Aprutino Pescarese extra virgin olive oil

History and origin

The name comes from Aprutium, the old name of the area, later called Aprutina: a link to the land that the designation carries with it. Olive trees have grown in the province of Pescara since very ancient times, as historical records from the Roman era show.

In the early nineteenth century a young lieutenant in Bonaparte's service, Rémy d'Hauteroche, described Abruzzo's olive trees in his memoir of the war against the brigands in Abruzzo in 1806, a glimpse of the Kingdom of Naples at the time. Closer to our day, Gabriele D'Annunzio, a native of Pescara, recalled the olive groves of his land in the Novelle della Pescara and the Laudi.

Today Aprutino Pescarese is one of the three PDOs of Abruzzo extra virgin olive oil, together with Colline Teatine and Pretuziano delle Colline Teramane, and is protected by a consortium based in Pianella.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Aprutino Pescarese DOP · Italia.it — Prodotti e piatti tipici abruzzesi: la guida · eAmbrosia — Aprutino Pescarese (PDO-IT-1526)

Area and method of production

The area of production, processing and bottling is the whole province of Pescara. The oil comes at least 80 per cent from the Dritta, Leccino and Toccolana varieties.

Olives are picked straight from the tree, by hand or mechanically, from veraison until 10 December each year. They are washed before processing, and during malaxation the temperature of the paste and any added water may not exceed 30 degrees.

Milling must take place within three days of harvest, and all extraction and bottling happen inside the area. Oil from territories that qualify may carry the words «Prodotto di montagna», mountain product, on the label.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Aprutino Pescarese DOP · eAmbrosia — Aprutino Pescarese (PDO-IT-1526)

How to recognise it

The colour ranges from green to yellow. On the nose it is lightly fruity, with grassy notes and hints of green almond, artichoke and tomato.

The specification's parameters are strict: maximum acidity of 0.6 per cent and total polyphenols of at least 100 milligrams per kilo: thresholds the oil must meet to earn the designation.

It is sold in containers of up to five litres, with the olive harvest year and the name of the designation compulsory on the label: checking the vintage helps you choose a fresh oil, at its most flavourful.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Aprutino Pescarese DOP

In the kitchen

It is a versatile oil, good raw but also suited to frying, sauces and dressings. It pairs with pulse soups and meat dishes, and is an ingredient of Pescara cooking, starting with brodetto, the fish soup with parsley, fried bread, dry white wine and fresh tomato. In the Pescara version, guides note, tomato gives way to plenty of peppers and a splash of vinegar, for a sweet-and-sour taste.

The simplest way to taste it is on bruschetta, perhaps rubbed with Sulmona red garlic, to catch all the aromas of the extra virgin oil.

Keep it cool and dark, between 14 and 18 degrees, away from heat and strong-smelling foods, and use it within four to six months of pressing, when its flavour is at its best.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Aprutino Pescarese DOP · Italia.it — Prodotti e piatti tipici abruzzesi: la guida

Where to taste it

The whole province of Pescara is a production area: a land where the olive has been grown since very ancient times, as Roman-era records recall.

Penne, spread over four hills equally distant from the Adriatic and the Gran Sasso, offers one of the finest views over these olive-covered slopes. Ancient capital of the Vestini and «city of brick» for its use of clay bricks, it is also the gateway to the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, through the Lake Penne reserve.

A trip between Pescara, the Vestini hills and the park lets you taste the oil in harvest season, in autumn, when the extra virgin oil has just been pressed.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Aprutino Pescarese DOP · Italia.it — Penne

Protection

• Protected designation of origin (PDO) — PDO-IT-1526 (eAmbrosia — Aprutino Pescarese (PDO-IT-1526))

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Abruzzo