The mill

The AgriOlea Oil Mill

The superior quality of our extra virgin olive oil starts from the care of the millenary olive trees that characterize the magnificent Apulian territory.

The particularly fertile soil and the favorable climatic conditions in every season allow us to obtain a high quality raw material. Only in this way we can preserve intact the nutritional properties of the oil until the final consumer's table.

The operations of pruning, fertilization, control of maturation and harvesting, are phases that we follow scrupulously to obtain a product of the highest quality, proper extraction technology and proper storage consolidate, then, the whole production activity.

The olives are carefully selected and processed strictly within hours of collection, with a continuous cycle system and directly in our mill. We obtain, in this way, an extra virgin olive oil without dyes or preservatives, characterized by varietal aromas ranging from light and smooth to medium and full-bodied and that preserve intact the organoleptic properties of the best extra virgin olive oil of Puglia.

AgriOlea extra virgin olive oil is produced exclusively with olives harvested in the company's olive groves. Transported to the mill within a few hours of harvesting, the olives arrive at the mill fresh and healthy. This is the essential condition for obtaining an oil with a fruity aroma and a characteristic flavor. In this way, we obtain a real olive juice totally natural and rich in antioxidants which constitute a precious nutritional heritage for our body.

The processing phases

THE OLIVE HARVEST

The operations of olive harvesting of the farm Agriolea start in the first days of October, because an early harvest allows to obtain a quality oil with olives harvested at the right degree of ripeness (phase of veraison).
The olives are harvested by hand or with mechanical facilitators, paying the utmost attention to preserve the integrity of the fruit that is transported to the mill, where the milling takes place within 12 hours.
The collection of olives from the tree is the only way to produce quality extra virgin olive oil, avoiding contact with the ground.
The process of oil extraction respects all the hygienic and sanitary measures useful to ensure food safety of the product, with a phase of pre-washing of the olives and defoliation, useful to have a clean fruit and free of impurities.

PRESSING

This phase consists of breaking the fruit, through the use of a knife crusher, which allows the release of droplets of oil and the formation of olive paste.
Subsequently, we move on to the phase of gramolatura, where it promotes a first union between the small drops of oil, a process useful to enhance the olfactory aspects of the future oil.
The last phase involves the extraction of the oil, with the final separation of the olive juice from the other components of the fruit (skin and stone) and a subsequent passage in a centrifugal separator to eliminate the micro-particles of water that remain bound to the oil.

EXTRA VIRGIN (STORAGE and PACKAGING)

Fundamental step to ensure a quality preservation of our oil is the filtration, to remove any suspended particles that with the passage of time can develop defects from the chemical point of view and / or organoleptic.
The preservation of the oil is very important, because in this phase it is necessary to keep away the enemies that over time can compromise the quality: light, air and heat. In addition, the storage of our oils takes place in an air-conditioned environment and through the use of stainless steel silos with the use of inert gas (argon) useful to ensure the absence of oxygen.
The bottling is done exclusively through the use of dark glass bottles that protect the oil from light.
 After careful and accurate qualitative analysis from the chemical and organoleptic (tasting) point of view by means of external and accredited analysis laboratories, we can finally call our oil by its name: extra virgin olive oil.
Our oils originate from different varieties (cultivars) of olives, able to give rise to different sensory profiles, with intensity of fruity, bitter and spicy well defined.