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Dear Valued Customer,
The Village Press is one of New Zealand's leading manufacturers of single cultivar, first press, cold press, unfiltered, additive-free, kosher certified, extra virgin olive oil.
- By single cultivar we mean the fruit of a single variety of olive tree (e.g. Barnea (Israeli), Manzanillo (Spanish), Picual (Spanish), and Frantoio (Italian)). There are many parallels between the wine industry and the olive oil industry. Just as you have “hand picked”, “single vineyard”,” basket pressed” grapes, so too you have olives that are handpicked from a single variety of tree from a single location (grove) and pressed en masse to retain the distinctive characteristics of the terroir and growing conditions particular to the region in which the grove is situated. Hawke’s Bay (for example) which is where over 50% of the olives are grown and sourced for The Village Press label has ideal climatic conditions which coincide with soil type and water resources to produce a high quality oil with a low oleic acid content and a distinctive flavour. You can grow the same rootstock in a different region (Marlborough for example, where much of New Zealand’s award winning Sauvignon Blanc comes from) and the end-product can be of comparable quality but taste entirely different.
- By first press we mean olive oil that is produced by pressing the olives once (and only once). Other producers may take oil from a second and third pressing while others may use chemical solvents to extract yet further quantities of oil from the presscake (the by product of the pressing process consisting of the olive skins and stones similar to grape marc which is sometimes used to ferment and produce extraordinarily potent digestives such as Grappa and Marc de Bourgogne). The use for the second and subsequent olive pressings is limited. The Village Press philosophy does not embrace the concept of second and subsequent pressings and so any oil in The Village Press range (by definition) is only the product of a first pressing.
- By cold press we mean that the olives and olive oil never reach a temperature above 28 degrees Celsius during the whole process (from picking thru to bottling). International standards have set the temperature at 28 degrees Celsius. The reason for this is so that the oil retains its natural nutrient levels which begin to alter and change when subjected to temperature levels higher than 28 degrees Celsius. Some processors are unconcerned with this and adhere to the commercial imperative of extracting the maximum oil yield from their olives. That is why they will heat the olive paste to temperatures of over 60 degrees Celsius or more and in doing so the molecular structure of the oil begins to change and the nutrient value diminishes markedly.
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- By unfiltered we mean that the oil still contains traces of the olive solids (olive flesh). This is done on purpose. Olives and olive oil contain high levels of antioxidants. By refusing to filter the oil, some of the goodness of the olive flesh is retained. That is why you will find in some of the bottles a small quantity of particulate or sediment. This is not harmful. In fact it could be described as the best and most nutritious part of the bottle.
- By additive-free we mean that during the whole of the pressing process no chemicals or additives are introduced. What is produced is confined entirely to the oil and solids naturally occurring in the olive fruit without any assistance or enhancement. The olives are presented to the pressing facility from the grove following picking, gently washed, then pulverized (stone and all), stirred at low temperatures until the resulting paste is centrifuged and separated out into golden oil (which is collected), pomice (or waste) water which is sprayed back onto the grove and presscake which is either made into supplementary stock feed or mulched with grape finings and composted for use in the grove or vineyard. We do not hold ourselves out as producing organic, spray-free or biodynamic oil although that may well feature as part of a specialist range of olive oils from our traditional olive press which was especially reconditioned and refurbished and brought out from Italy.
- By kosher certified we mean that the pressing process is regularly inspected and is certified as having been produced to the standard required of the kosher and certifying authorities.
- By extra virgin we mean that the oil adheres to the international criteria set down for permissible oleic acid levels, the presence or absence of phenolics, taste characteristics and other descriptors. To qualify as extra virgin olive oil the oil must have an oleic acid content of 0 – 0.8%. Typically The Village Press oils regularly score between 0.1 and 0.2% oleic acid content which takes them well within the range of oils that can be certified as extra virgin.
While there are no hard and fast rules about how the different varieties of olive oil should be used our passion for the product has driven us to recommend applications for each of the varieties we produce. Please view each of the four varieties to find the Oil that is most suited to your needs.
Thank you,
thevillagepress.co.nz
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