Not all olive oils are the same
WHILE a large part of the Mediterranean makes and uses olive oil, some are just better than the others. In the case of Castillo de Canena from Jaen, Spain, it uses the power of heritage and harnessing time to join the game.
On April 18, BusinessWorld seemed to be transported to Spain, if only for all the olive oil and jamon present at the Spanish Ambassador’s residence in Forbes Park. Francisco Vañó and his sister Rosa were there to unveil new bottles of their limited edition First Day of Harvest olive oils, the bottles bearing two paintings by esteemed Filipino-Spanish artist Fernando Zóbel.
Mr. Zóbel hails from the prominent Zóbel de Ayala family – while known for the financial district they established in Makati, the family’s imprimatur on art is indelible thanks to their Ayala Museum. In their native Spain, the Zóbel scion left his own fingerprint through the founding of the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in the town of Cuenca, and through his own artworks.
Mr. Vañó told BusinessWorld about their choice of art. Every year, for the special edition bottles, they choose an artist, an actor, a writer — famous people — for their images to adorn their bottles. “Everybody knows, in Spain, Fernando Zóbel is one of the best painters of the 20th century,” he said. “We think that it merged in a very rational way the two countries. He was Filipino, as well he was Spanish.”
The bottle of Picual (a variety of olive) oil bears the image of the painting Dos de Mayo IV, owned by the Juan March Foundation. The bottle of the Arbequina variety of olive oil uses the image of Luz Pálida, II, owned by the Ayala Foundation.
DIFFICULT HARVEST
In a statement, Mr. Vañó described the conditions under which the olive oils were made: “This new edition dedicated to Fernando Zóbel comes in a year in which the harvest has been particularly difficult and complicated. Although the trees were watered using a localized irrigation system, they began flowering three weeks earlier than usual: this was due to extreme heat coupled with a lack of rainfall throughout the early part of spring. Although flowering was expected to be very good, the persistent high temperatures in late April and the first fortnight in May scorched most of the buds, drastically reducing fruit quantity. Very few olives on the trees, very differing fruit production and a very rapid maturity: this was the scenario we faced. Finally, we managed to overcome this dire scenario thanks to the involvement of our team, by using high-tech machinery and integral refrigeration systems together with a scrupulous process of choosing the specific estates and fruit. The effort made was huge, but, once again, we are very happy with the obtained results.”
To BusinessWorld, he described the Picual variety as grassy, and the Arbequina variety as fruity. There are only 10,000 bottles made of the First Day of Harvest edition. But does it make a difference? “The fruit is very strong; it’s very robust… more personality,” he said. “It’s an homage to the producer.”
“A tree is a living creature. It’s like us. It doesn’t move, but it reacts.”
The harvest season of olives is short: Mr. Vañó said that it lasts from October until mid-November. That contrasts with the age of Mr. Vañó’s family: he is of the 9th generation; and the estate where the olives are planted has been productive since 1780.
“Each generation that joins the family company should add, should innovate, should do new things, should expand the business,” he said.
While his ancestors produced olive oil in bulk, it was he and his sister, upon joining the company in 2003, that had the idea to release premium varieties. “You have to continue working,” he said.
Castillo de Canena olive oil is available in Santi’s Delicatessen and The Bow Tie Duck Manila. — Joseph L. Garcia
