Citizens of Soil Sicilian Extra Rare Virgin Olive Oil - 500ml Glass Bottle

Citizens of Soil Sicilian Extra Rare Virgin Olive Oil - 500ml Glass Bottle

Small-batch. Family-owned. Organically-farmed.

Produced by Francesca in Syracuse, this limited-edition bottle was designed in collaboration with artist Hal Haines.

Hal’s bold, colourful brushstrokes are inspired by the landscape of the region, where centuries-old olive trees sit among flowering lemon groves, trailing bougainvillea, and iconic prickly pears.

Drizzled over warming pasta dishes, seasonal salads, or paired simply with bread, this oil is rich enough to stand out while not overpowering the dish. The ideal accompaniment to drinks hour (we even drizzle it in cocktails) this oil brings a classically Sicilian feel to the table, and makes for a colourful centrepiece.

This oil is early harvest, made from green olives that yield oils with more intense, herbaceous, peppery, and bitter notes. Pressing olives at this early stage of maturity, and milling with precision, also creates oils with higher concentrations of antioxidants, making them more resistant to oxidation and flavour degradation than late harvest oils

While you wait for the new harvest to come in, don’t miss out on the incredible flavour and complexity this olive oil offers. In fact, time in the bottle can be preferable to some palates, especially if you like a slightly more mellow profile, with tamed bitterness.

1 glass bottle: 500ml

Harvest: October 2024.

Variety: 100% Cerasuola.

Polyphenols: 472 mg/kg.

Origin: Syracuse, Sicily, Italy.

Process: Superior category extra virgin olive oil obtained directly from mechanical (never heat or chemical) means; 0.18% acidity. The olives are milled within hours of being picked. This oil is filtered.

The Producers.

Francesca—whose last name literally means ‘olive’—is a tenacious woman who has worked tirelessly to turn her family business into one centred on quality and sustainability.

Her generational ties run deep in this fiery region of eastern Sicily, which she describes as a "land full of cultures and colour", inspiring the exceptional oil she creates.

Taste & Pair.

Tastes like...

Nose: Aromas of green bell pepper and chicory, followed by softer notes of creamy artichoke and red apple. There’s also herbal notes too, like wild spearmint.

Palate: The palate has a medium bitterness that’s short, with a chicory and nutty note. The finish is like a chile on your throat, with a lingering spice.

Pairs with...
Drizzle over warming pasta dishes, seasonal salads, pair simply with bread, or even add to a cocktail. This oil intrigues without overpowering.

About Citizens of Soil.

Michael met Maria on a boat between Santorini and Crete. Her overwhelming Cretan hospitality (which they’re famous for) struck up an instant friendship. Maria came to visit London; Michael returned many times to Greece (soon with the addition of Sarah) and the friendship and ‘extended’ family grew.

With each year and every new visit, we learned more about the culture, the people, the land.

The family are small-holder farmers, making things like wine and fruits, but we became obsessed with the quality and flavour of the oil, in particular.

We started bringing it back for our family and friends in London and the US. Every time we used it, the taste connected us back to Maria's table in Crete. Our friends would try it and re-affirm; there's something special here, y'all...

Our community begins with the farmers. For too long, they’ve been taken advantage of by the olive oil industry—squeezed out of fair profit to fit the global commodity exchange and their oil blended with others so it’s beyond recognition.

We pay our producers above market prices, and directly into their pockets. This way grove owners can focus on the quality of the oil and continue to implement regenerative farming techniques to preserve biodiversity and soil quality.

This is just one way we’re challenging the status quo of the olive oil industry.

You, dear subscriber, gifter and first-time buyer are also a part of this community. Not only does our extra virgin olive oil look beautiful displayed in your kitchen or sitting on the table, it’s also represents your respect for farmers, the environment and your own food experience.

Together, we can learn more with each harvest and enjoy delicious olive oil on more of the food we love.

Buy Citizens of Soil Sicilian Extra Rare Virgin Olive Oil - 500ml Glass Bottle at Ratton Pantry.