Oli d'Italia 2022 guide by Gambero Rosso. The awards, the Community Olio and the Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tour

The latest Gambero Rosso Oli d'Italia 2022 guide was presented in Verona at Sol&Agrifood, in print and web versions now in its 12th edition. A publication that has been in two languages (Italian and English) for the past 4 years both to accompany our best extra virgin olive oils on foreign markets as well as to provide an agile, versatile and immediately readable tool for enthusiasts and foreign buyers, as well as Italian ones, obviously.

Oli d'Italia 2022. Regional performances

The 2022 edition, published in 544 pages with 861 selected and evaluated labels and reviewing 482 olive farms, indicates for each region the restaurants and brands most dedicated to quality extra virgin olive oil and the producers who, in addition to olive oil, also have table olives. There are 217 extra virgin olive oils awarded with the Tre Foglie, the highest score, and 271 who have obtained the TDue Foglie Rosse, that is on the threshold of perfection. 26 Special Awards – including 3 IGP Toscano, recognition sponsored by the Protection Consortium – and 29 Stars, which reward companies that have obtained Tre Foglie for at least ten years.

Going more specifically, Calabria gave us great satisfaction as it doubled the number of farms present in the guide and obtained a total of 17 Tre Foglie and 14 Due Foglie Rosse. Excellent performance by Tuscany which with 43 Tre Foglie is in first place for quality ahead of Puglia which "only" conquered 42 Tre Foglie. Just to highlight the Tuscan production, we decided to give a special prize together with the Consortium of Tutela Toscano Igp, rewarding 3 extra virgin olive oils with denomination of origin among the best ever in the guide.

Geography of the Tre Foglie 2022

Tuscany: 43

Puglia: 42

Sicily: 20

Umbria: 19

Calabria: 17

Abruzzo: 15

Lazio: 14

Campania: 13

Brands: 8

Emilia-Romagna: 6

Sardinia: 6

Liguria: 4

Molise: 4

Basilicata: 3

Trentino: 2

Veneto: 1

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil Community

During the presentation of Oli d'Italia 2022 in Verona, we also launched two major Gambero Rosso initiatives that are absolute novelties: Community Oio and the Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tour, a tour of Italy of the best extra virgin olive oils that leads from the North to the South as top labels by concentrating a week of events dedicated to Made in Italy extra virgin olive oil in six Città del Gusto locations: Turin and Milan, Rome and Naples, Lecce and Palermo. In each of these stages, dozens of shops and restaurants are involved, where olive oils participating in the Tour are offered for tasting and pairings to customers and guests of the participating businesses. In each city, furthermore, there will be a great tasting event dedicated to operators, restaurateurs, buyers and interested enthusiasts. The Community Olio, on the other hand, connects producers, enthusiasts, chefs and food and wine operators to bring together the different needs and requests and thus strengthen the communication of a world that has yet to grow a lot despite being one of the fundamental pillars of the cuisine culture and the Italian Lifestyle.

Sustainability and Climate

The central themes – also following an olive oil campaign that saw growers struggle against a difficult season as has been the case for several years now – are sustainability and the fight against climate change. "An acceleration of the path towards greater sustainability is required" explains Paolo Cuccia, President of Gambero Rosso "Our attention on this issue extends to cover all aspects of the United Nations objectives, hinged on the European Directives and made operational by national regulations. In other words, not only environmental, but also social and economic sustainability must be implemented. At the same time, it is necessary to work for gender equality both at work and in the family. Our Foundation is working to promote numerous initiatives in support of the development of the agricultural and agri-food sector and in support of all the companies that work every day to ensure sustainable production." Corollary of this reasoning is the "price" question, that is, guaranteeing the best extra virgin olive oil labels at a price that underlines their value and that sees the producer being given a fair compensation. "Despite the current conditions, we are pleased to note the ever-increasing adjustment of prices for very high quality oils" says Cuccia "This is undoubtedly due to the skill of farmers and we are satisfied to contribute with our publication to the margin growth of excellent farms and the necessary boost on foreign markets and on the Italian one."

From commodity to excellence product

"Quality extra virgin olive oil is now ripe to present itself no longer as a commodity listed on the exchange markets, but as a veritable excellence product of our country with specific identity characteristics and with exclusive qualities linked to the production territories" says Stefano Polacchi, curator of the guide "We were struck, for example, not only by the great leap in widespread quality in Calabria, but also by the performance that smaller regions such as Abruzzo, Umbria and Marche, or territories such as Upper Lazio and Tuscia gave us. These are growth processes that need years, generational changes and investments, in money, policies and energy, but which are now starting to mature. Perhaps, the part that is missing the most is politics and together with training which is also growing a lot, but which should be stimulated much more, both on the production and marketing fronts. We, Gambero Rosso, continue to be on the side of those who produce and those who seek quality. It's our mission. We do it with this guide, with the Academies in Italian cities, with road shows around the world, with events in Italy – which from this year will be much bigger and targeted – and with the monthly magazine, available in newsstands and online. From today we are also doing it with the new Community Olio in which we invite everyone to participate and which will be the basis of events related to the world of Italian extra virgin olive oil."

Oli d'Italia 2022 – 544 pages – 13,90 euro - available in bookstores and online

I 26 Premi Speciali 2022 della guida Oli d'Italia 2022

Azienda dell’anno

• Ursini - Fossacesia (CH) - Abruzzo
• De Carlo - Bitritto (BA) - Puglia

Frantoio dell’anno

• Frantoi Cutrera - Chiaramonte Gulfi (RG) - Sicilia
• Nicolangelo Marsicani - Morigerati (SA) -  Campania

Olivicoltrice dell’anno

• Antonella Titone - Trapani - Sicilia

Novità dell’anno

• Alba - Campolieto (CB) - Molise
• Podere Il Montaleo -  Casale Marittimo (PI) - Toscana

Miglior fruttato leggero

• Denocciolato Monocultivar Bosana - f.lli Pinna -  Ittiri (SS) - Sardegna

Miglior fruttato medio

• Monocultivar Carolea Bio - Tenute Cristiano - Lamezia terme (CZ) - Calabria

Miglior fruttato intenso

• Crux Monocultivar Coratina Bio - Fattoria Ambrosio -  Salento (SA) - Campania

Miglior biologico

• Monocultivar Nocellara del Belice Bio - Tenute Librandi Pasquale - Vaccarizzo Albanese (CS) - Calabria
• Monocultivar Coratina Bio - Tenute Allegretti - Fasano (BR) - Puglia

Miglior monocultivar

• Sesto Monocultivar Nostrale di Rigali - Frantoio Loreti - Gualdo tadino (PG) - Umbria
• Jannìa Monocultivar Pennulara - Angelo Oliverio - San Giovanni in Fiore (CS) - Calabria

Miglior Blend

• Superbo Bio (Itrana - Moraiolo) - Quattrociocchi - Terracina (LT) - Lazio

Miglior Dop

• Dop Chianti Classico - Fattoria I Tattoli - San Casciano in Val di Pesa (FI) - Toscana
• Brisighello Dop Brisighella Monocultivar Nostrana di Brisighella - CAB Terra di Brisighella - Brisighella (RA) - Emilia Romagna

Miglior qualità/prezzo

• Affiorato Bio - Adriatica Vivai Profumi di Castro - Fasano (BR) - Puglia

Premio olio e vino

• Montecappone - Jesi (AN) -  Marche
• Torre a Oriente - Torrecuso (BN) - Campania
• Elena Fucci - Barile (PZ) - Basilicata

Premio olio e turismo

• Giulio Mannelli - Bettona (PG) - Umbria
• Masseria Il Frantoio - Ostuni (BR) - Puglia

Miglior IGP Toscano 

• Igp Toscano Colline di Firenze Bio - Frantoio di Santa Tea - Gonnelli 1585 - Reggello (FI)
• Igp Toscano - Dievole - Castelnuovo Berardenga (SI)
• Igp Toscano Bio - Scovaventi - Manciano (GR)

Le 29 Stelle 2022

Sono le aziende che per dieci e più anni hanno ottenuto le Tre Foglie

Liguria

• Belfiore
• Paolo cassini
• Domenico ruffino

Trentino Alto Adige

• Oliocru
• Frantoio di riva

Emilia Romagna

• Tenuta Pennita

Toscana

• Frantoio Franci
• Podere Frassi
• Pruneti
• Fattoria Ramerino

Marche

• Conventino Monteciccardo

Umbria

• Decimi
• Frantoio Gaudenzi
• Marfuga
• Viola

Lazio

• Americo Quattrociocchi

Abruzzo

• Tommaso Masciantonio Trappeto di Caprafico
• Frantoio Mercurius
• La Selvotta

Campania

• Madonna dell'Olivo

Puglia

• De Carlo
• Fratelli Ferrara
• Olio Intini
• Sabino Leone
• Olearia Schiralli

Calabria

• Tenute Librandi Pasquale

Sicilia

• Frantoi Cutrera
• Terraliva
• Titone