This extra virgin olive oil is rich and buttery with a light Ligurian flavor which has made extra virgin olive oils from this region so very prized. This Gold Labeled Ranieri is unfiltered extra virgin olive oil which gives it greater depth and body. The olives are collected by pickers, either with large wicker baskets, or by spreading large nets around the base of each tree and shaking it. As soon as they are harvested, the olives are taken to the frantoio - or mill - where the oil must be extracted within a week. The best oil is produced from olives processed one or two days after picking. The olives are then cleaned in cold water and then crushed. The kneaded pulp is layered on fibrous mats and pressed between huge stones or metal plates. The whole process takes place without using any heat or chemicals!