Tamellini Maurizio is a producer of extra virgin olive oil who follows all the production phases from the field to the processing by a mill owned by the company, in the east of Verona at the foot of the Lessini Mountains.
La Contarina produces 4 typical, elegant and tasty oils, created to be combined with various dishes, among which the PDO Valpolicella Veneto is recognized by Slow Food as a Presidium.
During the transformation phase, the fruits are refrigerated before being molitified in a special dehumidified cold room, then within the day the olives are processed, and after soft filtration, the oil is placed in stainless steel containers at a controlled temperature of 16/17 degrees, and inert with argon.
The technique preserves and develops the aromas, and taste complexity, typical of local varieties.
Italian olive growing, with its immense heritage of olive trees, farmers and olive-pressers that populate the peninsula right down to the southernmost islands, is experiencing a moment of extreme difficulty. The crisis is linked to the process of industrialization of olive cultivation, with the creation of new mechanized machinery and increasingly technological processes, oils of quality less competitive. The age of olive trees, hundreds or even thousands of years old, spread across the peninsula, further contribute to making the production of Italian extra virgin olive oil more demanding and costly. Thus, the market, oriented towards the lowest price, increasingly rewards low quality oils. For this reason Slow Food has created a national Presidium that promotes the environmental, aesthetic, economic, and health value of Italian extra virgin olive oil. It is a national project because producers of extra virgin all over Italy, in different areas of production, face the same crisis.