What does monocultivar mean?
Monocultivar means that an olive oil has been pressed from a single olive variety. The Italian word cultivar denotes a cultivated variety, mono means one. With wine you would say single-varietal.
Most olive oils on the shelf are blends, often of several varieties and several countries. A monocultivar is the exception and says a good deal about the producer.
Why does a monocultivar taste different?
Because every olive variety brings its own profile, just as every grape variety does in wine.
A Coratina from Puglia is robust and bitter. A Taggiasca from Liguria is mild and almond-like. An Arbequina from Spain smells of apple and green banana. Same processing, entirely different result.
Blend several varieties and these particularities balance each other out. The result is rounder and less distinctive. With large brands that is intentional: the oil is meant to taste the same every year, whatever the harvest brought.
A monocultivar tastes slightly different in every vintage. That is part of it.
Is a monocultivar automatically better?
No. A badly made single-variety oil is worse than a carefully composed blend.
But a monocultivar is an indication of how someone works. Bottling single-variety means harvesting, storing and pressing the olives separately. That takes more effort and only pays off if someone cares about the result.
Then there is traceability. Where a variety is named on the label, there is usually a specific olive grove behind it. With "oils from countries of the European Union" that is ruled out.
How do you spot a monocultivar?
By the variety on the label, for example Moresca, Coratina, Picual, Koroneiki or Taggiasca.
Be careful with soft wording. "Predominantly Coratina" or "mostly single-variety" means there is something else in there as well. A genuine monocultivar names one variety without qualification.
If no variety is given, assume a blend. That need not be bad, but you do not know what you are buying. What else belongs on a good label is described in How do you recognise good olive oil?.
What is the Moresca?
The Moresca is an old Sicilian variety, widespread in the south-east of the island. It is barely known outside Sicily because it is rarely exported.
We harvest it green. In that state it brings a grassy, herbaceous smell, a noticeable bitterness and a distinct peppery pungency in the finish. Where that pungency comes from is explained in Why does good olive oil catch in your throat?. Wait until it is ripe and it turns milder and more productive, but it loses exactly those characteristics.
Our trees stand in the olive grove of Azienda agricola Bonfanti in Noto, in the Monti Iblei region in the south-east of Sicily.
Is the difference worth it day to day?
That depends on what you use the oil for.
For frying or for doughs a solid blended oil is enough. The nuances are lost there anyway.
As soon as the oil itself is tasted, though, a monocultivar changes the dish: over tomatoes with burrata, with grilled fish, over fresh pasta, on good bread. Here the oil is an ingredient, not a base.
Many households solve this with two bottles: an inexpensive one for cooking, a good one for the finish.
How we do it at HEVOlogica
hεvo is a monocultivar of Moresca. One variety, one olive grove, one harvest year, nothing bought in.
We harvest by hand and early, press cold within a few hours and bottle on site. Grown, harvested and bottled by Azienda agricola Bonfanti, with no middlemen and in a limited annual quantity.
The 2025 harvest was tested by an accredited laboratory in Sicily: 274 mg/kg of polyphenols, organically certified under IT-BIO-009.
Frequently asked questions
Is monocultivar the same as single-varietal?
Yes. Monocultivar is the Italian term, single-varietal the English equivalent.
What is a blend?
A deliberate mixture of several varieties. Done well it produces a balanced oil; often, though, it serves to secure a consistent taste across vintages.
Which variety is the best?
None. They differ in character, not in rank. Robust varieties such as Coratina or Moresca suit hearty dishes, mild ones such as Taggiasca suit fish and salad.
Does monocultivar indicate a protected origin?
No. Monocultivar says something about the variety, not about the region. The two can coincide, but they need not.