Crudo

For Manicaretti, Gaetano Schiralli in Puglia is what Gianfranco Becchina of Olio Verde was in Sicily: a "turning-point" man. Puglia, like Sicily, was and still is known as a land that produces vast quantities of "industrial" olive oil. "Fine quality" extra virgin olive oils were nowhere to be found, until we met Gaetano...

The Schiralli family began producing extra virgin olive oil in 1922 on the hills of Bitetto, 16 kilometers south-east of Bari on the road to Altamura. The small family farm has more than 8,000 olive trees spread over 20 perfectly manicured hectares surrounded by the typical stone-walls of Puglia. Gaetano, unlike his neighbors, started to work closely with a professor in Tuscany to develop a state-of-the-art frantoio. 

Gaetano, along with his daughter Nicole, presses the olives while they are still green, not blushing, to create a product worthy of the name crudo, meaning “raw.” Adhering to the ancient tradition of respecting the land and all it has to offer, Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from olives grown, harvested, and pressed on site using the continuous cycle production method. This process minimizes oxidation and produces an oil rich in polyphenols and bright green in color with strong yellow undertones. After a few weeks of decantation in stainless-steel tanks, the oil is bottled at the estate.

Gaetano's and his family's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Crudo has won prestigious awards at international extra virgin olive oil competitions year after year, including the Marco Mugelli Award, the highest honor bestowed at the Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition. Bravissimi!