Farm

Near Castel del Monte, on the slopes of the Murge tableland, lies Giancarlo Ceci’s farm which extends around the historical family estate, handed down from father to son for over two hundred years. In 1988 Giancarlo Ceci, mindful of the agronomic tradition of his ancestors, converted the entire production activity to the organic and later, biodynamic cultivation method, under the “Agrinatura” brand. The ultimate aim is to respect and represent nature in such a way as to guarantee the highest quality of agricultural products. Respect for the environment together with the constant search for balance characterize each phase of work, from cultivation of the land to the final consumer’s enjoyment of the product. The company has several farm productions: wine, extra virgin olive oil, tomato sauces, preserves and fresh vegetables. The farm also boasts a Podolic cows farming, free to graze in the oak woods surrounding the ancient estate, as well as a solar energy plant.

EXTRA VIRGIN

OLIVE OIL

The Giancarlo Ceci farm produces an extra virgin olive oil of absolute quality. The Ceci family has a tradition of more than three centuries of olive oil production, to which Giancarlo has combined the principles of organic farming since 1988, and biodynamic farming since 2011. Underlying the quality of the extra virgin olive oil is careful care of the land, the olive trees and their fruit. The oil mill is located in the heart of the farm around which all the cultivation fields, including the olive groves, extend.

Harvesting, which starts around the end of October and can continue until December and January, is done manually with the aid of non-invasive vibrators, which do not affect the health of the plant. The production also observes a whole series of specific techniques aimed at preventing the onset of oxidative processes. Giancarlo Ceci Extra Virgin Olive Oil is cold extracted, using continuous mechanical processes. This type of processing allows all the organoleptic and antioxidant properties to be preserved. The olive oil is mainly extracted from the Coratina variety (authentic expression of the Apulian olive oil tradition) and constitutes about 80% of the company’s entire oil production. The extra virgin olive oil is characterised by its fruity and spicy flavour and by its marked antioxidant characteristics, thanks to a high polyphenol content. Other significant varieties are Frantoio, Leccino and Ogliarola.

TOMATO SAUCES

The land is particularly suited to the cultivation of tomatoes, which cover about 30 hectares of land each year.
The tomatoes are grown and processed into sauces on the farm itself.
The Sauce Factory is only a few hundred meters away from the fields, a factor of prime importance as it allows the company to work on fresh tomatoes.
Of paramount importance is that the tomato is of optimum quality at the time of harvest, in perfect balance between acidity and sugars, having therefore reached the right degree of ripeness.
The tomato campaign begins in July and can extend to October, which allows the focus to be on the quality of the product without running into time problems.
Tomatoes are brought to processing immediately after being carefully selected during the harvest. They are checked, washed, processed and packaged, reproducing in farm size the simple and genuine home processes of preservation.
The product is then processed at low temperatures using the right technology and state-of-the-art machinery, without any additives nor citric acid. Only the natural acidity of the tomato itself is exploited. The result is a wide range of top-quality products, including various sauces from fresh tomatoes. The numerous items all have organic-vegan and Demeter certification.

PRESERVES

The farm is dedicated to the production of several preserves, authentic and genuine gastronomic specialities: from pestos to pickles to fruit jams. The fresh and natural ingredients grown on the farm arrive in the laboratory where they are carefully processed and transformed according to traditional Apulian recipes, indices par excellence of simplicity and authenticity. The various items are certified organic-vegan and demeter.

FRESH VEGETABLES

The soils are extraordinarily suited to the cultivation of fresh winter vegetables. Broccoli, celery, fennel, cauliflower and chard are among the main crops. A careful and scrupulous crop rotation is practised on the fields, so that the soil regenerates its nutritional properties. Each crop is in fact interspersed with improvement crops, leguminous plants. Other interval crops are tomatoes (which are processed into sauces) and wheat.

PODOLIC

COWS FARMING

Podolic cows are an indigenous breed of cattle from southern Italy. The farm has cattle of 30 Podolic cows, which graze freely in the oak forests surrounding the old family estate.

SOLAR

ENERGY PLANT

Giancarlo Ceci farm has a solar energy system since 2010. The solar panels are placed on the roofs of the farm facilities as well as on a dedicated plot of land with a total area of 23,000 square meters and an annual production of 2 million kW. The farm produces more than twice as much energy as it consumes during an entire production cycle.

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