Le Marche Olive Oil

Olive Oil is one of the great pleasures in life and we at Marchetownhouses are passionate about the fine Organic Olive Oil and especially single estate and mono varietal Extra Virgin Olive oils that are produced in our region. Over time we aim to promote many of the better small producers from both Central and Southern Le Marche and their excellent Organic Extra Virgin Olive oils.

We have found that small producers of fine Organic Olive oils have largely been overlooked by importers in the UK and US and so decided to where possible try and help producers from the Le Marche region become better known outside of Italy. Also most Organic Olive oils on the market were normally made up of blends of different Olives and we are trying to source Olive Oils made from only one variety of Olive, normally the Sargano, Ascolano or Leccino, as these offer a new experience in taste to the consumer.

History of Olives and Olive Oil

Olive oil has been produced from prehistory in the Mediterranean and was used by the Greeks, Egyptians and later the Romans. It’s use permeates the culture of this area and the production and use of Olive oil has now spread throughout the world and to places as diverse as Australia and California.

The Olive tree is a very longeval plant of ancient Asian origin and can live to several hundred years in the right environments. The tree can grow up to a height of 20 metres and is often twisted and has a cracked bark. The leaves are a beautiful pale green and the plant is evergreen and only looses many of it’s leaves when subjected to extremely low temperatures.

The plants are very hardy and in cases where they have been accidentally cut level with the ground, within a few weeks and months they have started sprouting new shoots and quickly re-establish themselves. But Olive trees do need to grow in areas which experience both hot dry weather for most of the year, but also the trees need to experience frosts to produce flowers and therefore olives for the following years crop.

Le Marche Extra Virgin Olive Oil

There are many types of Olives grown throughout the world and in our region of southern Le Marche the Sargano olive is one of the most widely planted. The olives are harvested when they turn purple and in most cases the Sargano olive is blended with oils from other olives such as Ascolano, Leccino, Moraiolo and Frantoio. The Leccino and the Frantoio olive varieties are the base of nearly all the oils produced in Le Marche and these are often combined with other less well known varieties. In other areas of Le Marche we find Carboncella in the Ascoli Zone, Raggia and Rosciola in the province of Ancona and also varieties such as Pendolino, Moraiolo and Maurino.

In Le Marche Olive oils one finds that a typically light and sweet taste prevails. The oils are fruity and slightly spicy but the taste and aroma is pleasantly balanced. As Le Marche becomes more and more popular for holidays and for second homes, the Olive oils are increasingly gaining in popularity both in Italy and in the UK.

The Olive oils we will be highlighting are all high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oils and all are produced by organic methods. Olives are grown all over the Le Marche region in both small and large Olive groves, and most are grown by small producers who normally only distribute their produce in their local area. Some of these small producers are now managing to export small quantities to other parts of the European mainland and even to the UK.

We at Marchetownhouses have been able to import small quantities of high quality Organic Olive oils from three or four producers since early 2009, coming from the harvest in late November 2008.

Le Marche is blessed with many fine small Olive Oil producers and we believe we have chosen the best small producers in southern Le Marche to supply our Olive Oil. Most of the groves are situated in the Ascoli Piceno province in the south of Le Marche. We are passionate about Organic Extra virgin olive oils from Le Marche and also in helping the small organic producers reach a larger market outside their region.

So far we have one Organic Olive oil from a producer in Montedoro area of central Le Marche, one from a producer in the Ripatransone area and one from near the Ascoli Piceno area of southern Le Marche. They are all fabulous olive oils and very typical of the light and full flavoured olive oils found in the Le Marche region. We also hope to have a producer from the Offida area of southern Le Marche who also offers a selection of Monovarital olive oils. We will be happy to supply full details of availability and prices should you contact us and also arrange shipping to any address in the UK and US.

From early 2010 we will also be importing into the  UK, Olive oil and Pasta from other regions of Italy. Our aim is to help small producers from other regions of Italy including Umbria and Puglia import their wonderful organic produce in to the UK and make it much more widely known to the consumers outside of Italy. This range of new produce will include pastas, jams, pastes and honeys as well as our normal selection of fine organic Olive oils. We do hope that anyone interested in knowing more or even willing to offer advice and help with this project will get in touch with us at Marchetownhouses. We have already had some help from the Slow food movement in London and hope to build on this with free tastings in the winter of 2009 and early 2010. These tastings of organic Olive oils will take place in some of the larger London markets such as Borough market near London Bridge and Marylebone market just off Baker Street in central London..

For anyone interested in learning more about Olives and Olive oils we also highly recommend that you read a wonderful book by Mort Rosenblum. It is titled, “Olives, The Life and Lore of a noble fruit”. It traces the history and also the cultures that have grown up around the olive and is a true appreciation of this wonderful fruit. The different countries that produce Olive oil are explored at depth and the various varieties and methods of production of Olive oil are also covered in this fascinating read.

Please do contact us today if you would like to have more details on the range of Organic Olive oils that we currently offer and also Olive Oils that we hope to offer in the near future.