ORGANIC EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FROM CENTENNIAL OLIVE TREES

• Exhibitor: LUQUE ECOLOGICO
• Brand name: LUQUE - PALAEO
• Sector: ACEITE DE OLIVA VIRGEN EXTRA
• Organic Exhibition Area

While we were thrilled to become organic olive growers in late 80's, now we essentially want to show the greatest value that have been passed by our ancestor: the heritage of our centennial olive trees. Concerned about preserving them, we have started the production of a small batch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from centennial olive groves with many trees over 300 years old in Castro del Rio (Cordoba, Andalucia), formerly inside Baetica ‘olive capital of the Roman Empire'. A curious fact is that we cannot truly identify all the olive tree varieties found because it is genetic material that is many many years old. Whether it is our ancestors, the history in the air, our environmental approach or this mixture of unknown varieties give a mysterious and attractive touch of 'history in a bottle'  that will be appreciated by consumers.

LUQUE ECOLOGICO S.L. is an oil mill where high quality extra virgin olive oil is obtained from Organic that began its activity in 1999. It is located in Castro del Río (CORDOBA), in the heart of Andalusia, one of the towns that make up the Caliphate Route between Córdoba and Granada.

After generations of olive and milling tradition (7th as olive growers and 5th as millers) our family has reached the organic cultivation of the olive grove as the maximum expression of the concept of food quality and respect for the environment, developing and controlling the complete process from the organic production of the olive grove until extraction in our oil mill and packaging.Our entry into the organic sector as olive growers back in the 80's was not the result of a fashion or snobbery but of the conviction of our founder, José Antonio Luque Serrano, father of the current owners of the company (Juan Manuel and Belén) in changing the way of producing olives and oil.

At LUQUE ECOLOGICO S. L. we are convinced that sustainability is a key aspect of our business strategy and, therefore, we consider it vital to evaluate the impact on the environment of our products and activities from the perspective of the value chain. Already in 2008 in our company we decided that the ecological origin of our product was not enough to be acting responsibly, so we decided to develop a Carbon Footprint calculation protocol: “CO2 Verified ”

In 2015 we decided to take another step in this direction, adopting the “Environmental Product Declaration” (EPD), as it is a much more ambitious certification in terms of the environmental parameters that are taken into account when assessing the activity of the company, from the agronomic management of the olive grove with Organic Agriculture practices to the putting into circulation of the product.Our product has received numerous prestigious national and international awards since 2006 and is currently successfully positioned in more than 20 countries.