At Chiavalon in Istria, there is much more to discover than the production of high-quality olive oil. This family business deliberately sacrifices yield in pursuit of quality, remains connected to its roots and even finds a use for what is left of the olives.
There is no bread at this tasting. It would only mask the flavor of the olive oil, explains Simona Dobravac, who shows us around Chiavalon before guiding us through the tasting. Instead, small cups are placed in front of us. They contain olive oil that we are first asked simply to smell.
The aroma should be green and fruity, Simona explains. We then cover the cups with one hand and gently swirl them to warm the oil. After that, we smell it again. Has the aroma changed? Has it become more intense or suddenly disappeared? According to Simona, this simple method can offer clues as to whether an oil may have been artificially flavored.
Then comes the tasting. A small sip is enough. Simona shows us how to draw a little air through our teeth to help distribute the oil throughout the mouth. This makes the bitterness more noticeable, followed shortly afterwards by a slight, or sometimes more pronounced, peppery sensation in the throat.
What might initially seem unusual is actually desirable. Fruity aromas, bitterness and a certain pungency are among the positive sensory characteristics of high-quality extra virgin olive oil. The bitterness and pungency are partly associated with the polyphenols it contains.
We taste four different creations this way, and no two taste alike. The fifth has already sold out. The new harvest will not be available until November. As for the four varieties we sample, all pass our little tasting test with flying colors.
A Story That Began with Olive Trees
The story of Chiavalon does not begin with an elaborate business plan, but with a young man taking on responsibility.
When Sandi Chiavalon was still young, his father and grandfather died within a short period of time. He took over the care of the family’s olive trees and planted another 50 trees in memory of each of them.
From these beginnings, he and his brother Tedi built a business that is now among Istria’s well-known olive oil producers. Today, Chiavalon cultivates around 30,000 olive trees, half on its own land and half on leased land. Together, these trees yield around 40,000 liters of olive oil each year.
The family history is also reflected in the products. Two of the creations bear the first names of the grandfathers: Romano and Atilio. These oils even reflect the two men’s culinary preferences. Romano loved fish, which is why the variety named after him is milder and pairs particularly well with fish dishes. Atilio, on the other hand, enjoyed meat. His more robust variety is especially well suited to red meat.
A lovely way to keep the memory of both grandfathers alive.
Less Yield, More Flavor
At Chiavalon, quality begins long before the oil reaches the bottle. The timing of the olive harvest is crucial.
There is no fixed harvest date. Instead, the fruit is checked daily, Simona Dobravac explains. Does it come away easily from the tree? Can the pit be pushed out of the flesh? Only when the olives have reached the desired stage does harvesting begin, usually in early October.
That is comparatively early, and it has a considerable effect on the yield. At Chiavalon, 100 kilograms of olives produce just seven to nine liters of oil. If harvesting were postponed until December, the yield would be many times higher, according to Simona. It is a sacrifice the company deliberately makes in favor of quality.
After all, the timing of the harvest influences both the composition and flavor profile of the oil. The pronounced green aromas, along with the bitterness and pungency we experienced during the tasting, are typical of early-harvest olives.
Time also matters once the olives have been picked. No more than three hours pass between harvesting the fresh fruit and extracting the first drop of oil. The olives are crushed into a paste, including their skins and pits, before the oil is obtained through cold extraction using centrifugation.
Until bottling, it is stored in stainless steel tanks at a constant 16 degrees Celsius under a protective gas atmosphere to minimize contact with oxygen.
Chiavalon also sets a clear limit on bottle size. None of the bottles on offer holds more than half a liter. The reasoning is that olive oil should ideally be used relatively quickly after opening, before oxygen and other external influences begin to affect its quality.
What Remains of the Olive
When olive oil is produced, only part of what the fruit has to offer ends up in the oil itself. What remains are pits and pomace, the solid material left behind after extraction.
At Chiavalon, these by-products are not simply treated as waste.
The crushed olive pits are used to generate energy. They are also turned into heat pillows sold under the name Olivetherm. The pomace is composted together with algae and subsequently used as fertilizer. Even the filter paper from production is given another purpose: it is sold as a barbecue firelighter.
Particularly interesting, however, is what happens to another portion of the pomace. Together with a partner in Italy, Chiavalon spent ten years developing its own skincare range. Active ingredients are extracted from the by-products of olive oil production for this purpose.
The range is called Olive Theory. It demonstrates that finding new uses for by-products does not necessarily have to end with compost or energy generation.
Of course, a process like this is not automatically free from environmental impacts. Nevertheless, the idea of making the most of a fruit that has already been harvested makes sense. Especially for a high-quality food whose production requires considerable agricultural effort, it seems reasonable to look beyond the final product.
Beyond the Olive Groves
Chiavalon’s agricultural activities have long since expanded beyond olive trees.
In 2015, the company leased around 185 hectares of land in the Raša River valley to bring previously neglected fields back into agricultural use. Today, tomatoes and various grains, among other crops, are grown there according to organic farming principles.
The tomatoes are made into passata without added salt or sugar. The grains are processed in the company’s own stone mill, powered by electricity from its solar installation.
Chiavalon has therefore evolved from a specialized olive oil producer into a more diversified agricultural business. The connection to its original philosophy remains clear: producing food to a high standard while making sensible use of available resources.
A Food with a History
Istria has long established a reputation as a region for high-quality olive oil. A visit to Chiavalon offers an insight into just how much work goes into a product that we often take for granted in everyday life.
What began with a young man taking responsibility for his family’s olive trees has grown into a business with tens of thousands of trees. One that sacrifices a substantial part of its potential yield to achieve the quality it is looking for, and that considers what can be done with the remaining materials once the oil has been extracted.
Yet it is not the production figures that leave the strongest impression after this visit. It is the story of the grandfathers, whose preferences still shape the character of two olive oils today. And the realization that even what remains after processing can still have value.
Next time you reach for some olive oil, perhaps it is worth setting the bread aside at first. Just for a little sip.
Transparency note: The guided tour and olive oil tasting at Chiavalon were provided free of charge for my journalistic research. The company had no influence over the content or assessment presented in this article.
