Estates and oil mills in Provence

Olive oil from the mills of Provence

Provence is one of the main players in the’olive oil in France. In effect, this region benefits from a climate conducive to the cultivation of many varieties of olives, principally : l'Aglandau, Bouteillan, Coarse, Little Ribier, Picholine, Salonenque and the Tench.

Like great wines, the work of olive producers and millers will be to mix some of these varieties to give their oil a taste, a texture, a characteristic color.

A framed tradition

The estates and oil mills of Provence are, according to their geographic area, framed by different controlled designations of origin. Each appellation defines a certain number of rules according to the terroir and the climate., namely the olive varieties and the number of varieties to use.

For instance, on the’AOC Provence, it will be necessary to elaborate the olive oil with two of the main varieties,  Aglandau, Bouteillan, Cayon, Salonenque, which can be supplemented by secondary varieties such as Grossane, Picholine, Tench, and local Broutignan varieties, Calian, Cayanne, Little Black and Verdale.

Other AOC or AOP have even more restrictive specifications, like the Valley of Baux-de-Provence.

Terroir of the olives of Provence

Provence is made up of several sectors, namely the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes, the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Drôme, the Gard, the Var and the Vaucluse. Each region has its particularities and traditions. : variety of olive trees, more or less late harvest date depending on the climate, harvesting method, extraction method and choice of maturation : green fruity or ripe fruity.

Estates and olive oil mills exploit all these differences and particularities that make the olive oils of Provence all different, a real playground for cooks all over the world.

Private mill and olive cooperative

In Provence, some estates or castles have their own olive grove and their own mill, such as Moulin Castelas in Les Baux-de-Provence or Chateau Virant in Lancon-de-Provence, the latter producing olive oil by Patrick Bruel. But there are also very reputable cooperatives that bring together several hundred small producers., for example the Cooperative oléicole Jean-Marie Cornille in Maussane-les-Alpilles or the Mouriès cooperative.

In the case of a private domain, checks are carried out throughout the year to produce a very high quality oil. cooperatives, they, can only control the olives and the provenance. They allow themselves the right to refuse a shipment if the quality of the olives does not comply with the specifications of the AOC or AOP. This again guarantees optimum quality..

Extra virgin olive oil

There are several categories of olive oil classified according to their quality. The best being the’extra virgin olive oil. It must have an acidity lower than 0,8%. If the acidity is between 0,8 et 2%, the oil will be downgraded “Virgin”… Beyond 2%, it will be unfit for consumption and will lose all the benefits of olive oil. We call them “lamp oils” and they will be used for example to make Marseille soap.

In Provence, the estates and olive mills mainly produce extra-virgin olive oil. The tradition of olive oil, the love of this terroir pushes the owners to produce very high-end oils. Beyond the oil itself, a particular effort has been made in recent years to take care of labels, bottles and packaging. Olive oil bottles are no longer hidden in the back of a cupboard but proudly displayed on the kitchen worktop.

Organic olive oil from Provence

Organic farming is the new trend. Although nearly immortal as a tree, the olive tree nevertheless remains the target of disease, and especially “the olive fly”. This fly comes to lay its eggs in the olive making it unsuitable. It was therefore necessary for years to treat the olive trees to avoid this “sickness”.

Today, more and more farmers’huile d’olive AOP lean towards organic farming and manage to treat trees with natural clays or other less harmful products. Production is less abundant, hence the extra cost of organic oil, but prices tend to balance out over time. However, extra-virgin olive oils “non organic” despite everything respect a reasoned agriculture. Provence does not cultivate intensively like our European neighbors or on the other side of the Mediterranean.

The olive producers of Provence

It is with confidence that you can choose an olive oil from Provence.