Hand-picked in mid-September to the beginning of October, each oil is produced from a single variety of olive grown on the Mandranova farm and crushed immediately after harvest – an excellent way to sample the true flavors of Sicily.
BIANCOLILLA: Light green in color, the oil is medium fruity with aromas of fresh herbs and tomato with a slight peppery finish. Use on steamed or broiled fish, goats cheeses and in cakes or pastries.
CERASUOLA: Dark green in color, the oil is medium fruity with flavors of olive, almond and marjoram and has a pleasantly bitter and peppery aftertaste. Use on legumes, vegetable soups, red meats and mature cheeses.
GIARRAFFA: Light green in color, the oil is delicately fruity with a flavor of dried fruits, basil and lettuce and has a light bitter and peppery aftertaste. Use on fish courses, carpaccio, light green salads, white meat, fresh cheeses and cakes.
NOCELLARA: Green with golden hues, the oil is wonderfully fruity with a pleasant fragrance of freshly cut grass, artichokes and tomatoes. Its spicy flavor is well-balanced with a delightful bitterness. Use on tuna fish, vegetables au gratin, mollusks, stewed fish, grilled meat and mature cheeses.
container_country:
Italy
container_region:
Sicily
container_size:
Sets
container_style:
Varietal Blends
container_varietal:
Biancolilla,Cerasuola,Giarraffa,Nocellara del Belice
container_ptype:
Extra Virgin Olive Oils
linked_SKUs:
MDA-S-EE06,MDA-16-S-EE06,MDA-17-S-EE06
container_harvest:
Fall 2019 (NEW)
TYPE:
Extra Virgin
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil. By definition it must have some fruity flavor, zero defects, and a free fatty acid level below 0.8%.
SIZE:
4x 250ml (4x 8.45 oz)
REGION:
Sicily, Italy
VARIETALS:
See Description
HARVEST:
Fall 2019
As a fresh food product, properly stored olive oil should be consumed within 2 years from the time of harvest for best flavor. Harvest runs from October through January in Northern Hemisphere regions, and from April through July in Southern Hemisphere regions.
PRODUCER:
Mandranova
Our team of qualified experts travels the world to curate our collection. In order to discover the best olive oil producers, we visit estates, review production methods, and taste the new products every single harvest year.
Fluctuations in temperature and/or air pressure during transportation may cause indentation of the tin packaging due to expansion and contraction of the oil inside. This is more likely to occur in the warmest and coldest months during which time approximately 5% of tin shipments are affected. Indentations of the tin will not affect the quality of the oil inside.
Combining traditional knowledge with modern methods, Mandranova products are not only of excellent quality, but are true expressions of the land and people of Sicily. The farm, owned and operated by the dynamic husband and wife team, Giuseppe and Silvia, is situated on a hill just a few miles from the Southern sea in a green oasis where select olive trees, some over one hundred years old, grow to witness the labor of the area's ancestors. Here they produce the finest quality monocultivar extra virgin olive oils that are expressions of their land, sun and terrior. The olives are harvested by hand from mid-September to October and immediately crushed in their own on-site mill. An accurate control process of each stage of production yields a product of the highest quality, continually recognized by prestigious awards throughout Italy and across the globe.
It is a proven fact that in just eight hours of close exposure to strong fluorescent lights, a bottle of olive oil packed in a clear glass bottle will be totally destroyed having lost its color, flavors and aromas. While oil packed in a dark glass bottle offers considerably better protection, it too becomes vulnerable when exposed to strong light and can be completely destroyed in less than a week, which makes purchasing olive oil in a supermarket a less than desirable prospect.
Beyond that, the vast majority of the oils sold in the USA have inadequate or even misleading labels. The consumer is given little to no information as to where the oil was actually produced or from what variety of olives it was made, but most importantly, WHEN the oil was harvested.
What Are Some Of The Best Olive Oils?
Simply put, the best olive oils are extra virgin olive oils. However, adulteration of extra virgin olive oil is a hot topic in the past and present, and many studies continue to examine the contents inside a bottle of olive oil. This problem still persists in the industry, especially at the supermarket level.
That's why we created Olive Oil Lovers: to bring some of the world's best olive oils from the most trusted producers to the U.S. market. All of our producers are quality driven in their manufacturing practices. We also conduct an intensive screening of every producer and product on our site - often visting their estates and seeing their practices first-hand - and accept only producers who meet our high standards. To go the extra mile, all of our imported oils are proven extra virgin through chemical analysis in accordance to strict European Union regulations. Therefore, you can trust that any oil you purchase with us at Olive Oil Lovers will be genuine, 100% extra virgin olive oil.
How Long Will Olive Oil Last After The Harvest Date?
There are two dates that producers may choose to print on a bottle, using either one or both. The "Use By" date is what our producers put on their products to say, "use when at its freshest quality." The taste and quality of the oil doesn't typically diminish over time though, unless it's open and exposed to oxygen.
The "Harvest Date" is when the olives for the oil were actually picked and crushed. This date can be any time between late October to mid-December for the Northern Hemisphere, and these new harvest olive oils begin to arrive in the United States in February and March the following year. For oils from the Southern Hemisphere, from countries such as Chile or South Africa, harvest occurs any time between late April to mid-June.
When Is Olive Oil Considered Past its Prime?
While this answer can vary depending on the olive variety, time of harvest, and how the product is stored, in general an extra virgin olive oil will retain much of its flavor and aromas for 18-30 months in an unopened container. However, any exposure to light and/or oxygen will begin to degrade the oil. Once opened, olive oil should be consumed ideally within 1-2 months, with a maximum of perhaps 4-6 months. When purchasing a 3L or 5L tin, if the oil is typically not consumed within this timeframe, we recommend decanting the oil into smaller, sealed containers and storing in a cool, dark place.
Olive oils with higher polyphenol counts will have a longer shelf-life. Higher polyphenol numbers are the result of both the olive variety and when the olive was harvested. Green olives harvested early in the season produce less oil, but have higher polyphenol counts than oils from ripe olives. You can find the polyphenol counts for many of our extra virgin olive oils listed on their product page.
