Marsala, and Olive Oil

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We're in lovely, less touristy, Marsala where my maternal grandparents were from. People seem friendlier.
We like it so much we decided to extend our stay to a week.

One of the highlights for us so far was an olive oil tour and tasting at Oleificio Fratelli Mezzapelle (the Mezzapelle Brothers Oil Mill), producers of Donna Giacoma olive oils. 
I use olive oil all the time, so we wanted to see how it's made and to taste it at its freshest.

Since we didn't have transportation and there are no buses out to the mill, Diego, one of the brothers, kindly arranged for his brother Michael to pick us up in Marsala and bring us out for the tour. 
The first thing they did was show us the olive trees and explain to us how various trees produce different flavored olives. They showed us ancient grinding stones used in the past and then they took us into their modern factory where the oil is separated from the olive in a very high tech way.

Then came the best part, the tasting of different olive oils, with a spread of Italian bread, wine, 3 cheeses, and whole olives to complement the various oils. There was, of course, extra virgin olive oil with the freshest taste ever, and a variety of oils naturally flavored with orange, lemon, basil, rosemary, garlic, or chili pepper. We loved it all! 

After the tour, Diego brought us back to Marsala and on the way he took us to see the family's olive groves and vineyards. What really impressed us was his love for the land and the process of making artisanal, pure, olive oils. We were able to walk with him among the trees, some over 100 years old, see his father-in-law's grapevines, and the family's lemon trees, and hear him talk about wanting to create experiences and memories for their guests. 
They definitely created warm and beautiful memories for Paul and me. If you are ever in Marsala, here is their website to book a tour and tasting: DonnaGiacoma.it. 


Comments

Anonymous said…
I can't say enough about this olive oil tour.
The highlight was the tasting. A tasting of different olive oils, but that wasn't all. First they put out a spread of Italian bread, wine, 3 cheeses, and whole olives.
Remember, this was to taste different olive oils. On some of them we could really tell the difference. I liked the orange flavored olive oil, but loved the whole spread. It was more than I expected.
To top it off, the tour was only 15 Euro per person. What really impressed us was the family's love for the land and the process of making artisanal, pure, olive oils.
It was just Gloria & I on the tour, so we really got a personal experience.
April 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Anonymous said…
Looks like a lovely tour!
April 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM
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