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Abandoned Grove

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Friends & Family

What is the Friends & Family List?

It started in 2009 with my immediate family and a few friends. Today it is an exclusive list of family, friends, and friends of friends that have become stakeholders and share in our mission.

Due to our production methods, harvest timing, oxidation control procedures and transport, the list is currently limited in space.

We are working on expanding the list and making these releases more available by rejuvenating more land.

As our 'Friends and Family' grow, so does our Impact.

More pleasurable meals together, more health benefits savoured, more olive groves rejuvenated, more people employed, and, eventually, no grove abandoned.

Abandoned Grove is not just internationally recognized as a super-premium extra virgin olive oil but also for it's growing community and commitment to restoring olive oil and the industry.

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What are the advantages of being part of the friends & family list?

Early access to Abandoned Grove’s new harvest releases, dinner invites and Festa dell'Olio.

No price fluctuation between the pre-order period and delivery.

Possibility to participate in a harvest. We are working on hosting private tasting events and harvest trips soon. 

Is there a cost to join the Friends & Family list?

Our friends and family list is free to join.

Can I contact you directly with questions?

Abandoned Grove is not just internationally recognized as a super-premium extra virgin olive oil but for also for it's growing community and commitment to restoring olive oil and the industry.

Our members include internationally renowned olive oil experts, farmers, chefs, restaurants, celebrities, scientists, wellness practitioners, artists, and tastemakers.

More satisfying meals together, more health benefits savoured, more olive groves rejuvenated, more people employed, and, eventually, no grove abandoned.

This is the world we envision.

Does Fil host olive oil tasting classes or speaking events?

Yes, Fil does public speaking and olive oil tasting classes. He sees speaking and tasting engagements as a vehicle to keep sharing, enlighting and spreading the positivity and experience of this gift of nature. To inform and bridge understanding about the rich history, health benefits and cultural and climatic importance of extra-virgin olive oil.

Contact

Ordering FAQ

Can I still have access to releases if I'm not on the list?

Early access to Abandoned Grove releases is only available to the Friends & Family list.

After the friends & family pre order period is closed, an oil allocation is made public on a first come, first serve basis.

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Is my allocation guaranteed?

Unless there is an extreme shortage due to unforeseen harvest conditions, members of the friends and family list will have a guaranteed allocation as long as the order is placed within the pre order period.

How do I get notified of new releases?

Pay attention to emails and notifications.

How do I place my order?

Directly from our email notifications, online and sometimes through our socials.

When will my order arrive?

Our family reserve is harvest once annually, and you can expect your oil shortly after. Since 2009 it has been available by the first week of December (within a few weeks from Harvest)

I've added an item to the cart but it is already sold out

There is the possibility that while you are in the process of checking out, someone may have completed the purchase of the last available release.

We recommend reserving your order in advance.

Do you restock your inventory?

No, our releases are always limited. Once sold out, it is gone forever.

Impact

Our Craft

Crafted to erase everything you thought you knew about olive oil, we start with the philosophy that we never take nature for granted. 

Our modern extra virgins interpret the maximum expression of every season. 

Our processes are not easy, we are not for everybody, and quantities are secondary.

Our Work

Eschewing the practices of the commercial olive oil industry, we rejuvenate abandoned groves and re-cultivate the connection to the groves, the people and the community that make for a truly incomparable bottle of modern extra virgin olive oil.

4785 rejuvenated trees to date.

The Benefits

Besides all the known health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, the geographical location of our groves packs a higher amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in our cultivars. Our production methods craft the perfect balance between the right amount of 'active' phenolic compounds and sensory pleasure.

More satisfying meals together, more health benefits savoured, more olive groves rejuvenated, more people employed, and, eventually, no grove abandoned.

Truly good for everyone – as our Friends & Family grow, so does our impact.

Our Process

Our work starts with the philosophy that we do not take nature for granted. We work to interpret the season-best, and quantities are secondary. 

And this is challenging, especially with wild climatic swings, but with challenges come the rewards. We look forward to welcoming the seasonal differences of each harvest.

We only work with the cultivars that best thrived, laser focusing on each step of the process from grove to the table to maintain its quality. 

Depending on the oil we want to extract that year, we will time our harvest a little differently. It is part art, part science and a ton of experience, instinct and intuition.

From Grove to Table

We are currently positioned over five different groves with varying exposures and microclimates in the hills surrounding Florence, Italy.

As the harvest progresses and the olives' state of maturation changes, the extracted oil's sensory profile will vary.

We run tests and calibrate the surgically clean, technologically advanced mill with Fil Bucchino and a master miller to best extract all of the sensory wonders of that cultivar that season.

Once the desired profile is found, we extract the oil within just a few hours of harvest, double filter (please avoid unfiltered traditional oils) and store the oil in temperature-controlled fusti under nitrogen.

Although Fil is 1 of 31 accredited international ONAOO professionals worldwide, AG’s oil is also tested by some of the most renowned tasters and a sensory panel to avoid personal production bias. Only then do we bottle the oil.

Since the beginning, for our 'Friends & Family Reserve,' we’ve honored each harvest with a custom label. Since each harvest is a different experience, it has always felt like the right thing to do. 

We then airship and deliver within weeks of harvest in its freshest and most intact state. Our intensive anti-oxidative processes help maintain the oil’s vitality by increasing its shelf life.

We have been perfecting production, safeguarding and arrival practices from the grove to the table since 2009.

Our Work to Date

4785 regenerated trees over five groves in the hill surrounding Florence, Italy.

320 trees are under rejuvenation, and we just acquired an additional 3 hectares of land to be rejuvenated, adding roughly another 1200 trees.

Not a Staple or a Commodity

Unable to compete with the commoditization of olive oil, damaging super-intensive farming practices, supermarket pricing and the new trendy brands that confuse the market by claiming quality but selling poorly-produced oils, quality extra virgin olive oil producers are in a race that can't be won and often abandon their land and its upkeep.

This abandonment has ripple effects on the individual, the community and the environment.

The expectation of having whatever we want, when we want, is not sustainable.

Frankly, it's bad manners, and we're here to change it.

Why we are limited

We do not take nature for granted. Quality is first, quantities second.

The more groves we can rejuvenate, the more modern olive oil we can produce.

More pleasurable meals together, more health benefits savoured, more olive groves rejuvenated, more people employed, and, eventually, no grove abandoned.

As our 'Friends and Family' grow, so does our Impact.

Join us

Rejuvenation

As part of our rejuvenation criteria, we look for groves and land in different community areas with different microclimates and exposures.

This hedges against production risk and strategically beautifies the landscape.

Abandoned groves often become impenetrable forests. They pose hydrological and fire risks to the community and are a paradise for invasive species. Invasive growth suffocates the trees to the point that finding them within the grove is challenging.

We clean them up and use different pruning techniques to help the plants regain energy, and we later shape them in a way that heals and energizes the plant while facilitating our harvest process. It’s a symbiotic relationship between the trees, the land and the people. 

After the trees have regained their strength and come back into production, the meticulous and detailed pruning, maintenance, harvest, extraction, storage and transport practices begin.

We not only give back to the land but also hire locally, support the immediate community, and empower our team through fair labour wages, education and support.

Our process starts with the land, the tree, fruit, the people, the oil and the intact delivery to our tables. 

The complete process can take anywhere from one to three years, depending on the condition of the trees.

As our Friends & Family grow, so does our impact.

Join Us

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