News and Reviews - Wed 20th Jan 2010

When the owner of Nonnas restaurant in Sheffield and Chesterfield, Gian Bohan first tasted it, he knew this was the perfect Extra Virgin Olive oil to represent Nonna’s love for authentic and high quality food sourcing. Now after eagerly and patiently waiting for nature to do its part, the second harvest of Nonnas Puglian Extra Virgin is finally here.

“Terre di Puglia” is a testament to the Rubini Family, owners of a four hectare olive grove donated to their ancestors by a feudatory (Countess Siciliano) in the middle ages. Since then, generations of Rubinis have been lovingly growing olives and handing down the grove and the knowledge to their successors. This olive oil they produce exclusively for Nonnas is a family matter rooted in tradition, history and pure passion for the land and its produce. This year Mimmo Rubini (the son of the producer and also a waiter at Nonnas) and his family were helped by Nonnas customers who went to Puglia to pick the olives and following all the steps of making Terre di Puglia.

Sveglia! at 7am for the traditional breakfast with the local pickers at the caffe’ before dedicating the day to the harvest using both traditional “Mazzaridd”- a wooden stick with a comb shaped top which shakes the branch without hurting the plant and a somewhat more technological instrument called “Squotitore” a motor run stick with a clap which shakes the tree and makes olives fall.

After a hard days work, the olives are transported to the local mill for the “molitura” in a cave like underground stone mill. “What strikes you the most,” observes Mimmo, “is the heady smell of all the different types of olives being milled, so mesmerising you can almost taste the flavours of the olive oil to come. It is a quite unique sensory experience. One I am glad we could share with our customers so they would see how much love and dedication goes into the making of our olive oil.” It is often said “I wish I could bottle that experience,” well we think the Rubini family managed to do just that and capture in this exceptional Extra Virgin the smells, the pride and the passion and the love for their land. The proof is in the taste.

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