Last year an important milestone was reached in the Berici hills: the production of the first Oil D.O.P. of the province of Vicenza.

It could seem an almost normal result for a territory that has made the excellence of its products its own peculiarity It is instead a very important result because it was obtained by a group of motivated Berici-Lessini olive growers who have selected and combined their best farm productions to create a unique blend that is even more complex and rich in quality. These producers understood the opportunities present and in the near future and decided to follow a common path by founding a new Cooperative Body:
THE ASSOCIATED OLIVICULTURALS OF THE BERICI COLORS OF BASSO VICENTINO s.c.a.

Undoubtedly a success, this, which has seen, among others, the Pro Loco Nanto in the front row with its 24 years of promotional activity behind and the creation of an Experimental Oliveto, but which must also, above all, the stipulated convention in 2000 with the Province of Vicenza and the Vicenza Chamber of Commerce in which an extremely profitable project for this sector was supported. In fact, the cultivation techniques (pruning, pest protection and controlled harvesting), processing (the immediate pressing of the olives and bottling) and finally the packaging of the product were appropriately updated and developed.

Now the OLIVICULTURAL ASSOCIATES OF THE BERICI COLLI BASSO VICENTINO s.c.a. will have to take a further decisive step and implement an adequate and courageous marketing plan that nevertheless always puts the ORIGIN of the product in the first place so that the buyer of the Berici-Lessini olive oil will also buy the Soul of this territory a little .

The quantity of bottled oil was also contained this year, but still sufficient to be appreciated by a non-exclusive consumer. Next to the LAUDO brand that identifies a line of company product already established and appreciated with 3314 bottles, the OLIVICOLTORI ASSOCIATI OF COLLI BERICI DEL BASSO VICENTINO s.c.a. has 2528 bottles of Protected Designation of Origin oil which has been given the name GAUDIO and 596 bottles of extra virgin olive oil from AGRICOLTURA BIOLIOGICA which has been given the name GEMMO.

The members of the cooperative produce extra-virgin olive oil exclusively from the olives of their own plants. Every single batch of oil obtained was evaluated organoleptically by a commission of expert tasters and only those considered suitable were bottled and sent to the market. The types of products on the market, as we have already said before, are three: Laudo, Gaudio and Gemmo.

In the 2006 olive oil campaign, a total of 4800 liters of oil were bottled, of which 3200 under the Laudo brand name in bottles of 0.25 - 0.50 - 0.75 lt., 1300 under the Gaudio brand in bottles of 0.25 - 0.50 lt ., and 300 to Gemmo brand in 0.50 lt bottles.

The three typologies have common organoleptic characteristics, with different intensities and nuances. The olives are cold-pressed from the Pertegaro, Coratina and Rasara varieties and are characterized by the golden-green color, the aromas of cooked vegetables, thistle and lawn grasses present with good intensity. On the palate above all the notes of ripe olive and almond are often mixed together in a slight bitter and spicy sensation. It is particularly recommended for raw consumption on fish and grilled meats, on black Berici truffle risotto and on hot polenta, from Vicenza-style cod at the end of cooking, on toasted bread crostini, but also to flavor the minestrone and the " panà "vicentina.