P.S. VIRGIN OIL CRES 2018

Cres Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cres extra virgin olive oil is the oil made directly from the olive fruit from trees autochthonous to the Island of Cres – “slivnjač” and “plominka”. The characteristics of this oil are mild or medium spiciness and bitterness, and sometimes the scent of grass. The Island of Cres has a long and well-known tradition of olive growing and olive oil production. It is unknown exactly when the olive tree made it to Cres, but one thing is for sure: once the Croatians arrived, they continued to grow olive trees. The old Liburnians, together with the Romans, produced the renowned olive oil. According to Marcus Fabius Apicius from the 1st century AD, that oil was a quality benchmark for other oils and it carried a unique name: Oleum Liburnicum. Throughout the middle and modern ages, olive farming on Cres intensified. In 1496 a monk named Antun Petris Marcello revived the neglected olive tree groves on Cres by grafting cultural sorts onto the wild olive trees. The City of Cres paid its fees to Venice exclusively in olive oil. In 1771 Alberto Fortis, a travel writer, listed data regarding the production of 230 tons of oil on Cres with a large portion of it being exported. The same author praised the olive farmers of Cres for their skill of olive tree pruning and stated that they had perfected the skill that was completely unknown on the Italian Peninsula. Throughout the 19th century until today, the City of Cres had around 300 thousand olive trees with very large variations in terms of yield. Following World War II, the olive tree groves were suddenly abandoned. The locals began to revitalise them in the 1980s and have continued until today when the Cres extra virgin olive oil became protected by the Designation of Origin. That mark guarantees that this oil is produced, processed and bottle-filled on the Island of Cres. It is a reflection of its centuries’ old olive tree groves 90 percent dominated by the “slivnjača” and “plominka” sorts, individually or combined. The modern oil mill in the City of Cres guarantees oil quality that is a direct reflection of the physiological condition of the fruit. The quality of the Cres extra virgin olive oil is contained in the two millennia of olive oil production, specific pedological-climate conditions of the Island of Cres, genetic characteristics of the “slivnjača” and “plominka” sorts, and the olive picking and processing skills by the local residents. The name “Cres extra virgin olive oil” was registered at the level of the European Union on July 15th, 2015 under the Protected Designation of Origin protecting it from any type of misuse in the entire European Union. Only the oil produced in accordance with the Product Specification for the Protected Designation of Origin can be sold under the name of “Cres extra virgin olive oil”. Only producers who have a valid Certificate of Product Compliance with Product Specifications issued by a competent control body may use the name. Professor Đani Benčić, PhD Protected Designation of Origin, Protected Geographical Indication or Traditional Specialty Guaranteed are the marks of products whose names, as such, are protected in the entire European Union, and that are produced in accordance with the prescribed Product Specifications. With the protection of the name, the producers protect the reputation of their products from misuse. Once the product name is protected, it can be used only by those producers who have the proper Certificate of Product Compliance with Product Specifications. Penalties have been prescribed for each type of misuse. PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN is the mark of a product that is entirely produced within a specific geographical area utilizing acknowledged skills and using raw materials and ingredients from that area. The quality of such a product is directly tied to the natural and human factors of the geographical area of production. PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL DESIGNATION is the mark used for products that are, with their quality and reputation, tied to a specific geographical area where at least one, that is, crucial production phase, takes place.