The Olives and "La Raccolta":

il Luppolo Nero, with nearly 200 olive trees, produces between 200-300 liters of extra-virgin olive oil per year. It is said that the finest olive oil in the world comes from Italy and, in particular, from the province of Lucca in Tuscany. We have been proud and pleased to offer our olive oil exclusively to our past and present guests. We are able to ship our oil in 5 liter containers and many of our guests place their orders every year.

The "raccolta di olive" (olive harvest) takes place generally in the first week of November. The underbrush is cut and netting is knitted together covering the entire olivetto (grove) in October so that as the olives mature and drop into the nets, they can be gathered-up and taken to the "frantoio" (olive press) for an early pressing. Then, depending on the weather and the maturity of the olives, the harvest begins in earnest during the first part of November. Tree by tree, we gently shake the olive branches with long bamboo poles, causing the olives to fall into the nets.

The olives are immediately collected and taken up the hill to our local frantoio, where they are ground into the finest extra-virgin (first cold press, under 1% acidity level) olive oil.

The end of the harvest is celebrated with the traditional dinner of "zuppa frantoiano" (a thick vegetable soup, liberally doused with the new olive oil, with its distinctive taste) and bruschetta, prepared only with garlic, a little salt, and the new oil.

Our olive oil then rests in stainless steel vats for approximately one month, while the sediment settles on the bottom. The oil is then poured into other containers, eliminating the sediment. That process is repeated at the three month mark, leaving only the pure oil, without any trace of sediment.

il Luppolo Nero olive oil is then bottled, with our own labels, or placed in 5 liter cans, ready to be sold.