Fratelli Tondo

The trees and the environment

Everything starts from the natural environment in which Femminamorta "masseria" (old farmhouse) is located. Since more than 80 years ago, our family cultivates the land that surrounds it and enjoys its products. Our desire to preserve and protect the masseria and its surroundings, as well as our attention for the environment and the landscape, motivated us to invest in a modern irrigation system and to choose an organic cultivation method whose effects are already evident in our products.

An healthy environment gives birth to healthy products. Most of the merit goes to our trees whom we take care of by means of an attentive monitoring of their health and appropriate fertilization and irrigation. The specific variety we cultivate, known as "Coratina", which is the most typical in our area, produces olives that mature between the end of November and the beginning of January. They give the oil its characteristic taste. The land where our trees grow belongs to a protected area which, century after century, proved itself to be ideal for olive production.

The Italian State controls the origin of the olives that come form territories of particular quality by means of the "D.O.P" label ("Denominazione di Origine Protetta", which in English would be "Denomination of Protected Origin"). The process to certify our oil as "D.O.P" is on its way, as our groves are located within the protected area called "Terra di Bari" and, more specifically, in the sub-area called "Castel del Monte".

The harvest

The harvest is one of the cultivation phases that is decisive for the oil quality. Moreover, it is the most labor intensive one. The harvest id a combination of manual and mechanical work. In fact, while workers lay the nets under each tree specific machines gently shake the branches. The olives that do not fall after the shaking must be collected by hand. The nets containing olives are then emptied in special containers and so, tree after tree, men and machines complete the harvest. Another benefit of the "Coratina" variety is appreciated at this time: in fact, these olives tend to mature in an uniform way and do not fall easily on the ground by themselves. This is a good thing because the olives that fall on the ground start the natural decay process which pollute the oil. In our grooves, the few olives that do fall on the ground before the harvest are not collected to preserve maximum oil quality. The same day of the harvest, the olives are transported to a "frantoio" (oil mill) that is located just a few kilometers from our masseria, and the extraction process is started as soon as possible to preserve all the oil characteristics.

The extraction

In the "frantoio", the olives are washed and the remaining leaves are removed as well as dirt or other impurities. Finally, the olives are cold-pressed only by mechanical means. This stage of the production is important because the temperature, kept at the same level as the environment, does not alter the oil properties. Less scrupulous producers, instead, heat up the olives just before pressing them: this way the get a higher yield but the oil quality is compromised.

The oil properties

The main characteristic of "Coratina" olives can be found in the strong, almost spicy, taste of the oil we extract from them. Such characteristic, more marked in the first months after the extraction, tends to decline slightly with time but it never disappears completely. Another important characteristic of "Coratina" olives is visible in the color of the oil: it is of a dark shade of green and, if not filtered, it appears initially torbid to became clearer with time. This process is often accompanied by the slight formation of some sediment at the bottom of the container. Also the smell of this oil and its viscosity are, in general, more intense than in other types of olive oils. The natural abundance of poliphenols makes this extra virgin olive oil particularly ideal for a mediterranean healthy diet