Olive groves and olive oil mills for sale in Zaragoza

In the province of Zaragoza there are two olive oil DOs, DO Aceite Sierra de Moncayo and DO Aceite del Bajo Aragón.

SIERRA DE MONCAYO OLIVE OIL DO

A total of 34 municipalities in the regions of Tarazona, Moncayo and Campo de Borja. The surface area of the olive tree is more than 2,500 hectares.

Varieties

Oils are produced mainly with empeltre and arbequina, but also with the negral, royal and verdial varieties.

DO ACEITE DEL BAJO ARAGÓN

Bajo Aragón includes 77 municipalities in different regions, both in the province of Teruel and Zaragoza.

Varieties

The empeltre type olive must make up a minimum of 80% and the arbequina and royal varieties no more than 20%.

History

The Phoenicians or the Greeks may have introduced the crop, but it is known that it did not become very important until the arrival of Scipio, as can be deduced from Avienus' book Ora Marítima, in which the Ebro is called "oleum flumen", i.e. river of oil. The richness of the olive groves in the area of Alcañiz (Lower Aragon) is demonstrated by its magnificent trees, which are thousands of years old.

The Empeltre and Royal varieties are considered to be indigenous, while the Arbequina variety was introduced in the 19th century from the neighbouring Catalan region. The oldest known record of oil from this area is to be found in the 'Ora maritima' by the 4th century Latin poet Rufus Festus Avienus, who tells how sailors sailed up the Ebro to trade with the inhabitants of the river to obtain supplies of oil, wine and wheat. In the 'Ora maritima', the Ebro is called Oleum flumen, which means river of oil.

The current reputation of 'Aceite del Bajo Aragón' began to take shape at the end of the 19th century, coinciding with the commercial boom in Tortosa, the main market for oil from this area of Aragon, where important oil companies established themselves and discovered the oil's qualities. This allowed several commercial firms to set up in Alcañiz to buy directly the oil from Lower Aragon before reaching Tortosa and thus avoid the strong competition that was taking place there.

Climate and soil

The cultivation area is located in the south-eastern part of the Ebro depression known as 'Bajo Aragón'. It mainly coincides with the river valleys of the Aguavivas, Martín, Regallo, Guadalope and Matarraña rivers. The area is characterised by its aridity with scarce and irregular rainfall and extreme temperatures, a consequence of the continentalisation produced by the relief that isolates this area from maritime influences, both Mediterranean and Atlantic. Moreover, the strong northeast wind known as 'Cierzo' further accentuates the aridity.

The territory is flat or slightly hilly with an altitude ranging from 122 metres in Caspe to 632 metres in Alcorisa. The soils are limestone with formations of gypsum carbonate horizons, typical of lacustrine sedimentation under a warm and dry Miocene climate.

The average annual rainfall is 350 mm and the average annual temperature is 14.8 ºC. The appropriate cultivation techniques, soil maintenance, fertilisation, pruning, pest and disease control, complement a suitable environment for the development of olive cultivation with its characteristic peculiarities linked to its geographical environment.

Olive oil mills

Aceites Aguilar, S.L., Gaibar Hnos., S.L., Almazaras Reunidas del Bajo Aragón, S.A., Vicoliva, S.L., Soc. Coop. de Labradores de Alcovisa, Coop. Agraria "San Martín", Almazara de Jaime S. L., Aceites Alfonso Minuesa, Coop. de aceites del Matarraña S.C.L., Productos de Calanda S.L., Coop. del campo San Miguel,La Calandina S. COOP. LTDA., Aceites y Enc, Ismael Imagallón S. L., Gourmet Mundi S.L., Aceites Albalate, S.L., SCC. "Sección Almazara, SCC. "San Isidro", Coop. agraria San Sebastià, Coop. del Mezquín S.C.L., SCC. Santos Cosme y Damián, Aceites Impelte del Bajo Martín S.L., Alcañiz Millán S.L., SCA San Lorenzo, Gil Ejerique S.L., S.C. del Campo "San Antonio", SCC. San Isidro, Rey Solé Antonio, SCA. "San Miguel", Arte Alimentación Bajo Aragón S.L., Coop. del campo San Antonio, S.C.O. Aragonesa de Valdealgorfa S.A.T., Aceites Torregachero, DCR Promocions S.A., Fernando Alcober e hijos S.A., Coop. San Antonio Abad, Coop. del capo San Miguel, Aceites Arboleda, S.A.