We open at the Olive Oil Lovers studio with Joanne Lacina behind a wooden bar.
(Joanne Lacina, Olive Oil Expert)
Joanne Lacina: If you’ve been watching our videos then you understand how passionate we are about extra virgin olive oil and why we believe it to be a genuinely superior product in the market. And today we’re here to talk specifically about Novello, one of the most unique types of extra virgin olive oil.
What is Novello?
Title displays over video of fresh oil flowing into a steel tank.
Joanne: In short, Novello, also known as Nuovo in Italian, means “new”, and refers to the oil produced exclusively from early harvested, green olives at the very beginning of the harvest season.
(Novello aka Nuovo: The oil made from green unripe olives picked during the first days of the harvest season)
Joanne: And before we get started, you can preorder this incredibly fresh olive juice by clicking the link below in the description.
(Reserve your Novello today! Preorders now open)
Why is Novello Unique?
Title displays over video of oil flowing in an olive mill.
Joanne: Novello is an extra virgin olive oil notable primarily for its freshness. However, it also plays an important role in olive culture itself.
Images show Paolo Pruneti and olive harvesters working in an olive grove; photo of olive blossoms on a tree; photo of a bottling line as green oil gets added to Pruneti Nuovo bottles.
Joanne: Olive farmers work year-round attending to the lifecycle of their trees, from olive blossom to bottled oil. So when those olives are green and primed for picking, the fresh olive juice of the season begins to flow…
Video of a Greek family on an outdoor patio having a celebratory meal with plenty of fresh olive oil.
Joanne: and our producers, their teams and families, gather to celebrate and taste the results of a year’s hard work.
Image of Jose Galvez pouring oil into wine glasses directly from a huge stainless steel tank.
Joanne: For this kick-off celebration, fresh oil is collected right out of the tap and brought to the table immediately, with that signature grassy aroma of freshly milled green olives filling the air as friends and family feast.
Video of freshly crushed olives being churned in a malaxer. Another clip of fresh oil pouring in the mill.
Joanne: Because we establish such close relationships with our producer partners, we are able to secure a limited amount of this super-fresh juice each year to deliver right to your door.
(Established relationships with producer partners allow Olive Oil Lovers to secure these super-fresh limited edition olive oils.)
How does fresh novello taste?
Title displays over video of oil flowing in an olive mill.
Joanne: Simply put, a fresh novello has one of the most profound aromas found in the food world. Each bottle holds the intoxicating smell found in the olive mill during crushing season, most notably the intense green notes of fresh cut grass.
Image of green olives moving across conveyors in the Mueoliva mill. In the background we see the olive-covered hills of Cordoba.
Joanne: These are big, fresh, fruity olive oils. In the mouth these Novellos are powerfully pungent, with bitterness and spice indicating the presence of healthy antioxidants.
(Bitterness on the tongue & spicy sensations in the throat reveal the presence of healthy antioxidants.)
Joanne: The grassy flavors, the delightful bitterness and the spicy finish, work together to create a sensation that makes Novello feel more like an experience than a food. Novellos are a truly delicious, original product, each with a flavor unique to the region, olives, and farmers that make them.
(Delicious artisan olive oils unique to the region, olives, and farmers who make them.)
Joanne: Once you discover your favorite, you’ll never see olive oil the same way again!
How to enjoy your novello?
Title displays over footage of grilled asparagus finished with olive oil.
Joanne: Since you’ll be enjoying your Novello liberally, you might not need any pairing suggestions! But certainly one of the best and most pleasurable ways to eat your Novello is simply as a fresh, aromatic dip for warm baked bread. But don’t stop there! Novellos are the perfect pairing to Holiday main courses, especially those with intense flavors like grilled meats, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes and hearty soups.
Images of a glazed baked ham, roast lamb with babaganoush, roasted root vegetables, roasted herbed potatoes, Greek white bean soup. Finally video of sliced roasted turkey breast as olive oil is drizzled over it.
Joanne: You can even use it to add a zing of flavor to that roast turkey. And because these early harvest oils are rich in polyphenols, they also make an excellent choice for sipping just as a health supplement.
How is Novello Made?
Title is displayed over video of the olive harvest in Crete, with big Koroneiki olives on heavily-laden branches, harvesters working the trees, and the olives landing in a net below the trees.
Joanne: In the Northern Hemisphere the olive harvest typically runs from October through December. Throughout the summer the fruit grows into full, fleshy green olives. Then during the Fall months, the fruit will ripen from green, to purple and eventually black.
Footage of those big Koroneiki on olive branches with the hills of Crete in the background. A separate shot of Moraiolo olives ready for harvest on tree branches in Tuscany. Then a basket full of ripe purple-black olives.
Joanne: And while a fully ripe black olive produces more oil than a lesser ripe, green olive, oil produced from black olives will have a higher acidity, milder flavor, and is considered lower in quality.
(Olive oil from ripe black olives: Higher acidity, Milder flavor, lower quality)
Joanne: The highest quality oil comes from olives picked while still green, or just beginning to turn purple.
(Olive oil from less ripe green olives: Lower acidity, fruity flavor, healthy polyphenols)
Joanne: This is considered the optimal picking time. The green olive fruit creates a juice incredibly high in polyphenols. This antioxidant power helps preserve the oil, and when you consume it, helps preserve your body too! Crushed within hours of harvest, this fresh oil is bottled on demand and immediately shipped to us at Olive Oil Lovers here in the US. Before bottling, some producers do choose to filter their oil, however some might bottle their oil completely unfiltered for a more straight-from-the-mill experience.
Filtered vs. Unfiltered
Title displays over video of fresh oil bouncing on and through a metal screen as the filtration process begins.
(Before being filtered and bottled, most olive oils are decanted in stainless steel tanks for weeks or longer.)
Joanne: Before olive oil is bottled, most are first decanted and then filtered – a process that can take many days or even weeks after the initial crushing. Why?
(Olive oil that is fresh from the mill contains tiny particles of fruit solids.)
Joanne: Because olive oil fresh out of the mill still contains tiny particles of fruit solids, so instead of bottling immediately, producers will first store their oil in stainless steel tanks, allowing these solids to slowly settle to the bottom of the tank. Once decanted, the oil is then filtered, resulting in a cleaner, clearer oil that’s less prone to oxidation over time.
Video of a long row of huge stainless steel tanks used for olive oil storage. Additional footage shows some of the filtration equipment used in the mill.
Joanne: For Novellos, however, this decanting time is skipped entirely, and when unfiltered, results in a dreamy, cloudy olive oil.
(Unfiltered Novellos are less resistant to oxidation and should be consumed at their freshest.)
Joanne: But due to the presence of these olive particles, unfiltered Novellos are less resistant to oxidation and should be consumed soon after harvest, while filtered novellos will have a slightly longer shelf life.
More video footage of olive oil bouncing on a metal screen as the filtration process begins.
Joanne: Either way, this olive juice is so fresh and aromatic, you’ll likely find yourself going through a bottle in no time!
How to preserve your Novello
Title displays over an image of an Oro del Desierto 1/10 Novello bottle showing bright green oil as the bottle is held in front of a white light.
Joanne: As with any oil, you want to protect that precious bottle of Novello by making sure you’re storing it away from light and heat, ideally in a cool, dark cabinet away from the stove or any heat sources. This will help preserve the natural flavors longer over time.
(Always store your olive oils away from light & heat to preserve the natural flavors longer.)
Joanne: While we do recommend shopping for olive oil in opaque or dark glass containers, you’ll notice that some Novellos are bottled in clear glass.
Image pans across several of the Novellos available on Olive Oil Lovers, several of which are packed in clear glass.
Joanne: As this is a unique product that celebrates the launch of the harvest season, some producers will bottle their Novello in clear glass in order to show off that stunning, bright green color of their early harvest oil.
Some producers choose a clear glass bottle for their Novellos to show off the bright green color.
Joanne: But fear not, at Olive Oil Lovers we store all our olive oils in their original case in a dark, temperature controlled environment.
Image of the Olive Oil Lovers warehouse.
Joanne: Unlike bottles of olive oil sitting exposed on a supermarket shelf, ours never see the light of day until your shipment arrives to you. And as with any extra virgin olive oil, do not save it, waiting for a special occasion! This is so important.
Video shows a ripe olive being squeezed in slow-motion as juice squirts and explodes from the fruit.
Joanne: Olive oil is a fresh fruit juice and does not age like fine wine. And Novellos are no exception to the rule. Because they are bottled immediately after crushing, they are meant to be consumed quickly and liberally. So enjoy that freshness fast!
Video shows oil being poured during the celebratory meal shared by the Greek family.
Joanne: Pour it over everything and soak up all that flavor. Remember, this is a one-of-a-kind product made to celebrate olive oil itself. So give your food some love and your Novello will love you back.
Where can you get it?
Title displays over a close-up shot of oil flowing in the mill.
Joanne: Because Novellos are a seasonal product they are only available once a year for a limited time. These luxury items used to only be available to locals, or those able to jet off to Italy or Spain in time for harvest. But now you have us at Olive Oil Lovers, where we were born to bridge that gap between the olive farmers and you. We source these early harvest Novellos directly from producers we personally know and trust, and ship them immediately to you, so you too can enjoy the freshest oil possible. Shop the link in the description below to reserve yours today!