Olives and olive oil - study and experience
Half day visit and lunch.
In response to many enquiries we are making available an itinerary of a half day visit to our olive grove for people touring Italy all year round and who wish to briefly experience life on an olive grove.
This visit includes a walk around the olive grove, a light lunch with dishes based on olive oil, a tasting of the oil, and a discussion of olive tree management.
We offer this half day for € 120 plus € 25 per person for lunch including wine and olive oil.
The lunch is based on seasonal, local ingredients and the olive oil from our grove. We try to demonstrate the use of olive oil in Italian cuisine not just as an oil but as an essential flavour. For example in May the fave (broad beans) are in season. We make the traditional paste from the fresh young beans and flavour it with wild fennel, lemon juice and good olive oil.
We serve white and red wine from the Palazzone winery near Orvieto - for more information see Palazzone
Study and practical experience.
At Podere valle Pulcini we offer an opportunity to people staying in Il Nido to study and experience the production of olives and olive oil. This is a hands-on experience of a real olive grove as well as a walk-about tour of groves, frantoio and factories.
We offer this for € 120 per day plus € 25 per person for lunch including wine and olive oil, This is in addition to the cost of accommodation in Il Nido. Those staying elsewhere can partake in the olive study.
We are located in a premium olive oil growing region of Umbria which along with the Marche and Tuscany produces some of the best olive oil in Italy.
Our grove is situated at an altitude of 550 metre which provides a cool ripening period and oils that are packed with flavour. More information on our olive oil ...
November - picking
Picking starts at Podere valle Pulcini in the first week of November and continues for about three weeks depending on the weather.
Picking is carried out by hand and the fruit falls onto nets. Participants take part in the picking. Time of picking, picking methods and picking for quality are explained.
Picking time is also an opportunity to carry out a reality check on the pruning. Participants in the Olive Experience will also study the previous pruning and its effect on yield.
A tour of the local frantoio (olive mill) is included with the opportunity to see the olive mill in action.
The first pressing of oil will be celebrated with the ritual of bruschetta - made and eaten around the fireplace and washed down with local wine.
March and April and even through to May and June - pruning
March and April are pruning time for olives at Podere valle Pulcini. A hands-on demonstration of olive pruning is provided to guests who opt for the Olive Experience when staying at Il Nido during that period.
After April it is too late to prune the trees but our experience has shown that "mock pruning" of the trees is avery successful means of understanding the pruning system. In fact some students have said they feel it is better as they can see the flowers or fruit on the trees and understand better the distinction between fruiting and non-fruiting wood.
Spring is also time for the landcare program in the olive grove. Landcare is the other major element of the Olive Experience in March and April.
Other times of the year
At other times of the year there is not a great deal of activity in the olive grove but there is still an opportunity to study the production of premium olive oil from the grove to the olive mill even if some of the hands-on experience is missing.
Contact us about a suitable program.
Your mentors
Brian Chatterton
Brian Chatterton has had 15 years experience as an olive grower in Umbria. He is joint author of Discovering Oil - tales from an olive grove in Umbria
Brian Chatterton is also auther of Growing Olives and Producing Oil - an ebook on olives.
Lynne Chatterton
Lynne Chatterton is co-author of Discovering Oil and a writer on food.
Participants in the Olive Experience may be interested in a cooking demonstration by Lynne of various olive oil-based dishes and breads.
Other olive oil events and places of interest.
The Lungarotti Olive Oil museum is located in the old town centre of Torgiano. It consists of a small nucleus of medieval dwellings within the town walls which were a working oil mill, functioning until few decades ago.
The exhibition consists of 10 rooms, each of them providing the visitor with exhaustive information.
The first few rooms relate to the botanical characteristics of the olive tree, the most common cultivars in Umbria and detailed information on the various cultivation techniques of the olive tree. Other rooms provide information on the production of olive oil, including ancient and modern methods.
In further rooms, there are displays of important archaeological finds that recall the mythological origin of the olive tree in the Hellenic world. The olive tree was celebrated and immortalised in many artistic and literary works. The role of olive oil in providing illumination is another fascinating subject that is explored in the Olive and Oil Museum.
The final rooms develop themes relating to the use of olives, oil and their by-products in Western religions, nutrition, medicine, sports, cosmetics, mechanics and as a type of fuel. Finally, a special section is dedicated to the popular uses of oil and the folklore related to it.
The more remarkable exhibits include the collection of oils lamps from the pre-Roman Age up until 19th-century: a 7th-century B.C. Daedalic Lucerna Trilicne, a group of silver and blown glass oil lamp from Liguria (18th-century), and an Attic Alabastron by Pittore della Fonderia (5th-century B.C.). Also on display, a hydraulic oil press from Umbria (17th-18th-century).
For a stunning virtual tour of the museum visit:-