Cathy and I have been running the Nudo olive tree adoption scheme for around five years now. It has been a rollercoaster ride of an adventure, but everyday has bought something new and fulfiling. And five years down the line, we are not alone in this adventure any more. The Nudo Adopt an olive tree scheme has grown into a small collaboration of olive oil nuts in Le Marche, folk who are united by a passion for artisanal organic farming.
Every now and then we come across a new olive oil evangelist with enough know-how to join the Nudo family and adoption scheme. Caterina Costantini is one of those people who have an infective enthusiasm for what they’re doing. A few years ago Caterina married her lawyer husband, and so now has the backing to follow her obsession and make organic olive oil. Not only that but she has her husband’s beautiful family farm to play with. So for the last few years Caterina together with her fellow olive obsessive, father-in-law Claudio, they’ve been busily experimenting with growng different olive varieties (known as cultivars) to blend them for the perfect flavour. These experiments aren’t for the impatient: each one is up to 10 years in the making.
In the meantime they are winning accolades with their monovarietal oils, which have the oil from just one olive cultivar. So should they want to rest on a teensy bit of their laurels, their Leccino oil has been quietly snaffling every olive oil prize up for grabs. Caterina’s grove is called La Morla. She is also making a balsamic vinegar from the family’s grapes, but that won’t be ready for a mere 8 years.
You can now Adopt an olive tree in Caterina’s La Morla grove by clicking here.
