Olivestri olive oil is made by the Vestri family - hence the delightful
company name - oli~vestri. It is produced on the tiny town of
Petrignano del Lago (Petrignano at the lake) near the shores of
the historic Lake Trasimino in Umbria. Petrignano del Lago is
located on the north-west shore of the lake near the Tuscan border and
very close to Cortonan and the famous wine producing town of Montepulciano.
(Map) It is within the D.O.P. designated region of UMBRIA - Colli del
Trasimeno.
What is D.O.P.?
The Olivestri frantoio -
the olive oil press and factory where the oil is lovingly handcrafted - is
amongst the tiniest in Italy and is one of the few frantoii in this
part or Italy to offer vendita diretta - direct sale. Almost
all of the olive production in this region is taken-up by
cooperativi - a
cooperative that crushes the owner's olives for their own
consumption. Very little of this region's superb production makes it to
the market.
Guido Vestri, the family patriarch, is ferociously
dedicated to quality. He uses only hand picked olives to guard
against bruising which can introduce decay to the fruit. He
carefully mixes his own formula of varietal olives using Leccino,
Frantoio, Moraiolo, & Dolce Agogia. He is fastidious about
cleanliness and respect for the fruit. Above all, he insists that
the olives be crushed within 24 hours of being picked. This is what
insures that there is no oxidation of the olives, and it is what retains
the freshest oil with the highest possible level of polyphenols that
are the good-health promoting anti-oxidants that reduce LDL (bad)
cholesterol. This also delivers an oil high in vitamin E.
The oils made by Guido and his family
are among the finest olive oil produced in the world and reflects their
Umbrian/Tuscan border location, deriving its perfect balance from Tuscany’s
big, strong tradition and Umbria’s more mellow background. The
olives are picked starting in late October to insure a percentage of
under-ripe fruit, producing the golden-green color and extraordinarily low .2 degree
of acidity with a perfect balance between fruit and acidity.
One of our joys in marketing
Olivestri oil has been to get to know Guido, his charming wife Fiorella
(who's name is the origin of Fiordolio, one of their oils) and their wonderful
children, son Paolo, and four daughters Chiara, Elisa, Francesca,
and Silvia, who gave her name to Siloro and designed all of
Olivestri's beautiful labels. Completing the family is cugino
(cousin) Mauro, who is an expert in jazz and a registered consultant on
Italian food. He lives in Rome but spends weekends at Petrignano del
Lago, and his perfect English has been a valuable link to the family.
