Visitor Information

Nyons : l'Institut du Monde de l'Olivier,
Tel: 04 75 26 90 90
A wealth of information, plus dégustations.
Moulin Ramade
Tel: 04 75 26 08 18
www.moulinramade.com
Working family mill with large display of Nyons AOC olive oils and related products for sale.

Le Musée de l'Olivier
Tel: 04 75 27 17 22
La Scourtinerie de Nyons
Tel:04 75 26 33 52
The very last manufacturer of scourtins (see main text) in France.

Pays d'Aix:
Château Virant, Lançon.
Tel: 04 90 42 44 47
Olive mill and also a renowned vineyard.
Château Calissanne, Lançon
Tel: 04 90 42 63 03
www.calissanne.fr
Another olive mill with a celebrated vineyard.

Les Alpilles:
Moulin Jean-Marie Cornille
Maussane
Tel: 04 90 54 32 37
www.moulin-cornille.com
Architecturally well worth seeing, reputedly the largest in France, producing olive oil since 1620.

Vaucluse:
Moulin de Rustrel
Tel: 04 90 04 98 49
www.ot-apt.fr/paysdapt/avisiter/
moulin.htm
18/19th Century mill, open 1st Nov - 30th June.
Huiles du Monde, Gordes
Tel: 04 90 92 53 93
Not just oils, but just about everything related, in a single boutique.

Haute-Provence:
Moulin de l'Olivette, Manosque
Tel: 04 92 34 07 67
Olivier & Co, Mane
www.oliviers-co.com
Tel: 04 92 70 83 00
As its name suggests, another boutique celebrating all things olive (also shops elsewhere).

Var:
Moulin de Flayosquet, Flayosc
Tel: 04 94 70 41 45
Built in the 13th Century and still authentic, this is one of the last moulins to use decant by hand.
Musée des Traditions Provençales, Draguignan
Tel : 04 94 47 05 72
Comprising 16/17th Century homes, two olive mills and even a 1,000 year-old olivier.

Pays Niçois:
Musée de l'Olivier, Château Grimaldi, Hauts-de-Cagnes
Tel: 04 92 02 47 30
Closed Mondays, and 1st-21st November.
Cooperative Oléicôle, Levens
Tel: (local Mairie) 04 93 91 38 08
In addition to producing oils, the centre also creates regional specialities such as pâte d'olive. Sells direct to visitors.

The AOC ( appellation d'origine contrôlée ) regions of France:
Nyons, Vallée des Baux-de-Provence, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Haute-Provence, Nîmes. The AOCs are the only oils able to include their region in the title, thanks to tight controls which demand that the olives, growth and any subsequent stage of treatment (milling, etc.) have occurred within the region.

Olive - Tree of Life

There can be few more obvious possessors of the involuntary 'aah.' factor than the olive tree (or olivier) , universal symbol of peace and longevity. No wonder its principal areas of growth now virtually define many of the most sought-after regions of southern France: the valley of les Baux-de-Provence, le Var, les Baronnies. all the stuff of dreams. In celebrating the olive we are tapping into something sacred, something deeply ingrained into a whole way of life in whole regions of rural France. Which, as we shall see, still revolves around much more than mere fashion.

Our story begins in the mists of time, somewhere in Africa or Asia Minor. Around 6000 - 2000 BC the olive was also to be found in Egypt, Palestine and Crete, although we have the Phoenicians to thank for the first European mainland plantings, which they established alongside wheat and vines. By the 7th Century BC it was the turn of Provence, whose soil and climate would prove to be ideal for profitable, commercial cultivation. This fact was not lost on the Romans, who set about establishing plantations wherever they were viable, along with a host of olive mills. The resulting highly prized oil was soon being exported from various Mediterranean ports, generating great wealth for Rome and establishing an important commercial role for much of the Provençal region. By the time of the eventual collapse of the Empire the market had begun to decline, but the Romans' Arabian successors brought with them a renewed enthusiasm for olive cultivation born of long experience in agricultural irrigation and a radically different tradition of olive consumption. The mood was clearly infectious and the lessons learnt, underpinning the gastronomy of the South in a way which not only survives, but is now universally acclaimed by an increasingly health-conscious society.

But there's something else, a kind of innate aesthetic quality which binds the trees almost seamlessly to the surrounding landscapes, often creating visions of lush, pastel tranquillity. Such impressions are deceptive, however, for the plants most commonly grown commercially are tougher than you might imagine. They have to be, for they've have the formidable task of re-colonising large areas of landscapes relentlessly denuded of their former vegetation by centuries of timber exploitation and livestock grazing (the appearance of Provence, for example, as we know it today is a comparatively recent development and a striking contrast to that of neighbouring Ardèche). Seeming to ask little in the way of nourishment, they nevertheless can and do fall prey to the occasional climatic jolt, so it doesn't pay to become too complacent. To the good people of the Midi the particularly harsh winters 2001/2 and 1985 were notable setbacks, but as nothing compared to 1956, whose unprecedented periods of glacial frosts seemed for a time to have decimated olive groves which had formerly taken the adversities of centuries in their stride. Heads were scratched, brows furrowed and hands wrung over the fate of a vital resource and the collective livelihood of a generation. The situation prompted a suitably drastic response: amputation of the damaged wood, in a desperate attempt to give a sporting chance of recovery to what remained; on the face of it, they had little to lose. Then something miraculous happened. The cruelly disfigured stumps littering the hills and valleys began to show signs of life stirring within. The new shoots continued to grow, nourished by the powerhouse of an already regenerated root system, until eventually a complete recovery was achieved (to this day you can easily identify pre-1956 Provençal olive trees by the unmistakable scars of their ordeal).

It seems only fair, then, that we should forgive the olivier for a certain capriciousness. Its flowering period occurs around May, adding a brief display of pale yellow or cream blossom to the more familiar silvery grey/green foliage. But only around 5% of the flowers are ever likely to produce fruit (a process known as le nouaison ), thanks to the combined effects of rainfall (too little or too much), late frosts, prolonged or violent Mistrals, not to mention mould and insect attacks. Those which do make it to fruiting, though, have the whole summer to develop fully, passing from pale to dark green ( le véraison ) as the sugars and fruit acids within are being transformed into oil. By October the olives have reached their final size and begun to darken, the outside first, then the interior as the oil content continues to rise. November sees the start of the récolte (picking) of black olives, the most sheltered, low altitude areas generally leading the way. Green olives, on the other hand, are picked earlier still, in autumn.

Picking is an art in itself, or rather several. Of the traditional methods, hand-picking (la récolte manuelle) is the most labour-intensive option and employs special splayed, three-footed ladders (referred to as un chevalet ) to reach the higher branches. The fruits are then tossed into willow baskets carried on a belt. A good picker can produce around 8 kilos per hour. Le peignage, another old technique, involves combing off the olives with a small rake ( un râteau ) flexible enough to avoid bruising the fruits, which fall onto sheets laid on the ground. Rather more primitive is le gaulage, a technique favoured by the Romans, using long poles to brush the fruits from even the highest branches onto suspended nets or ground-sheets. Other owners, on the other hand, simply wait for nature to decide when to release the crop onto their carefully positioned nets. It's a far cry from the mechanical picking approach, which often employs similar equipment to those which have mechanised grape-picking (this enables you to collect around 600 kilos of olives per day). But not always. The truly impatient can employ a special tractor-mounted device to shake entire tree trunks sufficiently violently to dislodge the olives, which are then sucked off the ground with a giant vacuum cleaner. Who'd be an olive?

If you subscribe to the notion that you are what you eat, then there are increasing numbers of people around the world who would like nothing better. They're becoming ever more discerning in what they choose to consume, and prepared to pay for the privilege. The finest quality, whether for eating or pressing, demands selective hand-picking, which typically accounts for around half the cost of premium olives de table. Fruits destined for oil are generally pressed as soon as possible, although a few specialist producers prefer to mature their crops for two or three days after picking. The process begins with scrupulous washing and drying to remove any dust, leaves, etc., followed by milling or grinding to crush the skin, flesh, oil and stones into a paste, a process known as le triturage. This is followed by further working (malaxage ) into a fine paste which is then spun in a powerful centrifuge. Here and there, though, a few traditional mills still spread the paste onto large circular woven trays (known as scourtins), 5 or 6 kilos at a time, and stack them into huge presses, which is the time-honoured way of extracting the liquid (a litre of oil requires around five kilos of olives). This is then filtered to produce cold-pressed olive oil. The terms virgin or extra-virgin attest to the oils having received no processing which falls outside the basics outlined above.

But the story isn't over yet. After spinning or pressing, the remaining paste (known as grignons ) still retains a significant proportion of oil, extracted with the use of solvents, which are subsequently removed by refining. The newly recovered oils then form the basis of olive oil soaps, while the remaining grignons can be processed for use in fertilisers and even animal feeds. Nothing is wasted.

Or taken for granted. So deeply-ingrained into the collective psyche of the Midi is the bountiful olive tree that the two have become inseparable. For those touring the South (or Corsica), the Olivier soon becomes a familiar companion. And for the countless others across the globe who dream of feeling the warmth of the Provençal sun once again, a supply of authentic AOC olives provides at least a taste of just what they're missing.

Principal olive regions and their favoured varieties.

Although well over one hundred varieties of olivier have been documented in the wild only a handful are grown on a commercial scale, in clearly defined regions. In the Baronnies region of the Drôme, in northern Provence, high altitudes mean a late récolte (late-Nov until mid-Jan) and demand a relatively hardy species: la Tanche or Nyons Olive. The mature fruits provide renowned olives-noires for the table, or high-quality oils with gentle aromas of apple, and almonds. 25 litres per 100 kg of olives.

The area around Aix-en-Provence is home to the Grossane , a tall, large-leafed variety with distinctive, rounded fruits and a susceptibility to winds and frosts. Picked from mid November until early December, the olives are prepared for the table and pressed for AOC oils with buttery, nutty and citrus qualities. The region also raises the Salonenque oliviers, which is tolerant of both cold and insects. The pear-shaped fruits are picked in September (green, for the table) and November (for pressing). Expect 21 litres of oil per 100 kilos. The subtle flavours include artichoke, almond and vegetables. The classic olive variety of the Vaucluse is the Aglandau , which is also known as the Verdale around Carpentras and the Béruguette in the Bouches-du-Rhône. Medium sized trees with dense foliage have good resistence to both winds and frosts but can be susceptible to mould. Picked in mid November until late December when purple in colour, the fruits yield 19 litres of oil per 100 kilos when pressed. Flavours vary with the precise localities (in accordance with the differing names) encompassing artichoke, pear, apricot and even banana. Down in the Var we find the Bouteillan , a low, slow-growing variety with a susceptibility to attack by the mouche d'olive. While the trees can withstand cold, the large fruits can be damaged by early November frosts. The récolte takes place in December and January, the pressing producing 19 litres of oil per 100 kilos of olives. Flavours can be intense, with pear and apple, banana and exotic fruits, with a herb-like aroma. Which brings us, of course, to Nice, home of the Cailletier or Olive de Nice, whose tall, upright form with almost weeping branches is highly distinctive. Its enemies are galls (which provide a ready means of access for parasitic insects) and mould. The small oval fruits ripen to purple or intense black and are transformed into oil, black table olives and pâte d'olive (not to be confused with tapenade ), which is produced uniquely from Nice AOC olives. Picked from late December until late March, olives pressed for oil typically produce around 17.5 litres per 100 kilos. The oils have a warm glow and flavours of almond (for the earliest fruits) or hazelnut (for a later récolte).

© Words and pictures Roger Moss
This feature first appeared in everything France magazine Issue 29

French Gastronomy