Olive Oil Sommelier Claudio Vignoli Launches Novello Olive Oil
Founder Claudio Vignoli has spent the last 25 years immersing himself in every facet of the olive oil industry, beginning as an Export Manager for a world leader in the design and construction of olive oil mills. He trained as a master miller and olive oil sommelier and became one of the foremost olive oil experts before opening an industry consulting firm in 2007. In 2020, he launched Vignoli Italian Food Anthology as an e-commerce business to provide the best olive oils directly to the consumer, producing his oils with olives from Tuscany, Puglia, and Sicily, Italy’s top olive-growing regions.
Drawing from his experience and the relationships he has forged with the top olive growers in Italy, Claudio tests and sources their best olives to blend and create a superior product rather than owning olive groves. After selecting the olives, he returns to harvest them and transports them to nearby mills—either on the grove or a maximum of 10 miles away—ensuring the olive oil is produced from a single origin. Once the olives are milled, Claudio blends the oil to perfection. It is then shipped to Claudio’s plant in Miami in specially designed temperature-controlled containers. The oil is stored in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks sealed with nitrogen to retain the freshness and bottled on demand in amber glass containers to reduce light exposure that can diminish the flavor and sold directly to the customer with the longest shelf life possible.
Product Highlights:
- Novello: Launching in autumn 2022, is olive oil produced from the first harvest of the season when they are still young and green. The resulting product is bitter, pungent, and full of antioxidants. As the young olives contain a very low oil yield (between six and nine percent) of the content necessary to make olive oil, it sacrifices quantity for quality.
- IGP Olive Oils: Vignoli Italian Food Anthology produces three olive oils that bear Protected Geographical Indication (also known as PGI or IGP in Italian), denoting that the olives and production of the oil take place in one region. The top-quality olive oils are also vegan and produced with non-GMO olives. They are: IGP Tuscany, mainly from the Orcia Valley and Tuscan Maremma, it is sweet up front with a spicy finish. It is a nutraceutical olive oil rich in polyphenols, antioxidants that can help regulate insulin, protect against heart disease, and even boost digestion; IGP Puglia, a robust olive oil with an aroma reminiscent of freshly cut grass, tannic white almonds, and earthy artichokes. Also a nutraceutical, the flavor notes are a balance of bitter and spicy; and IGP Sicily, a slightly spicy olive oil with a fruity flavor profile that was featured in The Strategist.
Other olive oils include an Everyday Kitchen Olive Oil, made with a blend of Coratina olives and Ogliarola Barese cultivar olives that create a balanced, fluid taste with notes of spiciness and bitterness, as well as a line of infused olive oils that begin with olive oil from Puglia, infused with ingredients like Basil from Liguria, Blood Orange, and White Truffle.
Balsamic Vinegars: Vignoli Italian Food Anthology’s other specialty is Balsamic Vinegars of Modena PGI, sold in 1.32 and 1.19 densities that follow strict PGI guidelines. Once the cooked grape must and wine vinegar are combined, they mature in top-quality barrels exclusively made of wood such as sessile oak, cherry, or mulberry. Adding flair to the offerings are exclusive infused Balsamic Vinegars, 1.32 density Balsamic Vinegar of Modena—the crown jewel vinegar—Peach, Fig, Apple, Pear, Pomegranate, or Chocolate.
Claudio has assembled Tasting and Gift Sets that pair infused olive oils and vinegars in cohesively themed packages to give consumers a convenient way to sample their products. The unique sets of four 3.4-ounce bottles include: Essential Italy, Chili Pepper, Basil, Sicilian Mandarin Orange, and Lemon infused olive oils; Zesty and Tart, Black Garlic and Basil infused olive oils paired with Apple and Pomegranate infused balsamic vinegars; and Sweet and Tangy, Fig, Pear, Pomegranate, and Chocolate infused balsamic vinegars.
Also available are complementary products: Egg Pastas, made with durum semolina and fresh eggs; Pasta Sauces like Arrabbiata, Puttanesca, and Tomato Sauces made with vegetables including olives, artichokes, eggplant; Grilled Vegetables that are cooked on lava stones; Tapenades; and, of course, Olives.
For More Information:
https://vignolifood.com/
