The Italian Job: A Vacation Villa, Olive Grove Included - Gardenista
“Casa Poggio was bought on a mad impulse on a romantic holiday,” says Tessa Boase, of the farmhouse she shares with husband Nick and their children, 30 miles north of Rome. They soon discovered that the trees were the most important part of this Italian adventure. These days, a professional team is hired for the annual pruning, a specialized art in itself. Photographs by Tessa Boase and Nick Glass. Tessa and Nick rent out Casa Poggio, when they are not there. Even now, it is particularly valued and was the first oil in Italy to be given “DOP” (Denominazione Origine Protetta, or protected status). Now that the olive grove is viable again Tessa and Nick are very involved in the harvest which takes place in late October... ...The joy of the olive harvest is the absolute quiet the bird song the chat and laughter of our Italian team of pickers “From each of the three or four main branches the olive boughs tumble down, a bit like fronds of hair,” says Tessa. The oil is split 50 50 with three regular pickers retired locals The harvest is a high point of the year With... ...our pickers we celebrate with lots of meat grilled outdoors with bread and new oil Our various friends and relations join in The oil is characteristically green, intense, and very peppery. Photograph by Kendra Wilson. Over the year the flavor mellows the color becoming more yellow and the taste more grassy Nick and Tessa send big cans of oil back... ...to England where they bottle it using their own designed labels and sell it direct to a small crowd in London and East Sussex says Tessa Flavor is affected by soil as well as variety, so that no two estates will produce oil that tastes the same. Photograph by jmlwinder via Flickr. Photograph via Alessandro Preziosi. A view of local town Poggio Mirteto.