We have documentary evidence that olive oil has been produced here for many centuries. The wild olive is endemic to the region, which indicates a prior knowledge of the species before it was cultivated, and this made the expansion of the olive groves a simple matter. The millennial olive trees bear witness to this antiquity, along with the archaeological remains that attest the presence of an olive oil industry since the Bronze Age.
Three varieties of native olive are recognised: argudell, corivell and verdal or llei de Cadaqués. Even so, it was not until 2008 that the Empordà Olive Oil Protected Designation of Origin, which takes in the counties of Alt and Baix Empordà, three municipalities on the Pla de l’Estany and five in Gironès county, was created. Always considered as the best for producing olive oil, which it gives in great abundance, the argudell is the most characteristic and widely-cultivated olive variety. In contrast, the corivell variety is not very common, while the verdal variety gives personality of the olive oils of Cadaqués.
The regulatory council also allows the labelling as PDO Empordà Olive Oil those that do not have more than fifty percent of the arbequina variety, an olive that has also adapted well to the territory. In the same way as there are varieties of olives from other parts of the world, in recent years, ancient local varieties have also been discovered in La Garrotxa and the Montseny, where their expansion is already being worked on.
Olive oils with the 2018-2019 Girona Excel·lent seal
Oli de Pau
This extra virgin olive oil, fruity and green, is obtained from three varieties of olives: Argudell, which accounts for the largest proportion, and Corivell, both native cultivars, plus a smaller quantity of Arbequina olives. It is produced by Empordàlia, a cooperative formed by a union of small producers in L’Empordà, created in 1995 when the old cooperative oil producers in Pau, Roses and Vilajuïga joined forces.
Serraferran extra virgin olive oil
Bitter, spicy, sweet, greenish, fresh, light and slightly astringent, Serraferran extra virgin olive oil is made from olives harvested from Argudell and Arbequina trees that are hundreds of years old, and in some cases over a thousand. The native Argudell olives contribute a robust, bitter flavour and a complex aroma, while the ubiquitous Arbequina adds the fresh fruity flavour of green olives.
Category: Blend extra olive oil (predominantly of native variety)
Producer: Oli de Ventalló, SL
Gozos Mundanos Arbequina
Gozos Mundanos is a project dedicated to the production of extra virgin olive oil and quality wine, and runs a bistro in the centre of Roses. Gozos Mundanos extra virgin olive oil, fruity, green and light, with a sweet attack, a subtle bitterness and a medium-low spiciness, is produced from Arbequina olives organically grown in the Alt Empordà.
Anna Sala Trull de Ventalló – extra virgin olive oil
Each bottle of Anna Sala Trull de Ventalló extra virgin olive oil tells the story of olive oil and olive trees in L’Empordà, recalling a time when people went expressly with their own jugs to buy traditional Ventalló oil. It is made with olives from Argudell trees that may be hundreds of years old, Arbequina olives and the Picual cultivar, which is native to Andalusia.
The olive oil tasting jury.
Lluís Guerrero
Technical researcher at l’IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology)
Natàlia Roig
Sommelier and teacher of the CETT (Campus of Tourism, Hotel and Gastronomy) of Barcelona
Joan Morillo
Sommelier and head of the Divinum restaurant, Girona
Josep Sucarrats
Journalist and director of the culinary gastronomy magazine Cuina
Marc Orozco
Gastronomic journalist of the Deixa’m Tastar Radio Program, Cadena Ser
