Frantoio Bonamini

Giancarlo Bonamini's passion for olives and oil dates back to his childhood, when he used to spend his autumn days poking around the family oil mill, open since 1965. After graduating from agricultural school, what was a boy's curiosity turned into a job made up of commitment, desire to innovate and search for excellence.

The production of the Antico Frantoio Bonamini is deeply rooted in the Val d'Illasi. This valley to the east of the city of Verona is the cradle of two cultivars, lovingly cared for and worked by Giancarlo and his wife Sabrina: Grignano and Favarol. In addition to these two indigenous cultivars, which are only found in this area, Giancarlo also uses Leccino, Frantoio, Tosca and Moraiolo olives to produce his oils.

The Bonamini family estate extends over the terraced hills overlooking the lake. Here, when they reach maturity, the fruits are picked and processed by hand, as has been done for centuries. Once they get to the oil mill, the olives are pressed in the modern continuous plant with cold extraction. The result is a delicate extra virgin olive oil with a slightly fruity taste, particularly versatile for cooking. The oil obtained from the olives harvested in the Val d'Illasi has a low acidity level, an intense and enveloping scent, and a golden color with greenish hues (more accentuated in the case of freshly pressed oil).

Over time, the labels created by Giancarlo and Sabrina Bonamini have grown to seven, distinguished according to the area of production or the organoleptic characteristics of the olives used. The flagship product of Antico Frantoio Bonamini is the PDO Veneto Valpolicella extra virgin olive oil, obtained exclusively from olives of the Grignano and Tavarol cultivars, an oil that best expresses the virtues of its territory of origin.