A blend of different contradas and local olives like Brandolfina, Noccellara dellštna, Pendolino, Frantoiana, Coratina and of course our precious little San Benedetto. . Machine-and handpicked, crushed and pressed as per Magma.
Olive oil has become a real passion, obsession even! The idea of making a no-compromise olive oil has taken us back to basics. We employ the same philosophy and standards of quality and selection of MagmaŽ wine. Starting with the truly great San Benedetto variety which gives the highest territorial definition and most delicate aromas, selecting terroirs that have the capacity of high definition, hand picking in multiple passes only the ripe ones, then deselecting olive by olive(!) to keep just the perfectly healthy/undamaged. These are taken to the press house in jute-lined cases of just 5kg, in order to avoid damage. Slow, traditional stone crushing maintains the molecular integrity of the olive paste before slow pressing. The oil is then decanted into glass demi-johns for resting, before being bottled. Obviously, this oil also carries the name MagmaŽ reflecting its mineral roots.
As bread is a daily need and the roots of the most nutritious cereals are in Sicily, we were drawn to produce this obvious and classic farming product, abandoned for many years in our region. Searching around we rediscovered two indigenous "grano duro" cereals, Preziosa and Timilia. Unfortunately our farm horse Asturia unexpectedly died and so this project is sadly postponed. However we continue to grow buckwheat on our terraces, in between our olive grove and vineyard, as this is a plant that also helps regenerate soil and nourish bees. Our ultimate goal is to evolve towards a self-sustainable agricultural reality without exploiting Mother Earth, to produce whilst also returning, evolving towards an equilibrium of the land, which will take time.
