LE FONTACCE 

ABOUT US

Our origins

AN OLD FARMHOUSE

"Le Fontacce is an old Tuscan farmhouse nestled among olive trees on one of the hills on the slopes of Mount Pratomagno in the province of Arezzo.

It is reached by taking the Sette Ponti road, the ancient "Cassia Vetus", from which there is an enchanting view of the Arno river valley, facing Chianti, characterised by the presence of the prehistoric Balze.

The company was founded in 2008, on a farm that has existed since the beginning of the 1800s, and all its products are certified organic. We cultivate Olives, Legumes, Saffron and Irises, with a lot of passion and in the respect of the traditions that belong to us.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

We cultivate olive groves (the Olivetum of the Latins) on the ancient dry stone walls that, one on top of the other, support the hill and characterise the surrounding landscape. Their uniqueness lies not only in the landscape but also in the function they perform:

by draining water, they maintain an ideal soil for the health of the olive tree, positively influencing the quality of the oil.

We manage about 2500 plants, mainly of the Moraiolo, Frantoio and Leccino varieties at an average altitude of 400 metres above sea level.

The olive trees are fed with green manure or certified manure, and the wild herbs growing around them are chopped up and left in the field to enrich the soil with organic substances and limit the loss of water from the soil.

In order to obtain a constant production and homogeneous ripening of the fruit, the olive trees are pruned every year. Thanks to this action, the plant is strengthened and the beautiful foliage is reinvigorated.

As soon as veraison begins, around mid-October, the olives are harvested using electric facilitators and nets and, to avoid oxidation, are taken to the mill within a few hours of harvesting.

The oil is pressed at a low temperature using a continuous cycle system. The extracted oil is immediately filtered and placed in stainless steel containers with an inert gas atmosphere to maintain its flavours and fragrances unchanged over time.

THE FARM OIL MILL

A few years ago, the company set up its own in-house oil mill, comprising an olive defoliator and washer, knife crusher, vertical vacuum crushers, two-stage decanter and carton filter.

A custom-built structure that combines the traditional processes of olive cultivation and harvesting with an innovative, state-of-the-art system for extracting extra virgin olive oil, allowing all processing phases to be managed directly on the farm.

Manufacturing process

After harvesting in the field, the olives are placed in small ventilated boxes that do not allow fermentation processes. The olives are then transported to the oil mill and processed within a few hours of harvesting. After washing and crushing, the resulting paste is graded under vacuum and in the shortest possible time, depending on the cultivars present, then immediately pushed into the decanter. The oil is extracted using a two-stage decanter, which means that no additional water is used, only the olive’s vegetation water is used.

PRODUCTS

www.lefontacce.com