Spanish Liquid Sunshine from Soler Romero

Most people don't realize that Spain, not Italy, is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Organic olive oils are becoming increasingly available and one of the largest producers of organic olive oil in Spain is the family-run Soler Romero.

Situated in the Spanish province of Jaen in the southern region of Andalucia—the largest olive and olive oil producing area in Spain—Soler Romero uses only its own olives and does not buy from other farms or cooperatives so as to maintain the strictest control over the quality of their oil. They compost and recycle all the scraps and waste from their olive groves.

In business since 1850, Soler Romero was the first olive farm in Jaen to follow organic farming practices and was also the first to receive organic certification from the USDA in 2002. They also are certified organic by the European Union, Japan, and China as well as the local organic certification area for the region of Andalucia.

The estate's more than 1500 acres produce 700,000 pounds of olive oil every year from the picual olive variety, high in antioxidants, which makes the oil stable. Every stage of the process is performed on the estate, including processing the olives within two hours of harvest making for a very low-acidity oil— 0.10 percent (to be considered extra virgin an oil must be below 0.80 acidity). Soler Romero chooses an early harvest time, between mid-October and mid-November, which they feel results in the perfect oil made with ideally ripened olives.

Soler Romero olive oil is available in Spain, and also in the United States as well as other countries—including the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan, China and Korea. If you live in Portland, Oregon (or are visiting) you can find Soler Romero oil served at Higgins Restaurant. Badger organic health balms and creams uses Soler Romero organic oil in their organic body-care products.

For more information about Spain's organic olive oils see the Green Earth Guide, Olive Oil: An Olive Oil Lover's Guide to the Organic Oils of Spain, with listings of forty organic oils and tips on having olive oil tastings. Use the Guide to help you tour through olive groves and estates, sampling Spain's liquid sunshine as you travel through Spain.

Olive oil: an olive oil lover's guide to the organic oils of spain

The new Green Earth Guide to the organic olive oils of Spain is now available on Amazon!

Olive Oil: An Olive Oil Lover’s Guide to the Organic Oils of Spain
is for any connoisseur or lover of olive oils. Passionate about olive oil, Dorian Yates, author of the award-winning Green Earth Guide series to traveling naturally and ecologically in Europe takes you on a tour of the abundant, fresh olive oils produced organically in Spain. Olive Oil includes historical and cultural information, growing and processing techniques, as well as full listings of over forty oils. Her mouth-watering guide to Spain’s organic olive oils makes you want to break out the dipping bread and start tasting.

Buy the book and start tasting the over forty delicious oils listed in the Guide. Some of them are available in the United States, others you will have to travel to Spain to enjoy.

Slow Food Spain

Last week, "alive" food. This week slow….. and not as in eating snails (even though that is the Slow Food logo) and sloths, but rather, slow as in the promotion of whole food meals prepared fresh from local and seasonal foods.

In Spain, the Slow Food Farm-to-Table project, called Km 0, certifies restaurants serving local, organic and indigenous foods that have come from farms less than 100 km (62 miles) away. Close to sixty restaurants around Spain have been recognized as Km 0. The highest concentration of Km 0 restaurants are in the Catalonia and Basque regions. The rest are scattered around the country. A couple are listed specifically in the Green Earth Guide to Spain—Kimpira in Valencia and Gaia in Sevilla.

Founded in Italy twenty-two years ago, the Slow Food movement mission is five-fold—to defend food biodiversity, safeguard the environment, advocate sustainable agriculture, protect small producers and their communities, and foster the gastronomic traditions of the world. Within that broad purpose, Slow Food has many projects including Farm to Table/Km 0 and the Ark of Taste. For restaurants in Spain to be accepted in the Km 0 program they must serve at least 5 dishes on their menu made avoiding GMO foods and with a minimum of 40% ingredients from local producers and 60% from foods that are organic or identified in the Ark of Taste project. The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity Ark of Taste project catalogs and promotes indigenous foods at risk of extinction. More than 900 foods from fifty countries have been identified so far. In Spain this includes seventy-nine foods—some olive oils, olives, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cheeses, meat, fish, grains and wines. Restaurants are reviewed annually to make sure they are maintaining compliance with the Km 0 requirements.

Thanks to Slow Food España for administrating the Km 0 project and for providing the list of Km 0 participating restaurants. To find the Spanish restaurants approved as Km 0 visit the new 2010-2011 list of restaurants, organized alphabetically by city:
http://cocineros.slowfood.es/2010/12/09/restaurantes-km-0-edicion-2010-2011/

Divine Combination - Olives and Wine from an Organic Vineyard in Cadiz

In the wild mountains of southwest Spain in the province of Cadiz and in the area of Jerez de Frontera- known for Sherry- is the organic vineyard of Viña Greduela-Sierra de Lijar. Situated on the banks of the Guadalete River, the  vineyards contain a mixture of four grape varieties - Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo - all of which are harvested by hand. Viña Greduela produces three wines: Artesanal Crianza 2007, Coupage Cosecha 2008 and the winner of the prestigious organic award, Biofach Mundus Vini GOLD Germany 2010, their Coupage Crianza 2007.

The Coupage Crianza 2007 is an exceptional dry, dark red wine with much depth and flavor and a smooth after taste - wonderful on its own or with a meal. You can enjoy it while eating bread dipped in their special olive oil as well.

The Sierra de Lijar Aceite de Oliva (Olive Oil) is strong and fresh - utterly delicious and certainly one of my favorites. The olives used -mostly Lechín and Manzanilla varieties - are native to the region and come from olive trees that are hundreds of years old- some even as old as one thousand years. The production is limited due to low yields from such old and wise trees as well as difficult harvesting because of the mountainous terrain which means no motorized vehicles but rather humans on foot accompanied by donkeys or mules.

Both the olive oil and the wines are treasures from the Sierra de Lijar - look for them when in Spain and if you want to visit the vineyard email or call in advance.

Ecologia Sierra de Lijar, Parque Tecnológico Agroalimentario • Parcela 6.12 • Jerez de la Frontera, (Cådiz) Spain; Tel:(34) 956 310 972; Email: info@ecolijar.com

Eco-Honeymooning in Spain

Couples looking for a honeymoon that includes a combination of ecological conscience, culture, beauty and romantic atmosphere can find numerous opportunities in Spain. In the southwestern part of the country there exists a magical area famous for “white villages” and deep history. 

The towns of Gaucin and Cortes de la Frontera lay about twelve miles across a valley from each other, each featuring unusual, ecological accommodations. Andalucia Yurts in Gaucin and Hoopoe Yurts in Cortes de las Frontera are rural oases, offering rustic but comfortable solar-powered lodging in hand-crafted yurts – canvas covered round wooden structures traditionally used by nomadic peoples in Mongolia and Turkey.

For a non rustic experience, honeymooners can stay at one of the Parador Hotels. Run by the Spanish government these are luxury hotels in restored palaces, castles, monasteries and other historical buildings as well as some modern structures. Paradors in this area of Spain housed in restored buildings include the Parador Arcos de la Frontera/ Hotel Casa del Corregidor, in a former palace; Parador Hotel Ronda – with views of the Tagus Gorge- in the former Town Hall; and the Parador Carmona/Hotel Alcazar del Rey Don Pedro in a renovated 14th century Arabic Fortress east of Seville.

Andalucia Yurts has two Moroccan style yurts each large enough to sleep up to five people making them spacious choices for honeymooning couples. The yurts are situated amongst orange groves in a fairly remote mountainous area near the pristine Genal River. Kit and Penny Hogg run the bed and breakfast serving homemade and local foods for breakfast. You can dine on one of the terraces or outside under a canopy. Kit and Penny pride themselves on being able to accommodate special diet needs and tend towards a mix of Andalucian and Moroccan menus for their dinner fare. There is a wood-fired sauna and various wellness therapies including massage and yoga are available. There is a swimming hole in the river on the property, as well as a eucalyptus-wood and stone lined outdoor shower. 

Hoopoe Yurts is about a twenty-minute walk from the white village of Cortes de la Frontera, and is about a half an hour drive from the famous white town of Ronda. Hoopoe has five yurts each in their own private acre of land and each furnished as a double room with different colors and woods, and Mongolian-style furniture and textiles. The yurts all have private bathrooms and the complementary olive oil soap is especially made for Hoopoe. Four nights a week Hoopoe offers dinner made with their own or locally produced products. Breakfast includes local honey and fresh fruit. They also offer pack-lunches for picnics and have a bar open until 11:00 at night. There is a pool, and yoga, massage as well as other wellness therapies are available.

The town of Gaucin, filled with tile-roofed white houses, is home to a tenth century Moorish fortress, Castillo del Aguila, which sits atop a cliff offering amazing views on clear days all the way to Africa, where you can see the “Pillars of Hercules” (The Rock of Gibraltar and Jebel Musa in Northern Africa) and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. 

Gaucin is home to a number of artists whose studios you can visit. Eco Tienda Pura Vida, sells natural and organic food, as well as having a little café serving breakfast and lunch with freshly made organic, vegetarian tapas and raw dishes available, as well as fresh fruit juices and shakes. The local Mercado (market) is open 9:30 am to 1:30 pm with some stalls selling organic vegetables and free-range eggs. Calle Convento has a few excellent food stores besides Pura Vida including Carniceria Candida, where you can find local meats and the Boníssim Delicatessen selling local and international gourmet products with fresh daily baked artisan breads and pastries, and roast chickens from free-range birds.

Cortes de la Frontera sits in between two natural parks surrounded by cork trees (alcornocales) and is a larger town than Gaucin. With its proximity to the natural parks it makes an ideal area for walking. The Llanos de Líbar is a walking route on the edge of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. It is almost twelve miles long if walked in its entirety, across the flood plain (llano) of the Guadiaro River. Birdwatching is another favorite activity in this area as numerous species can be found in the region. 

The famous white town of Ronda sits amidst the mountainous area called the Serrania de Ronda and is perched three hundred feet above the El Tajo gorge. Ronda offers incredible views and is full of cobble-stoned streets and monuments like the Palacio Mondragón, a 12th century Moorish Palace. 

History loving honeymooners will be impressed with the cave-viewing possibilities in this part of Spain. The Cueva de la Pileta in Benaojan, west of Ronda, in the Sierra of Grazalema Natural Park, has ancient ochre and charcoal cave paintings as well as natural cave formations that take an hour to tour with your guide, usually one of the descendants of the farmer who discovered the cave. Protected by the government, the cave is still owned by the local farming family who owns the land. Unfortunately cameras are not allowed. The Cueva de Ardales in Ardales, about fifty-five miles from Gaucin, contains Paleolithic and later cave drawings which can be viewed during the almost one mile walk through the cave. The Cueva del Gato, near Benaojan, is a rock pool where icy water pours from an underground river providing refreshing relief from the summer heat. 

With plenty to see, delicious local foods, old world charm, and romantic, eco-minded lodgings it is easy to enjoy a wonderful honeymoon with an environmental conscience. 

The Details:

Andalucia Yurts, La Huerta, Gaucin, Andalucia; Tel: (34) 952 117 486 (Evenings & Weekends) or Cell: (34) 686 888 409; Email: hoggs@vsatmail.com; Web: www.andaluciayurts.com. 35 euros a night per person for accommodation and breakfast. Additional 20 euros for dinner.

The Hoopoe Yurt Hotel, Ed & Henrietta Hunt, Apartado de Correos 23, Cortes de la Frontera, 29380 (Málaga), Spain; Tel: (34) 696 668 388; Cell: (34) 660 668 241; Web: http://yurthotel.com; open May 1st to October 16th. Price: 136 euros/night/double – no kids nor pets – Stays start Wednesdays or Saturdays. 

If you want to travel by public transport and not rent a car you can fly into Malaga and then take a bus to Gaucin or Cortes de la Frontera and have either hotel pick you up (arrange in advance). Or you can fly to the Gibraltar airport. Walk out of the airport and across the border (about a tenth of a mile), then take a taxi to San Roque (10 to 15 minutes) and then take the train to Cortes de la Frontera (50 minutes) where either hotel could pick you up (again arrange in advance). 

Parador Hotels, Prices for the Paradors run between 160 to 275 euros per room per night depending upon the season and room type. Web: www.paradores-spain.com 

Gaucin: Castillo de Aguila is open every day from: 10:00 am to 2:00pm/ 4:30 to 7:30 pm.

Eco Tienda Pura Vida, calle Convento 166, Gaucin; Tel: 952 151 369; Web: www.ecotiendapuravida.es/indexeng.html; open Monday from 10:00 am to 3:00pm, Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00pm/5:00 to 8:00pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 3:00pm. Café is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00pm.

Boníssim Delicatessen, calle Convento 54; Tel: 951 16 89 41; Open Thursdays through Sundays from 10:00 am to 2:30pm/5:30 to 9:30 pm. June through September the store is also open on Mondays. 

Cueva de la Pileta - Open every day from 10:00 am to 1:00pm/4:00 to 6:00pm (or 5:00 pm in the winter); Web:  http://www.cuevadelapileta.org

Cueva de Ardales, Web: http://www.cuevadeardales.com/indicees.htm