Behind-the-scenes: Harvesting Vince & Joe’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Sicily

November 17, 2020March 6, 2021

Fun fact: How many olives does it take to make one liter of extra virgin olive oil? Anywhere between 5,200 and 8,000 olives.

That’s a lot of olives!

Italy is one of the top producers of olive oil in the world and the leader in high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Extra virgin olive oil is more prized and expensive than other olive oils. It’s produced during the first pressing, which is either by hand or machine but does not use heat or other chemicals. Extra virgin olive oil also retains more flavor, has a lower level of oleic acid than other olive oil varieties and contains more of the natural vitamins and minerals found in olives.

Vince & Joe’s Finds Small Olive Grove in Sicily to Make Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market owners scoured Sicily, one of the top three olive oil-producing regions in Italy, to find the highest quality extra virgin olive oil to directly import from the olive groves to its customers.

They found what they were looking for in a small olive grove in between the towns of Alcamo and Partinico, overlooking the Gulf of Castellammare.

The small lot is owned by Nunzio Bastone, who has dedicated his 600 olive trees to making high-quality extra virgin olive oil solely for Vince & Joe’s.

Bastone is currently hard at work now that harvest season is in full swing. All olives on his lot are hand-picked and pressed within hours of being harvested.

Three distinct olives: Nocellara del Belice, Cerasuola and Biancolilla, give Vince & Joe’s olive oil its nutty, low-acid, slightly peppery and smooth flavor profile.

Take a look at behind the scenes of how Vince & Joe’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made, then read on to learn about some of our favorite olive-oils from around the world.