Rome meets Puglia's Olio di Puglia IGP. See all the photos

Olio di Puglia IGP. The tasting event

In the olive production sector, Puglia is the most important region on the Peninsula not only in terms of numbers, proving that quality and quantity can go hand in hand. Puglia's extra virgin olive oils are increasingly in demand even outside national borders, and the Consorzio IGP Olio di Puglia wants to enhance the great variety of the region's native cultivars, including at least Peranzana, Coratina, Ogliarola, Cellina di Nardò, Favolosa and Leccino. The extra virgin oils that are obtained are, therefore, very different from each other, but united by their great versatility in accompanying typical Italian dishes.

On these premises, at Palazzo Brancaccio in Rome, Gambero Rosso organized a large tasting event open to the public with the producers present - preceded by a masterclass led by Indra Galbo (panel head of the Oli d'Italia guide), dedicated to professionals in the sector -, which was a valuable opportunity to get to know the most representative extra virgin olive oils of:

Frantoio Antica Masseria Caroli | Consorzio Frantoi Artigiani & Piccole Imprese | Associazione Dei Frantoiani Di Puglia | Le 4 Contrade | Il Quadrato Delle Rose | Olearia Clemente | Frantoio Mancino | Pugliaolive | Pellegrino 1890 | Aziende Agricole Di Martino | Olio Guglielmi | Le Ferre | Amore Coltivato | Azienda Agricola Angiolillo | Evoo Fine Foods

Masterclass

Tasting

"Our Consortium, in synergy with Gambero Rosso, is carrying out, in Italy and abroad, a series of initiatives aimed to promote the cornerstone product of our region, extra virgin olive oil. Our goal is to make it known and recognized, even and especially to those not in the industry, that more than 40 percent of the quality evo oil produced in Italy is actually made in Puglia," said Maria Francesca Di Martino, president of the Consortium Igp Olio di Puglia.

Olio di Puglia IGP. The evening's Food Proposal

Along with the extra virgin oils, there were pizzas from Giovanni Mandara, of the Piccola Piedigrotta pizzeria in Reggio Emilia (awarded Three Spicchi by Gambero Rosso), who offered: Marinara (Corbarino tomato, Piacenza garlic, Amalfi Coast oregano) | Excellence - Our Margherita (Corbarino tomato, Vacche Rosse mozzarella, basil) and 1940 (buffalo mozzarella, escarole, Sciacca anchovies, Salina capers, raisins, Calabrian olives).

The evening's food specialties also included products from Salumi Martina Franca | Le 4 Contrade | Il Quadrato Delle Rose | Azienda Agricola Angiolillo and a selection of Apulian wines from the Consorzio di Tutela Primitivo di Manduria DOP, Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOP Salice Salentino and Consorzio Tutela Vini DOC Brindisi