When we first moved to Tuscany, we heard about the Italians’ love and use of Olive Oil. However, it was not until our first November in one of our local restaurants that we first experienced the incredible flavor, color, and sheer gastronomic joy of tasting freshly pressed local olive oil. From the first moment of experiencing this bright green clear luminescent oil, served slightly salted with fr
esh bread for dipping, we knew we had found something extraordinary. Over the years, sharing meals with our Italian friends and neighbors, we learned so many wonderful uses of olive oil. Perfect as a salad dressing, a final drizzle in soup, on fresh pasta (of course), in making an Italian Ragu, and on steak, fish, vegetables, etc. The Italians use it on everything! And, of course, the health benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil reducing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes were just the icing on the cake! To produce the finest, most authentic Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, each year we select only the very best olives grown in a small region of Tuscany near the village of Caprese Michelangelo where the great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti was born. We only use early season olives which means olives harvested from late October through mid-November to ensure the very best tasting Olive Oil. We also ensure that all of our suppliers of olives use pesticide-free, organic methods to produce their olives. Olives arriving at our Olive Mill (or Frantoio) in Tuscany are first inspected and then transferred to our extremely clean production process. Olives entering the process are initially washed and cleaned of any debris prior to their first smashing in which the olives are turned into a type of paste. This paste is then pumped into our Old World olive press to produce the magic oil through the action of three huge grinding pressing stones. After some final filtering the beautiful luminescent bright green IL DIVINO Extra Virgin Olive Oil emerges. It is really a rather simple process but one in which an amazingly delicious and healthy oil is produced.
