more we perceive and experience the strength and value that enchant us.
For all these reasons we will never stop with over 350 new olive trees to be planted soon!