Merlino Oil
Our oil
"Merlino" PDO Monte Etna Extra Virgin Olive Oil is obtained from "Nocellara Etnea" olives (for about 70%) with the addition of "Brandofino" olives (for about 30%), following the PDO Monte Etna procedural guideline.
Depending on the vintage, the oil has a medium to light intensity of green olive fruitiness, accompanied by notes of tomato, artichoke, almond and florals.
When you taste it, you appreciate its harmony and roundness, with very balanced bitterness and spiciness, perfectly blended with the complex and persistent aromatic component in which the vegetal notes are followed in closing by the slight persistence of the spiciness. The product is particularly appreciated raw on fish, vegetables and legume soups. The pleasantly fruity flavor also makes it equally suitable for bruschettas, fresh vegetables, roast meats.
Harvest and production
The olive harvest takes place starting from veraison and does not exceed the third decade of November. It is carried out by combing the foliage by hand and/or with the help of facilitating machines and collection nets spread over the ground, thus allowing only the freshly harvested olives to be picked up.
The olives, a few hours after harvesting, are cold pressed at a temperature that does not exceed 27 ° C, a procedure that allows the organoleptic qualities to be transferred to the oil.
The company, making use of qualified technical assistance that follows the entire production cycle, adopts the principles of organic production, practices permanent controlled grassing over the entire cultivated area, to favor soil protection, enrichment in the soil of organic matter and the reactivation of soil microflora and microfauna. The production activity is attentive to the conservation of biodiversity, the care of the landscape and the quality of the environment while preserving its resources.
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Our company
The olive-growing activity of "OlioMerlino S.r.l. Agricola", which began in the early 90s with the planting of the young olive grove, resulted in the exclusive production of a PDO "Monte Etna" Extra Virgin Olive Oil with more than satisfactory results.
The company stands on a strip of land on the northern side of Etna and extends over a land of about sixteen hectares in the Municipality of Randazzo, in Contrada Feudo Sant'Anastasia.
Here the favorable climate, with hot and dry summers and mild winters - also due to the mitigating effect of the nearby Alcantara river, and the pedological characteristics of the fertile volcanic soil, rich in organic matter and mineral elements - makes this area the ideal enviroment for high quality oils .
Our history
The land on which the Merlino company stands today originally consisted of a hazelnut grove, and was purchased by Antonio Merlino and his wife Maria Grazia Grasso in the first half of the 1960s, together with their in-laws Carmelo Grasso and Agata Patanè.
In 1990, the cultivation of hazelnuts was abandoned due to the market crisis, and Antonio Merlino decided to transform the land, planting the current olive grove.
In 2007, the company obtained the "DOP Monte Etna" recognition and began the first production of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
In 2010, the daughter Tina Merlino received the olive grove as a donation and founded, together with her husband Ignazio Scimone, the "OlioMerlino Srl Agricola", now managed by her son Dario Scimone.
At Casa Merlino it is now possible to admire a large oil painting portraying Antonio Merlino (photo on the right), made by his grandaughter Giulia (Giulia Scimone Art) in his memory.
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