Environmentally sustainable agriculture
In Era de Nava, we believe that sustainability is a key factor in order to get a pure EVOO. Only/Just olive oil. Just a natural, healthy product.
To achieve this, we care for our native environment, both the flora and the fauna. We grow ‘vegetation islands.’ These are parts of land where we grow aromatic plants, trees and shrubs, they grow freely and naturally, when our area was used solely for agriculture in the past.
An EVOO that respects the environment
An EVOO free of toxins
An EVOO in the balance
Quality vs quantity
In the field…
The olive tree is a tree genetically prepared for the conditions of hydric stress typical of the Mediterranean climate so it does not accept very well the excess of irrigation, being prone to develop pathologies produced by fungus of soil and root. So over watering in order to obtain a maximum production can seriously affect the health of the tree. Also the excess of irrigation in certain times, like in the weeks previous to the harvest, make the fruit incorporate more humidity and this can appease aromas and positive attributes like the itch and bitterness (indicators of a high content of oleocantal, a natural anti-inflammatory of characteristics similar to the ibuprofen) and the fruity ones. In the era of nava we only apply support irrigation in certain critical moments of the development of the fruit, always looking for quality.
At the mill…
The temperature at which the fruit arrives at the mill is very important since in the process of milling, beating and decanting the temperature of the paste into which the fruit is transformed is inexorably increased, causing many compounds that are more volatile to be lost, with the result that aromas and organoleptic characteristics are lost. In short, at a higher temperature and a longer time of beating, we obtain more oil but of lower quality. As our intention is to obtain an Olive Oil that does not lose any of the aromas and sensorial characteristics that we look for in the whole process, we watch the temperature a lot, harvesting in the morning when the days are hot and taking care of the time of beating in the oil mill, giving up a part of the oil in order to obtain the maximum quality.