Methods of Production

'La Gurra', a farm of olive, lemon groves and vineyards

The Ravida estate, 'La Gurra', is located on the south west coast of Sicily, 9Km/6 miles away from the agricultural town of Menfi, 120km/80 miles south of Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

It lies in the heart of an area still devoted to farming, far from industrialised and developed regions. Dominated by the overlooking the Mediterranean sea, the family's 16th century farmhouse is surrounded by vineyards, lemon and olive groves some, existing for centuries.

La Gurra Farmhouse

It is here that multi award-winning RAVIDA extra virgin olive oil, praised by food critics as ‘one of the finest oils in Italy’ is produced.

300 year-old olive trees are at the heart of our olive groves

Wild Mediterranean olive trees are, in fact, part of the natural ecosystem of La Gurra and can still be seen to co-habit alongside today’s olive groves.

Trees in our oldest grove were grafted with the edible variety over 300 years ago and still give the best of our production.

Over 56 hectares/180 acres are devoted to oil-producing olives. Alongside the traditional varieties - Cerasuola, Biancolilla and Nocellara - that combine to give RAVIDA olive oil its distinctive flavour, we grow Leccino, Frantoio, SF17 and the odd Kalamata.

Cerasuola produces a tasty and fragrant full-bodied oil, Biancolilla, light green in colour adds aroma and delicacy whilst Nocellara, gives the oil a hint of fruitiness.

The tradition of natural growth

We are firmly committed to combining the most up-to-date farming methods with the best of our experience and tradition in olive oil making. We run the farm following EU regulations for organic production.

Constantly monitoring for quality

Due to a warmer climate, the harvest begins mid-October and can last up to ten weeks. Olives are picked by hand and with the help of vibrating methods that do not damage the fruit. The drupes fall onto nets placed under each tree, are gathered and cleaned of all leaves, put into crates and taken to the press. Here, they are washed and crushed within eight hours from picking. We extract the oil in our own press by continuous centrifugation at a temperature not exceeding 27°C/80°F degrees, as by EU regulations for cold extraction.

Our unfiltered olive oil is selected for bottling throughout the harvest and storage period. It is bottled as orders come in.

Due to careful monitoring for quality during all stages of production, we obtain an exceptionally low acidity level of 0,10%.