Olive groves and olive oil mills for sale in Valencia

En La Comunidad Valenciana destaca la DO Aceite de la Comunitat Valenciana como única DO de olivos que ampara las tres provincias de Valencia, Alicante y Castellón.

DO ACEITE DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA

En la Comunitat Valenciana se distinguen 8 subzonas de producción, cada una de ellas con sus características agroclimáticas diferenciadas.

El cultivo se extiende por toda la Comunitat Valenciana por lo que la producción del aceite de oliva en esta Comunidad también se encuentra repartida de una forma más o menos equitativa, siendo la provincia de Alicante la de mayor producción, aunque a su vez es la de menor superficie de producción (31%).

En la provincia de Castellón destacan las comarcas del Baix Maestrat y Alto Palancia, con casi el 70% de la superficie total de olivar cultivado en la provincia, en las que el cultivo sigue teniendo una gran importancia.

En la provincia de Valencia destacan las comarcas de La Canal de Navarrés y la Vall d’Albaida, como las más importantes en la producción de olivo. Otras comarcas oleícolas importantes son el Valle de Ayora, Camp del Turia, Plana de Utiel-Requena y Hoya de Buñol. En otras comarcas el olivo es un cultivo testimonial, como es el caso de La Safor, L’Horta y el Rincón de Ademuz.

Varieties

Due to its Mediterranean climate, the Valencian Community has always been an important olive-growing area. There are thousand-year-old olive trees in the area of Castellón, and the Community has the most important diversity of varieties in Spain: manzanilla, Villalonga, blanqueta, farga, serrana de Espadán, morruda, cornicabra, alfafara or grosal, changlot real, royal, canetera, nana, arbequina, empeltre, cuquillo, sollana, sallosina, llumeta, millarenca and borriolenca. Seventy-four different varieties have been identified in the Comunitat Valenciana, which provides a wealth of nuances and aromas.

Of the 23 main varieties grown in Spain, 6 are Valencian ('Villalonga', 'Blanqueta', 'Farga', 'Serrana de Espadán', 'Changlot Real' and 'Alfafara').

The varieties of the province of Valencia are:

Cornicabra variety

A variety originating from Mora de Toledo, its name comes from the characteristic horn shape of its fruit, which is why it is also known as Cornezuelo. In the Comunitat Valenciana it is cultivated in the Valencian regions of the Plana de Requena-Utiel and the Ayora Valley, declining in importance in the Alt Vinalopó (Alicante), and can be classified as one of the main varieties.

The Cornicabra is a variety that is slow to come into production. It is productive, but neighbouring, very rustic and well adapted to poor soils and highly resistant to frost. It ripens late and its fruit is very resistant to detachment, which makes it difficult to harvest mechanised.

It is a variety with a good fat content and yield in the oil mill, characterised by its high oleic acid content, which can exceed 80%, as well as a good polyphenol content, which gives it a high stability against oxidation.

The optimum time for harvesting is from mid-December onwards, although this may vary depending on the climatic characteristics of the season and the state of maturity of the fruit.

Changlot real variety

This variety originates from the Enguera mountain range. It is mainly cultivated in the Alicante regions of the Vinalopó basin, being the dominant variety in Vinalopó Mitjà and to a lesser extent in various Valencian regions such as the Ayora Valley.

When ripe, the fruit is black in colour. It is a high-yielding variety, but it is a bit old. It adapts well to different soil conditions, being resistant to cold and drought. Its fruits are medium ripening and have a high resistance to detachment, which makes mechanised harvesting difficult.

The total fat content of this variety is lower than others, so its industrial yield is also considerably lower. The optimum time for harvesting is mid-November, although it can be brought forward to the first days of the month. Earlier harvesting will make it possible to obtain oils of higher organoleptic quality and higher polyphenol content, although with a significant reduction in fat yield and oleic acid content. This variety has a high oleic acid content, low linoleic acid content and a good level of polyphenols, which gives it very good stability.

The extra virgin olive oil of the Changlot Real variety is a slightly fruity and spicy oil, with aromatic notes of ripe fruit and tomato, with a very low sensation of sweetness perceived in these oils.

Villalonga variety

Originating in the south of the province of Valencia, it is distributed in this province and in Alicante, and to a lesser extent in some areas of Castellón. In the Comunitat Valenciana it accounts for a quarter of the area under olive groves.

The Villalonga variety has a high and constant production, early ripening, very suitable for mechanised harvesting due to its ease of detachment and its vertical growth.

It is very sensitive to frost, tolerates excess humidity and is sensitive to drought, so in arid areas it is more prone to dryness. The variety is characterised by its high fat content and good oil yield. Its composition is characterised by its low oleic acid content. The linoleic acid content is high, with the highest levels corresponding to the areas with the lowest oleic acid content, reaching values of around 19%.

Among the oils from Villalonga, those with the highest polyphenol content, the highest oleic content and the best stability correspond to the crops grown in the Enguera area.

The optimum time for harvesting is in early December, although this may vary depending on the soil and weather conditions in the area and may be delayed until the middle of the month.

The extra virgin olive oil of the Villalonga variety is fruity, rather bitter and spicy, with a complex aromatic profile with green leaf, almond, tomato, apple and aromatic herbs.

Climate and soils

The olive grove is grown mainly in the intermediate strip of the Valencian Community, which is what gives it its main characteristics. Thus, the significant temperature fluctuations between winter and summer favour the increase of certain quality parameters. On the other hand, the concentration of rainfall in autumn and spring has enormous benefits for its cultivation and for the quality of the oils produced, as it greatly softens the aromatic and organoleptic profiles of the oils.

The relief ranges from mountainous areas, which, incidentally, are the dominant ones, to plains and valleys in between, and finally to the coast. The predominant lithology is calcareous, although we can find certain enclaves where sandstone, marl and gypsum outcrop.

Cultivation mainly takes place between 300 and 600 metres above sea level on shallow soils with very high levels of active limestone.

Olive groves are generally located on the less fertile mountain slopes, and olive groves are rarely found in the hollows or valley bottoms, as this land has always been reserved for other crops.

The average annual temperature varies between 12 and 16 °C. More important are the differences in rainfall, ranging from 200-300 mm per year in the localities bordering the Vinalopó to 700-800 mm in the Alicante Mountains and the Maestrat in Castellón.

Almazaras

Almazahara: Company made up of 7 cooperatives from all the Valencian provinces: Cooperativa Agrícola Católica Coop.V. (Cocentaina), Cooperativa San Cristóbal (Cañada), Coop. V. San Pedro Apóstol (Moixent), Bodega Nuestra Señora De Las Virtudes Coop.V. (Villena), Coopvall (Quatretonda), Coop. San Isidro Sierra (Les Coves de Vinromà, Cooperativa Agrícola De Villar (Villar del Arzobispo), Cooperativa Vinícola "La Viña" (La Font de la Figuera, SOCAPMA (Muro de Alcoy), Coop Beniatjar Oli Del Benicadell Coop V. (Beniatjar), Campoenguera Coop. V. (Enguera), Coop. La Divina Pastora (Jérica).

Olivier de Xavier, Campo Enguera, Aceites Albert, Mirall de la Terra (Requena), Pagos del Guerrer La Cooperativa San Pedro Apóstol de Moixent (native variety Grossal), Olioli, 1 olive tree for peace in Requena, Aurora Real (Parque Natural de las Hoces del Cabriel), Almazara Barcha.