A stone’s throw from the Sicilian Baroque wonder of Noto and the ancient Greek city of Ortigia lies a valley filled with almond, carob, lemon, orange and olive trees, many of which are secolari, meaning they are over a thousand years old.

Olive trees were introduced to this corner of the island over 2000 years ago by the first Greek settlers and have been a part of daily life ever since. Sicilian olive oil is believed to be one the most fragrant, perhaps because of the extremely fertile soils that you find in our volcanic terrain.

Our olives are picked by hand and harvested in September, early in the season and before they fall to the ground and  become contaminated. Early harvesting ensures that the taste of the oil is at its most intense. We pick the olives in small batches daily so that they can be harvested, pressed and stored within hours. Working in this way guarantees that the purity and taste of our oil remains truest to that of the olives themselves and to the land on which they grow.

Pantanello organic, extra-virgin olive oil carries a DOP certification which ties it to the Tellaro Valley of the Hyblaean mountains (Monti Iblei) in south-east Sicily. 

The age of our trees means they are spaced as nature has chosen and can only be harvested, pruned, cleaned and cared for by hand, using the same techniques as those used since the birth of civilisation. We consider it an honour to be the temporary custodians of these magnificent creatures that have lived through and seen so much. 

In Italy the organic and D.O.P certifications are stringent and taken extremely seriously. These associations (literally) leave no leaf unturned to ensure that the natural products they certify reach the highest levels of credibility, quality and trust.

Organic

If you are interested in organic produce then no doubt you will already know that the world’s biodiversity, water balance and natural environments need all the support they can get just to survive.

At Pantanello we do everything possible to grow and produce an olive oil which is respectful of its terrain and history and mindful of its local agricultural traditions. We strive to farm as responsibly and sustainably as possible, working to minimalise our impact upon the earth and to leave a positive legacy for future generations (both human and non-human). Our olive trees are native to this place and have been around for a very long time: they are well adapted to survive in harsh environments.

We are proud to be a certified organic product: a guarantee that Pantanello olive oil is grown and produced organically at each stage of its creation - from the field to the table - in compliance with European Union regulation. 

D.O.P Monti Iblei

Denominazione di Origine Protetta or the Protected Designation of Origin is proof that Pantanello olive oil is grown and produced in Sicily’s Hyblaean mountains.  

This certification matters because it confirms that our olive oil came from this region. The south of Italy has suffered from olive oil producers importing cheap, low grade olive oil from different parts of the world and selling it as a top quality product. Sometimes they have mixed highly carcinogenic oils which are far from fit for human consumption and sold them as a top quality “Italian” olive oil.

D.O.P certification checks and controls our trees, their leaves and their soil; it also drives the car that takes the olives from our land to the mill and even then it checks again once the oil is pressed to ensure that at no stage of the process our product can become contaminated with another. Without this certification we cannot start the process of bottling and labelling the oil, let alone transport.

It might sound long-winded, but we believe it is worth it: without D.O.P we cannot say who we are and where we come from.