In order to make a top quality olive oil, the transformation of olives into oil must take place within 24 hours from the moment the fruit is harvested. To ensure this, the pressing operation takes place on the Colle Verde Estate itself in our own oil mill and using a state-of-the-art “2-step” machine specially designed and geared towards our particular production procedures.
“Cold pressing” occurs at each of the different stages of the transformation process.
At Colle Verde we produce two different types of extra virgin olive oil using two different methods.
The first which creates our “traditional” olive oil – uses the customary 2-step method of first crushing the olives into a paste and then using a centrifuge to separate the oil from the water which is naturally contained in all olives.
The second process – which requires a lot of patience yet yields a more delicate oil called “affioramento” – totally avoids the pressing and centrifuging steps as we simply let the oil drip down by gravity from the crushed olive paste. At this stage the oil is always combined with water particles so we place the mixture in specially made containers to allow the two liquids to naturally separate: olive oil is lighter than water and within a short period of time the oil floats to the top.
In addition to meaning “afloat,” the Italian word “affioramento” can also be translated as “blossoming” and this unique olive oil is sometimes referred to as “olio fiore”, or “the flower of the oil.”