People · Food
A single estate in Sicily, run by three generations.
Marco Belfiore's grandfather planted the first trees outside Modica in 1962. Marco now runs the estate with his father, on roughly four hundred trees, all harvested by hand.
The grove sits on a slope above a dry stone wall Marco's grandfather built the same year he planted the first trees. Four hundred trees isn't a large estate by Sicilian standards — Marco is quick to point out the neighbouring producer runs closer to three thousand — but it's the size his family has chosen to keep, on purpose, for three generations running.
Harvest happens over about ten days in late October. The olives are picked by hand rather than shaken from the tree, which is slower but bruises less fruit. They go to the press within four hours of picking — Marco keeps a small cold press on the property specifically so the gap between tree and bottle stays short.
"My grandfather used to say a good oil is mostly about speed. Pick it, press it, don't let it wait around."
— Marco Belfiore
The result is a single-estate, unblended oil — peppery on the finish, with a grassy note that shows up strongest in the first few months after pressing. It's the only oil we carry, and we've told Marco we'll keep buying the same way each year: whatever the harvest gives, not a fixed volume he has to stretch to meet.
From the shop
Estate Extra Virgin
Cold-pressed, Modica, Sicily
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