Variety & Cultivation

The P.D.O. "Nocellara del Belìce" designates table olives produced from the olive groves of the homonymous variety located exclusively in the municipalities of Castelvetrano, Campobello di Mazara and Partanna, the only territories suited to produce them for the particular pedological and climatic characteristics that these territories present.

In fact, the presence of a valley, the sea and the Belìce river mitigate the climate creating environmental conditions not only homogeneous on a territory of about 10,000 hectares, but also extremely favourable and unique for the olive tree and the development of a native variety.

The interaction among the Nocellara del Belìce, the soil and the climate are so strong that, while inside the valley the Nocellara del Belìce is the only widespread variety, outside, the neighbouring olive areas present a different and much more varied varietal context. This characteristic makes that district unique in the entire national olive panorama.

Similarly, the P.D.O. "Valle del Belìce" is reserved for extra virgin olive oil obtained from the milling of olives produced by olive groves located in the valley and in whose oil the Nocellara del Belìce variety is present for at least 70%.

Therefore, a “P.D.O. Valle del Belìce” certified oil is not necessarily extracted only from olives of the Nocellara del Belìce variety. For this reason, the G. D’Angelo farm has chosen to certify its oil "I.G.P. Sicilia, monovarietà Nocellara del Belìce”.

In fact, the crops of the G. D'Angelo farm are Nocellara del Belìce monovarietal crops in which the presence of minor varieties such as Giarraffa, Biancolilla and Cerasuola is limited to the few units necessary to guarantee pollination; the Nocellara del Belìce, in fact, is not a self-compatible variety.

The cultivation technique used, from pruning to harvesting, is more similar to fruit growing techniques than to traditional olive growing techniques, in order to enhance the fruit in qualitative terms, given its dual aptitude.

Thus, although the disciplinary procedure of the "Valle del Belìce " oil allows to harvest ripening olives provided that the yield does not exceed 23%, the G. D'Angelo farm has chosen to favour quality by hand plucking its olives in the early stages of veraison. This choice sacrifices the yield and increases the costs for the same harvested product but safeguards the integrity of the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of the oil which, unlike what one might think, are also strongly influenced by the degree of veraison as well as by the harvesting method and the olive milling process.

Finally, the “I.G.P. Sicilia" certification guarantees the quality and traceability of the oil throughout the phases of the production cycle, from the cultivation of olive trees, to milling, up to labelling.