Olive harvesting season is well underway on the Riviera. Countless ancient trees are being raked by hand of their pithy black fruit, for pressing - often in traditional stone-weighted presses. But what makes Riviera olive oil so sought after?
With exceptional amounts of sunshine and plenty of humidity, the Riviera is a Mediterranean area with its very own olive variety: the Taggiasca. These olives are small and dark, and the oil they produce is exceptionally delicate, with wonderful tones of artichoke and almond. Taggiasca oil complements all foods, without overpowering the flavours. On the French side of the Riviera, the Cailletier variety (which is virtually identical to the Taggiasca) produces an oil that is just as prized.
Because the Riviera is where the Maritime Alps descend into the Mediterranean sea, land is fragmented and steep here. Olive groves are confined to narrow spaces, just a row or two of trees perched on a stone-terraced valley. You won't find the endless rolling hills of olive tress that you see in parts of Spain or Greece. Instead, olive growing here is a small, family affair, and methods remain mostly unmechanised.
Due to this small scale, making olive oil is more of a traditional activity than an intensive industrial process. In many cases, people will bring down their own olives to the local press to get their oil made for a modest fee. But often, a grove of trees will be owned by a family who have long since moved away, so deals are struck where local famers will harvest the olives on behalf of owners, and the two parties share the oil produced, without money changing hands.
Not much oil is exported from the region either - most is consumed right here in Riviera kitchens, or perhaps given as gifts to family and friends. An exception is the Nicolas Alziari brand, based in Nice, which sells to high-end deli stores and supermarkets abroad such as Waitrose in the UK. But for the most part, you must come to the Riviera yourself to pick up a bottle of some of the most delicate, sweet extra virgin oil in the world.
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