`Olive Oil Estate Tours in Tuscany - Olive Oil Times
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Olive Oil Estate Tours in Tuscany

By Olive Oil Times Staff
Aug. 26, 2014 19:39 UTC
Olive trees at the foot of Mount Amiata, south of Florence, Italy.

A new travel trend affect­ing the hearts and taste buds of food trav­el­ers around the globe is leav­ing wine behind in search of a more edi­ble fruit. Gearing up for the season’s har­vest — approach­ing as early as late September — olive oil tast­ing tours rival well-loved wine tours with an exclu­sive chance to cel­e­brate the Mediterranean land­scape and cul­ture at its finest. A pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion of choice: Tuscany.

Tuscany is known for its Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Moraiolo olive vari­eties and offers a lit­tle more than its fair share of tast­ing options. USA Today Travel recently high­lighted pop­u­lar Tuscan prop­er­ties that offer a true ​“olive oil immer­sion expe­ri­ence,” where olive oil new­com­ers and even the EVOO enthu­si­ast may learn some­thing new.

Villa Campestri

Villa Campestri is an olive oil resort located just 20 miles north of Florence and wel­comes day-trip­pers and extended stay vis­i­tors to its 13th cen­tury estate for hours of olive oil edi­fi­ca­tion.

Guest will tour the 2,500-tree grove, expe­ri­ence a demon­stra­tion of the extrac­tion process, enjoy a full edu­ca­tional tast­ing and finally a meal in the villa restau­rant show­cas­ing their finest oils.

Gemma Pasquali, pro­pri­etor of the estate explains that Italian olive oils vary vastly by region, that ​“only in Italy do we have over 500 cul­ti­va­tors of dif­fer­ent type of olives.”

The Lucini Italia Estate har­vests in early fall just as the olives turn pur­ple and pro­duces only 5,000 bot­tles a year. The small-scale pro­duc­tion makes their estate tour an inti­mate tast­ing expe­ri­ence. Guests are encour­aged to taste the oils on the native ​“Fettuna,” an unsalted toasted piece of bread.

South of Florence find Manni, home to an inno­v­a­tive pro­duc­tion method devel­oped by Armando Manni that pro­duces organic EVOO with a high antiox­i­dant value and low acid­ity. A tour of this prop­erty includes a hike to the top of Mount Amiata where vis­i­tors can revel in the lush land­scape of one of the most beau­ti­ful olive mec­cas in the world.

While wine tours con­tinue to draw crowds, an olive oil edu­ca­tion is, for some trav­el­ers, a refresh­ing alter­na­tive.

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