Nocellara del Belice
also called Tunna, Oliva di Castelvetrano, Nocellara di CastelvetranoThe variety sold worldwide as the Castelvetrano table olive — and the reason those olives are green rather than black is simply that the fruit stays green at full ripeness. It is one of very few olives that is a first-rank table variety and a serious oil variety at the same time.
| Also called | Tunna, Oliva di Castelvetrano, Nocellara di Castelvetrano |
|---|---|
| Main regions | Trapani and Agrigento, Sicily |
| Purpose | Dual-purpose — green table olives and oil |
| Oil yield | 18–19% of fruit weight |
| Harvest | Late ripening |
| Designations | Valle del Belìce DOP (oil, ≥70%); Nocellara del Belice DOP (table) |
| Watch out for | Self-sterile; susceptible to drought, fly, peacock spot, knot |
In the grove
Aroma and flavour descriptors
- 1Cut grass
- 2Tomato
- 3Fresh almond
- 4Artichoke
From the sensory typology assigned by Italy’s national monovarietal database: medium to high olive fruitiness with grassy notes and tomato scent, medium bitterness and pungency. A database typology, not a single panel median.
Ordered by how often each recurs in the published varietal literature, not by measured intensity. Our panel has not scored a monovarietal Nocellara del Belice oil, and no sensory panel data for it is published. 40 of the 40 varieties here read the same way.
This shelf fills when the panel scores an oil made from this variety. 19 of the 40 varieties here are in the same state today.
Nocellara del Belice against the other Italy varieties
| Variety | Origin region | Used for | Polyphenols | Shelf stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coratina | Corato, Bari, Puglia | Oil | 330–410 mg/kg | 29.5 h Rancimat at 110 °C — highest of eleven cultivars tested |
| Frantoio | Tuscany | Oil | ~230 mg/kg | Not published |
| Leccino | Tuscany | Oil | ~150 mg/kg | Low — 17.5 h Rancimat at 110 °C |
| Moraiolo | Tuscany and Umbria | Oil | ~270 mg/kg | Not published |
| Taggiasca | Taggia, Imperia, Liguria | Dual-purpose | Low (no measured range published) | Not published |
| Casaliva | Lake Garda — Trentino, Brescia, Verona | Oil | 110–200 mg/kg | Not published |
| Nocellara del Belice | Valle del Belìce, Sicily | Dual-purpose | ~330 mg/kg mean | Not published |
| Tonda Iblea | Monti Iblei, Ragusa and Siracusa, Sicily | Dual-purpose | ~285 mg/kg mean | Not published |
| Itrana | Itri, Latina, Lazio | Dual-purpose | ~381 mg/kg mean | Not published |
| Peranzana | Alto Tavoliere, Foggia, Puglia | Dual-purpose | ~396 mg/kg mean | Not published |
| Bosana | Sardinia | Oil | ~415 mg/kg mean | Not published |
Sources
Every figure on this page carries a source. Where we could not find one we say so rather than estimating. Corrections are welcome and credited.