Varieties and Types of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Campano DOP

What and how many varieties of extra virgin olive oil are there in Campania?

Olio Campano is made only from olives native to Campania. There are more than 60 varieties in this region, the most common ones being: Ravece and Ogliarola in the Avellino area; Racioppella, Ortolana, and Ortice, in the Benevento area; Caiazzana in the Caserta area; and Pisciottana and Rotondella, in the Salerno area. Olive cultivation covers about 73,000 hectares and ranks sixth in the production of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Italy.

Extra virgin olive oil from Campania, has a history of thousands of years, a symbol of the Mediterranean diet, obtained from olives harvested on trees 4 to 8 meters high, they represent and characterize the agricultural landscape of the entire territory.

There are four Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) areas in Campania:

• “Colline salernitane” PDO
• “Cilento” PDO
• “Peninsula Sorrentina” PDO
• “Irpinia Colline dell’Ufita” PDO

Contedoro, an oil mill since 1927, produces extra-virgin olive oil with the protected designation of origin “Irpinia colline dell’ufita” DOP, follows the production specification that calls for at least 85 percent olives Ravece and 15% Ogliarola. The presence of these varieties in the Avellino area dates back to Roman times, present mainly in the Arianese area that is the heart of Irpinia olive production andextra virgin olive oil from Campania.

The monocultivar Ogliarola opens on the nose with fresh scents of green olive, highlighting notes of apple, artichoke and almond; the taste is initially sweet, exploding later to an intense bitterness and spiciness with a subtle hint of astringency.

The monocultivar Ravece, on the other hand, gives very intense notes on the nose with hints of freshly mowed grass, tomato leaf, apple and artichoke, in total harmony with the taste, centered on bitterness and spiciness, enriched by impressions of vegetables such as chicory. Appreciable in structure and for dynamism in the flavor path.

Posted by:

Alfio Lo Conte

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Tecnico ed esperto degli oli extravergini di oliva, iscritto nell’Elenco Nazionale sezione Campania. Maestro di frantoio con diploma, conseguito presso International Extravirgin Agency.

Read more articles by: Alfio Lo Conte