Beautiful things must be shared so that they become even more beautiful!
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious Slow Food Presidium “Secular Olives,” and we do so with a great deal of emotion and a slight tremble in our voice.
Let’s explain.
When you take care of a centuries-old tree, you feel the weight of responsibility for a priceless heritage on your shoulders. It’s enough to approach one of these majestic olive trees to recognize a soul that has been nourished by this place for hundreds of years. You can feel the power of memory moving in the wind, like the leaves and the branches. Then the tree trunk, large and powerful. When you caress it, you cross the invisible threshold of a time machine and are immediately dizzy, bewildered, and amazed.
The arboreal heritage of the Tenuta, with its centuries-old Siracusana olive trees, is part of the very noble initiative of Slow Food, which works at a national level to enhance the landscape and the ecological value of ancient olive trees, from which excellent extra virgin olive oil is then extracted.
We’ll work harder and harder every day, and we’ll respect and care for them. As in love stories, everything will be a balance of give and take, and they’ll reciprocate us with their fruits.
These trees are witnesses to the civilization and divinity of the places.
We’re guardians of this great heritage and part of an incredible miracle: their survival!
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Slow Food is proposing a new label to complement mandatory labeling that would include, in addition to the information required by law, information on producers, crop varieties and the areas where they’re grown, animal breeds raised, growing techniques, rearing and processing, and animal welfare… here is ours:
Variety: Siracusana Zaituna – Narrative Label
Siracusana Zaituna organic extra virgin olive oil from Tenuta Cavasecca:
- Place and variety
The olive groves – more than 50 hectares, with about 300 olive trees of the Siracusana variety, between 700 and 1,000 years old – are located on average 300 meters above sea level on calcareous soil. The area is flat and characterized by an extremely dry climate with intense daily temperature variations.
- Cultivation
The olive groves are fertilized twice a year with organic manure. Wild weeds and pruning residues are crushed and left in the field to enrich the soil with organic matter and limit soil water loss. Supplemental drip irrigation is practiced, and natural origin products are used for pest and disease control.
- Harvesting
In September, before the drupes reach 5% veraison (the beginning of ripening marked by the change of color), the olives are picked, placed in perforated plastic boxes, and transported to the mill.
- Processing
It takes place within 4 hours of the start of harvesting at the Frantoi Covato continuous oil mill in San Giacomo, about 35 kilometers from the olive groves. The olives are washed and pressed, the paste obtained is subjected to malaxation and put into a two-phase decanter.
- Storage and packaging
Siracusana Zaituna organic extra virgin olive oil is filtered and stored in stainless steel containers under nitrogen headspace (which prevents oxidation). For sale, it’s packed in dark glass jars or bags in tube.