Extra Virgin DOP olive oil logo:
what is it?

To help the consumers producers have asked and obtained a law recognizing the denomination of protected origin for virgin and extra virgin olive oil. The denomination of protected origin is an official quality standard logo recognizing and categorizing the typical and traditional characteristics from each area where are produced virgin and extra virgin olive oil. Many and strictly ruling are the criteria to award a truly good olive oil. Firstly, it's necessary, to start considering the right timing for the harvest with olives which have been picked while still a bit unripe and then to process them immediately later. A slightly late harvest could lower the chances to obtain a good final product.

      Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In fact, if the olives are allowed to became mildew, rot or over-ripen, especially under damp winter conditions, the oil is destined to be of lower quality. The oil form itself progressively during processes of growing and maturation of olives. You can see that when the olive's color change from green to a variety of winery red, light black, and in some varieties like the world-wide famous local Gaeta’s olives reach a spectacular deep metallic violet. When the olives reach to right point of maturation the harvest is ready to start with different `methods (manual picking, mechanical picking, etc).

The processing of olives sees two fundamental phases: the separation of the fruit pulp and pit from the liquid made of oil and juices and then the separation of the oil from the remaining water. These procedures both use the olive press, which can vary from the simplest and old, traditional press to the more or less commercialized, expensive and complex machines with several different levels of programmed operation, both difficult and delicate as required by this ancient business. In brief soon after the harvest the olives are submitted to a selection to get off extraneous bodies and then are washed. When the olives are still fresh the process start with a mechanical pressing which extracts liquid through squeezing and/or centrifuging excluding the use of any heat. This is the oil is labeled and referred to as being produced with the "prima spremitura a freddo" (first cold pressing) and it is, without a doubt, the best quality.

The extra-virgin awarded oils are those where the level of acidity does not surpass 1%. They are the best of the best and due their low oleic acid their flavor and taste is exalted to the maximum, especially when used raw. The oil produced in this way has to be stored with special precautions (light and temperature) to rest for some time before it is filtered. The English language denomination pure olive oil refers to oil extracted cold from the finest fresh olives in the first and second pressing. The process, which brings to production of olive oil starting from the olive fruits, is different in function of the desired oil's type and organoleptic features that we want to obtain on the finished product. The first pressing is graded as follows, according to its oleic acid content:


4 % = Virgin
3 % = Fine
1.5 % = Superfine
1 % = Extra Virgin

Second Grade oil is extracted by pressure under heat. The lowest quality labeled as third grade oil is generally extracted from windfalls or preserved or over-fermented olives.