Taggiasca: profile of an olive cultivar

The Taggiasca olive harvest takes place from November to February. During this period, the "fasce", the terraces on the Ligurian hills, are coloured by the nets spread out under the trees for harvesting.   Once ripe, the olives are picked from the branches using poles and sticks that are manually passed between the trees. The harvested olives are selected and sent to the mill for cold pressing the same day.

The first olive tree (but not the first olive nor the first oil, which had already arrived with the Greeks and Romans) probably arrived in western Liguria with the monks of Saint Columbanus, from the island of Lerino in nearby Provence. However, it was the Benedictine monks of Taggia who perfected the work already accomplished in antiquity on the wild olive trees of the Mediterranean scrub, creating the cultivar that bears the name of the place where it was born. Through careful selection, hybridisation, and grafting, the monks developed a variety that was resistant to pests and weather. This small, compact tree produced an exceptional yield – approximately 20 quintals of olives per hectare – which were both tasty and capable of producing a superior-quality oil.
The Taggiasca olive was so robust that it survived the Saracen raids that destroyed Taggia’s convent in 891 AD. By then, the hills from the Albenga plain to France teemed with Taggiasca cultivar olive trees, and olive oil culture thrived throughout the Mediterranean.

The oil extraction process is still mostly carried out by grinding with stone wheels and using hydrostatic presses, but there are oil mills that employ more modern processes, such as continuous‑cycle milling, which guarantees high yields, maintains a constant temperature, and preserves the organoleptic characteristics of the fruit.
In traditional grinding, the olives are passed through granite or Colombina stone wheels, which crush the drupes before the pressing stage. The olives are then placed in the spurtins, discs made of coconut (or synthetic) fibre and perforated in the centre for stacking on the hydraulic presses that extract the oil from the olive paste. The freshly separated oil is left to rest in stainless-steel tanks to prevent oxidation of the sediment material and to allow the sludge to settle naturally. On the other hand, oil intended for immediate sale is directly filtered.

Taggiasca olive oil has very low acidity and, consequently, an extremely low oleic acid content, less than 0.5%, which is a testament to the product’s high organoleptic qualities. Its distinctive features are its fragrance and its fruity taste, which is not too intense but tends towards sweetness, with a slightly spicy aftertaste of pine nuts or raw artichokes. It should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place and is best used cold.

Liguria holds the distinction of being the first Italian region to obtain the European PDO (protected designation of origin) recognition for its olive oil production. The Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union recently approved the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) certification of Ligurian Taggiasca olives.
The Riviera Ligure PDO is reserved for extra virgin olive oil that meets the conditions and requirements established in the specification registered under Regulation (EC) No. 123/97. Additional geographical indications identify the characteristics of the types of oil produced in the various subzones:

• The Flower Riviera (Riviera dei Fiori)
• The Savona western Ligurian Riviera (Riviera del Ponente Savonese)
• The eastern Riviera (Riviera di Levante)

Each sub-zone has its own distinct olive cultivar landscape – the main varieties being Taggiasca, Lavagnina, and Razzola – which consequently characterises the oil produced from these native olives. In general, Ligurian Riviera PDO oil is distinguished by a high oleic acid content (greater than 70%), low linoleic acid content and low acidity.
From an organoleptic perspective, its colour ranges from yellow to yellow‑green, with a fruity flavour that, moving from west to east, shifts from sweet to slight notes of bitterness and pungency.

Useful information contacts
Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva D.O.P. Riviera Ligure
Via T. Schiva, 29, 18100 Imperia
Tel. +39 0183 76 79 24; Fax: +39 0183 76 90 39
info@oliorivieraligure.it – oliorivieraligure@pec.it
https://www.oliorivieraligure.it