Liquid Gold: Our Olive Grove, Our Oil & Everything You Need to Know About Tuscan Olive Oil
Freshly pressed Villa Tramontalba Olive Oil
Liquid Gold: Our Olive Grove, Our Oil, and Everything You Need to Know About Tuscan Olive Oil
There are few things more Tuscan than a bottle of good olive oil. Here at Villa Tramontalba, it's more than an ingredient — it's part of our story.
If you've stayed with us at Villa Tramontalba, you'll know that one of the small gifts we love giving our guests is a tin of our very own olive oil. Pressed from the trees on our own estate, it's a little piece of the villa to take home or simply enjoy during your stay.
It's one of the things we're most proud of. Which is why we wanted to share the story behind it — and along the way, give you everything you need to know to properly appreciate, choose, and enjoy Tuscan olive oil, whether you're shopping at a local market, visiting a producer, or simply drizzling it over a plate of bruschetta on a warm evening.
🌿 Our Olive Grove: A Story of Regeneration
When we took on Villa Tramontalba, the olive grove came with it — as it does with so many properties in this part of Tuscany. Olive trees are ancient, generous, and extraordinarily resilient, but they don't look after themselves. Ours had been somewhat neglected, and bringing them back to productive health has been one of the most rewarding projects we've taken on.
Regenerating an olive grove is a slow, patient process. It involves careful pruning — often quite drastic at first — to open up the canopy and allow light and air to reach the centre of each tree. Old, unproductive growth needs to be removed; the tree's energy needs redirecting into healthy, fruit-bearing branches. It takes time. You're working with trees that may be decades or even centuries old, and they respond to attention gradually, in their own time.
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| Pre-pruning |
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| After pruning |
We completed our first harvest in October 2023 — and what an experience it was. We only harvested for 1.5 days, learning as we went along, but still managed to produce 12 litres of oil. There is something deeply moving about harvesting olives from trees on your own land, knowing that the same hands have been doing the same thing in this landscape for thousands of years. The Etruscans cultivated olives on this very coast. You feel that continuity. We see ourselves as temporary guardians of the olive trees as they'll be around for many decades after we pass on.
Our second harvest followed in late September 2024 and, encouraged by our experience in our first year, we worked for 2.5 days and managed to produce over 80 litres of amazing oil. We're learning as we go, guided by local knowledge and the wonderful patience that olive growing demands.
🫒 Last Year's Harvest — And Our Hopes for This October
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| Part of our olive grove today |
We won't pretend every year is perfect. Last year, like many producers in the local area, we decided not to harvest. The crop simply wasn't there — a combination of the weather and the natural rhythm that olive trees fall into, where a heavy-bearing year is often followed by a lighter one. It was a disappointment, but it's part of the reality of working with nature rather than against it.
The upshot, of course, was that we won't able to give our guests their tin of Villa Tramontalba oil this season, until the next harvest in October 2026 — and we miss that enormously. It's maybe only a small thing, but it means a great deal to us.
This October, though, we are genuinely hopeful. The grove is looking better than it ever has. The trees are healthy, the fruit is setting well, and all the signs point to a bumper harvest. We find ourselves checking on the trees with growing excitement as the season progresses. The truth be told, we won't know until harvest week itself what the yield will actually be, as it's in nature's hands not ours.
We're fairly certain our guests are rooting for us too — and we love that. The idea that the people staying with us are invested in our harvest, that they're hoping for a good crop so they can take home a tin of the oil, feels like exactly the kind of connection that makes Villa Tramontalba special. We'll keep you posted — and if you're visiting us this autumn, you may even get to see the harvest in action. 🤞
🌳 What Is Tuscan Olive Oil, Exactly?
For the uninitiated, here's a quick primer on what makes Tuscan olive oil so special — and why it's worth seeking out and understanding.
Olive oil is simply the oil pressed from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea). But within that simple definition lies enormous variety — in olive variety, growing conditions, harvest timing, pressing methods, and the resulting flavours and quality.
Tuscany is one of Italy's most celebrated olive oil regions, producing oils known for their intensity, their complexity, and their characteristic peppery finish. The main varieties grown in the region include Frantoio, Moraiolo, and Leccino — often blended together to create a balanced, characterful oil. In our part of Tuscany, on the Etruscan Coast around Montescudaio, the Mediterranean climate and the mineral-rich soils give local oils a wonderful freshness and depth.
🕐 How and When Are Olives Harvested?
The olive harvest — la raccolta delle olive — typically runs from October through to late November in Tuscany, depending on the altitude, the variety, and the producer's preferences. Timing matters enormously.
Olives harvested early (like at Villa Tramontalba), when still green or just turning, yield less oil but oil of exceptional quality — intensely flavoured, low in acidity, and rich in polyphenols (the antioxidants that give good olive oil both its health benefits and its characteristic peppery bite). Olives harvested later, when fully black and ripe, yield more oil but with a softer, milder flavour profile and higher acidity.
Most quality Tuscan producers harvest by hand (we do!) — a labour-intensive process that involves raking or combing the olives from the branches onto nets spread below the trees, then carefully gathering and sorting the fruit. The olives need to reach the mill within hours of harvesting to prevent fermentation from beginning. Speed matters. The fresher the fruit when it's pressed, the better the oil.
The pressing itself — traditionally done in a frantoio (olive mill) — extracts the oil from the flesh and separates it from the water and solids. Cold pressing (at temperatures below 27°C) is the gold standard for quality, preserving the delicate flavours and aromatic compounds that make a great oil so distinctive.
🏆 Extra Virgin, Virgin, and Everything Else — What Does It All Mean?
This is where many people get confused, so let's clear it up once and for all.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the highest grade. To qualify, an oil must be produced entirely by mechanical means (no chemicals), must have a free acidity of less than 0.8%, and must pass both chemical and sensory (tasting) tests. It should have no defects in flavour or aroma. This is what you want — for everything from dressing salads to drizzling over soup to dipping bread.
Virgin Olive Oil meets similar mechanical production standards but has a slightly higher permitted acidity (up to 2%) and may have minor sensory defects. Still a decent oil, but a step below extra virgin.
Olive Oil (sometimes labelled "Pure Olive Oil") is refined oil blended with a proportion of virgin olive oil. The refining process removes defects but also strips out much of the flavour, aroma, and nutritional value. It's a perfectly functional cooking oil, but it's not what you'd use for finishing a dish or making the most of a good Tuscan tomato.
Light Olive Oil is simply a marketing term for a heavily refined oil. "Light" refers to flavour, not calories. Avoid it if quality matters to you.
The simple rule: for anything where the oil will be tasted — dressings, finishing, bread — always choose extra virgin. Look for the harvest date on the label (not just a "best before" date), and use it within 18 months of pressing.
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| Just part of our 2024 harvest |
👅 What Should Good Tuscan Olive Oil Taste Like?
This is the fun part. Tasting olive oil properly is a genuine pleasure, and once you know what to look for, you'll never look at a supermarket bottle the same way again.
Good Tuscan extra virgin olive oil typically has three defining characteristics, often described in the trade as the "three positives":
Fruttato (Fruitiness): The aroma and flavour of fresh olives — grassy, herbaceous, sometimes reminiscent of artichoke, green tomato, or freshly cut grass. In young oils, this can be vibrant and intense; in a more mature oil, it softens.
Amaro (Bitterness): A pleasant bitterness — not harsh, but noticeable. This comes from the polyphenols in the oil and is a very positive sign of quality and freshness. If your olive oil has no bitterness at all, it's likely old or heavily refined.
Piccante (Peppery Heat): That wonderful catch in the throat — the distinctive peppery finish that makes you cough slightly when you taste a particularly fine oil. This is the hallmark of a high-polyphenol Tuscan oil. Don't be alarmed by it; it's a sign of quality, not a flaw.
A poor quality or old oil, by contrast, will taste flat, greasy, musty, or even slightly rancid — sometimes described as "winey" or "fusty." Once you know the difference, you'll find it hard to go back.
🛍️ What to Look For When Buying Tuscan Olive Oil
Whether you're shopping at a local market, a producer's shop, or a deli back home, here are the things worth looking for:
The harvest date — not just a best-before. A genuinely good producer will tell you when the olives were picked. Freshness matters enormously; olive oil degrades over time and with exposure to light and heat.
Dark glass or tin packaging — light destroys olive oil. Any quality producer will use dark glass or an opaque tin. Avoid clear glass bottles on supermarket shelves that have been sitting in the light.
DOP status — Denominazione di Origine Protetta (Protected Designation of Origin). Tuscan DOP oils, including those from the Etruscan Coast and the Colline Pisane area around Montescudaio, are subject to strict production rules and geographical protections. It's a useful quality indicator.
Single estate or single variety — the more specific, the more interesting. A single-estate oil from a named farm, or one made from a single olive variety, tells a story and offers a distinct flavour profile.
The price — honest but important. Good extra virgin olive oil is expensive to produce. A bottle for €3 at the supermarket is not the same product as a tin from a small Etruscan Coast producer. You get what you pay for.
🍽️ How to Use Your Tuscan Olive Oil
The cardinal rule of great olive oil: don't cook with it, finish with it. Heat destroys the delicate flavour compounds and many of the health-giving polyphenols that make extra virgin oil worth buying in the first place. Save your best oil for:
- Dressing salads — straight from the tin, a squeeze of lemon, nothing else
- Drizzling over bruschetta with a rub of garlic and a little sea salt
- Finishing a bowl of ribollita, pasta e fagioli, or any other Tuscan bean soup
- Pouring generously over grilled vegetables, fish, or a plate of bistecca fiorentina
- Simply dipping good bread — it is, honestly, one of life's great pleasures
For high-heat cooking, a good but less precious olive oil (or even another oil entirely) will do perfectly well. Typically we use fresh oil for dressing and finishing dishes, and use the previous year's oil for high-heat cooking.
💛 Our Gift to You
If you're staying with us at Villa Tramontalba after October 2026 — and the harvest goes as we're hoping — you'll be leaving with a tin of our own oil tucked into your bag. We think of it as a little piece of this hillside, these trees, this harvest, to take home with you.
Use it well. Pour it generously. And when you drizzle it over something simple and delicious, we hope it takes you straight back to Tuscany.
We'll be harvesting in early October. Fingers firmly crossed. 🫒
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| Villa Tramontalba Olive Oil |
Interested in visiting during harvest season? October at Villa Tramontalba is truly magical — warm, golden, and quietly spectacular. Get in touch to check availability, or read our guide to the best time to visit Tuscany for more on what to expect in autumn.
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