62 ~ Olive of my eye.
It’s no secret that Italy produces some of the world’s finest olive oil, and within Italy some of the best comes from the central province of Umbria. Umbria is where my wonderful nephew, Keegan (above), was born, grew up and still lives, and where he now produces small batches of sublime organic olive oil. This may all be working in your favor, dear readers… First, a bit of backstory.
Keegan is the eldest of three kids of my older sister Anne and her hubby (marito) Pino (a native of Sicily). More than forty years ago Anne and Pino settled in Umbria, known as the “green heart of Italy” - it is the only Italian province that touches neither another country nor the sea. For a view of rural Umbrian life and traditions – and especially Umbrian food! – from Anne and Pino’s farmhouse in the hills outside Assisi, check out www.annesitaly.com.
Keegan grew up a rural Umbrian kid, and learned from Pino how to cultivate and harvest olives, and get them pressed to yield extraordinary oil. I’ve been blessed to partake of it over the years – oil pressed from olives picked just outside Anne and Pino’s front door - and it is hands-down the finest olive oil that’s ever passed my lips. Grassy, herbal, full of flavor.
Keegan and his wife Francesca recently inherited from her family a stone farmhouse in the countryside near the exquisite medieval Umbrian town of Orvieto. The house was last lived in decades ago, and some restoration was in order (most of it done by papa Pino, a master craftsman and builder). Campellino (‘little field’) is the farmstead’s traditional name, and in 2019 Keegan and Francesca moved into their beautifully restored home.
Next to the house stood a neglected grove of 35 olive trees, and Keegan threw himself into its resortation – pruning, digging out competing brush, etc. The trees, some of them 60 to 70 years old, revealed themselves to be two heritage olive varieties, endemic to this sublime corner of Italy, Liccino and Moraiolo.
Campellino: Keegan & Francesca’s house and olive grove.
Keegan started making oil from his grove, and subsequently added a partnership in two other groves with a couple of other young, like-minded, ‘heritage olive men’, giving him a stake in 290 more trees. Most of these other trees are also the traditional Liccino and Moraiolo, plus a third variety, Frantoio.
And now introducing, along with your chance to take part, Campellino olive oil from Umbria - small batch, extra virgin, organic, in 0.5 liter cans, produced and shipped directly by Keegan.
Like the world over, Italy has seen a trend toward the narrow selection and mono-cropping of ‘efficient’ agricultural varieties, including olives for oil. Of course, such varieties get selected for attributes like yield, ease of large-scale harvest and ability to travel, with flavor taking a back seat. About 700 varieties of olives are known from Italy, and many are now in decline and at risk of being lost. Keegan and his pals are committed to acting locally to conserve, with traditional cultivation methods, heritage Umbrian olive varieties, and also sharing some of the exquisite oil of these trees beyond Umbria’s borders. As you might guess, I’m very proud of that lad, mio nipote.
It is my pleasure to put together an order for his oil for interested readers of Bird in the Bush. Here’s the gig: to keep shipping costs (and Keegan’s labor) to a minimum, Keegan can pack and send a bulk order to my house (north of Barneveld), and if you’re local you can stop by to collect your order, or I can drop it off next time I pass your place. Price with shipping is $23.50 per 0.5 liter tin of hand-cultivated (with passion), hand-harvested, heritage Italian olive oil. Trust me, you won’t find the likes of this on the shelves of Costco or Woodman’s, or even Willy Street Co-op.
Keegan’s wife Francesca is a special education teacher, and the beautiful label for their oil comes from one of her former high school students, a young woman with Down Syndrome named Camilla. Camilla now works as an artist for a local ceramics studio (she does the decorative painting of the pottery), and contributed the artwork for the label. When Keegan saw Camilla’s exuberant design, he named the vintage “Big Bang”.
Rest assured that I’m offering this only as a service to and connection with you, dear readers, and as a favor to my wonderful nephew. I’ll not make anything off the deal – the quoted price is the direct cost to you, no padding (Keegan might put in an extra tin or two of oil for me in the order, and if so that will be my sole cut). This is about making connections, for better ways of life across both sides of our Atlantic .
If interested in participating, by Saturday, March 12 please email me your order of how many you’d like (williamrobichaud@yahoo.com), and send payment by PayPal (c/o same email) or a check to 7537 Lakeview Road, Barneveld, WI 53507. We’ll then get this transatlantic trade route in motion!
It could make a pretty special gift if there are any birthdays, showers or weddings in your near future (unopened, the oil will keep well for at least a year).
First come, first serve - Keegan reports that he has fewer than 40 bottles left of his latest pressing. More won’t be available until late autumn.
If you don't live near me, Keegan might be willing to ship to you directly, and six 0.5 L tins would probably be a minimum order for one address. If interested in this option, you can contact him directly (he’s fluent in English) about cost and arrangements. Just tell him Zio Uccello (Uncle Bird) sent you: keegan_ed@yahoo.it
And remember what Karl (or was it Groucho?) Marx said: “Life is too long to eat crappy olive oil.”
Your proprietors: Keegan, Francesca, and a “Campellino” olive tree.
And finally, thoughts also here today:
