Olive Varieties

CANINO

Distribution: Lazio

Use: For oil

Properties: Rustic plants that adapt easily, with a significant pollen activity. Productivity is high and fluctuating. Its oil capacity is average.

DOLCE AGOGIA

Distribution: Umbria  

Use: For oil 

Properties: A plant that adapts to various climatic and pedological conditions. Its productivity is average and fluctuating, its oil capacity is medium. The fruits are also used to produce dried black olives. 

FRANTOIO

Distribution: Central Italy and various olive towns 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A gentle variety with high and continuous productivity, also appreciated for its ability to adapt. In Tuscany, this cultivar is renowned for the production of fruity, long-lasting oils.

LECCINO

Distribution: Tuscany, Umbria and various olive zones 

Use: For oil 

Properties: Vigorous plant that easily adapts to different olive-growing environments. It has high and continuous productivity, and its oil capacity is low.

MORAIOLO

Distribution: Central Italy 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic plant that grows best in the hills. Its productivity is high and continuous, and its oil capacity low. It has a distinctive fruity flavour, and contains squalene and polyphenols. The fruits are often grouped in bunches. 

RAIA

Distribution: Umbria 

Use: For oil 

Properties:  A plant that adapts to various climatic and pedological conditions. Its productivity is average and fluctuating, its oil capacity is medium. The fruits are also used to produce dried black olives.

ROSCIOLA

Distribution: Central Italy 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A small, rustic plant that easily adapts to the different olive-growing environments of Central Italy. Its productivity is high and continuous, and its oil capacity is average.  

TAGGIASCA

Distribution: Liguria 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A big plant that solely embodies the olive production of the Imperia province. It adapts both to the hills and marine environments. Fruits, which ripen slowly, have a high oil capacity.

BIANCOLILLA

Distribution: Mid-western Sicily

Use: For oil 

Properties: A cultivar that finds its ideal growing environment in high hills, and is able to perform even in low-hydrated conditions. It has a high, fluctuating productivity. Biancolilla gives a low output of oil, which presents a distinctive light color.

BOSANA

Distribution: Sardinia 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A productive and adaptive cultivar, with a slow and scaled ripening process. Some years, the fruits can be used as black kitchen olives. Their oil capacity is high. 

CAROLEA

Distribution: Calabria 

Use: Both for oil and eating 

Properties: An adaptive plant that can grow at altitudes up to about 2600 feet, with high and continuous productivity. Its oil capacity is average. Fruits ripen gradually and can be used as kitchen olives or to make oil.

CELLINA DI NARDO’

Distribution: Apulia 

Use: For oil 

Properties: Vigorous rustic plant that grows quite slowly. It has high and continuous productivity, with low oil capacity. Oil extraction is difficult when the fruits are not completely ripe.

CORATINA

Distribution: Apulia 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A highly adaptive and cold-resistant plant, with high and continuous productivity. Depending on the year, fruits can be used to make pickled olives. Oil capacity is high, and the fruits are rich in polyphenols.

DRITTA

Distribution: Abruzzo 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic plant, with high and continuous productivity. Fruits ripen early and can be picked mechanically because of their low resistance. Their oil capacity is average.

NOCELLARA DEL BELICE

Distribution: Western Sicily 

Use: Table use 

Properties: Medium-sized plant that easily adapts to different environments. Its productivity is high and continuous. The firm consistency of the fruits makes them perfect pickled olives, although their oil is also appreciated.  

OGLIAROLA GARGANICA

Distribution: Apulia 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic, fast-growing plant, highly sensitive to cold temperatures and marine breezes. Its productivity is average and fluctuating, its oil capacity is high. The oil extracted from this plant is very renowned, and a synonym for the agriculture of Bitonto.

ARBEQUINA

Distribution: It’s the most important variety in Catalunya, where it covers 55,000 ha. It’s also found in Aragon and Andalusia. Apart from Spain, it grows in Argentina.

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic plant with high resistance to cold and salt. It shows high and continuous productivity, and remarkable oil capacity. The oil extracted is excellent, due to its positive organoleptic properties, despite a low stability.

CORNICABRA

Distribution: It’s the second-most widespread spanish cultivar. It currently covers 270,000 ha in the provinces of Ciudad Real, Toledo, Madrid, Badajoz and Cáceres. 

Use: For oil 

Properties: A variety with high rooting and adapting abilities even in dry or cold environments. It shows high oil capacity and produces a stable oil with excellent organoleptic properties. Due to the texture of the pulp, the fruits can be used for seasoning.

HOJIBLANCA

Distribution: It’s the third-most widespread Spanish cultivar. It currently covers more than 200,000 ha in the provinces of Cordova, Malaga, Seville and Granada.

Properties: A variety with high rooting ability, very resistant to calcareous soils, dry and cold climates. Its oil capacity is low, but the oil is renowned for its quality.

PICUAL

Distribution:  
It’s the most important variety in Spain. It currently covers more than 700,000 ha, especially in the regions of Jaén (97%), Cordova (38%) and Granada (40%). It acts as foundation for all the new plantations.

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic plant that adapts easily to different climate and soil conditions, especially cold weather, but it’s sensitive to heat and calcareous grounds. It’s highly and continuously productive, with a large oil capacity. Although easy to cultivate and stable, the oil extracted is of average quality. Picual is very resistant to rancidity, with remarkable levels of oleic acid.

PICUDO

Distribution: It’s one of the most important Spanish cultivars, despite not being the main variety in any region. It reaches 60,000 ha in the provinces of Cordova, Granada, Malaga and Jaén.

Use: For oil 

Properties: A vigorous and rustic plant, highly resistant to cold weather and calcareous or humid soils. It’s not very stable, but shows excellent organoleptic properties, good oil capacity and a high linoleic acid content, which gives the oil a slight bitter taste. The most esteemed Picudo olives grow near the town of Baena.

KALAMON

Distribution: Messenia, Laconia, Lamia. It covers up to 15-20% of the country’s olive-growing surface. 

Use: Both for oil and eating 

Properties: A quite rustic plant with average rooting ability and oil capacity. The oil extracted is excellent.

KORONEIKI

Distribution: Peloponnese, Zante, Crete, Samos. It covers around 50-60% of the Greek olive grove surface. 

Use: For oil 

Properties: It’s the main oil-making cultivar in Greece. It has average rooting ability, but high productvity and oil capacity. The oleic acid content and the oil stability are also remarkable.

MASTOIDIS

Distribution: It covers 15-20% of the country’s olive-growing surface. Its cultivation goes from Corfu to Attica, and current main harvest zones are Peloponnese and Crete.  

Use: Both for oil and eating 

Properties: A rustic plant that grows at altitudes up to almost 3300 feet. It resists cold and dry climates. The productivity is average and fluctuating, with a high oil capacity.

MEGARITIKI

Distribution: Attica, Boeotia e Peloponnese 

Use: Both for oil and eating 

Properties: A rustic variety with average rooting ability. It resists cold and dry climates. The fruits, both green and black olives, are used for eating and for extracting good-quality oil.

VALANOLIA

Distribution: Lesbos, Chios, Skyros. It covers 70% of Mytilene’s olive-growing surface.  

Use: For oil 

Properties: A rustic variety with average rooting ability. Quite resistant to cold and dry climates, with an average and fluctuating productivity. Fruits are used for oil extraction, with a medium oil capacity and an excellent quality of the product.