Discover how to prepare authentic, crispy and fragrant Tuscan Schiacciata
August, dry earth, the sun beating down. Walking through the rows of our olive grove, you feel the heat on your skin before you even see it: this year more than ever, the silvery leaves of the olive trees are the first line of defense against a difficult season.
It’s no secret: the summer of 2026 is putting us to the test. The drought affecting much of the region isn’t sparing our fields either, and anyone who works the land knows it well — a season like this one can’t be faced from a distance. It has to be faced tree by tree, day after day.
A daily commitment, row by row
Every morning, before the sun grows too strong, our vehicle makes its way through the rows of the olive grove to bring water to the trees. This isn’t an automatic process, nor a one-off task: it’s daily watering, designed to give every tree — from the youngest to the centuries-old ones, with their gnarled trunks and bark marked by time — the water it needs to withstand water stress without compromising its health.
It’s work built on constant presence. It means getting up early, checking each tree, adapting the approach based on the soil and sun exposure, and doing it all over again the next day. There are no shortcuts: in a drought year like this one, even skipping a single watering round can be the difference between an olive tree that holds on and one that suffers.
Why So Much Care, Right Now
Many people think the work behind olive oil happens mainly during the harvest, between October and November. In reality, much of the harvest’s quality is determined in summer. The trees receiving care and attention today are the same ones that, in a few months, will give us healthy, nutrient-rich olives ready to be turned into a balanced, genuine oil.
Caring for the grove during a drought means protecting not only this year’s production, but also the health of the trees for years to come — many of which have been part of our estate for generations.
The Value of Work You Don’t See
When you taste a good oil, you rarely think about the days of work behind it: the watering under the August sun, the constant care given to every single tree, the attention a soil like this year’s demands more than ever.
Yet it’s precisely in these quiet, daily, uncompromising gestures that the quality of Olio Aroldo is born. An oil that carries not only the flavor of our land, but also the work and dedication of those who choose to care for it, every single morning.