Differences in regions and harvest years

Like wine, olive oil from different parts of the world has different tastes. From “buttery” Spanish oil to “piquant” Tuscan oil, and all the tastes in between, high quality oil offers an opportunity to explore and enjoy sophisticated flavors. The micro-climates, elevations, and soil types of different countries and regions provide an amazing variety of growing conditions, and therefore flavors. We encourage you to try high quality oil from a variety of countries (and regions within those countries). Our hope, is that for Tuscan oil, you choose Bramasole.

Harvest year is much more important than many people imagine. Beyond the static factors mentioned above (elevation, soil, etc.), the weather conditions of a specific year can greatly affect the ultimate taste of the oil. What if there is a severe Winter frost, or more rain than usual, or a long hot spell? All of these things affect the olive trees and therefore the oil. As an example, the 2003 harvest in Tuscany was much smaller than normal years (i.e., not very many olives were harvested from the trees). This fact resulted in olives that were packed with flavor, yielding an incredibly tasty oil.

So, be sure to check your oil for its country and region of origin, and its harvest year. This way, you’ll learn what you like, and how to distinguish fine differences in harvest years.