Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Bruce Farney: Italy’s new olive oil king

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Readers of 06880 know Bruce Farney as his occasional commentator. He is often the first to appear in any story.

It’s not because he wakes up before dawn. That’s because he and his wife Catherine Walsh live in Naples, Italy.

Bruce Farney and Catherine Walsh of Italy;

The 1970 graduate of Staples High School remembers Bruce as a classmate. (However, he says classes were held primarily in the principal’s office at Longlot Middle School and in the Staples parking lot).

Bruce remains connected to the town. He spends his summers at his parents’ home on Martha’s Vineyard and visits Westport whenever possible.

Bostonians know the blues because of Tealuxe. He and Catherine created a Starbucks-like tea house in 1996 and later expanded to Rhode Island and New York. They sold the company in 2019.

Soon, Westporters and many others would know Bruce as the king of olive oil.

Gabbiano Uno (Gabbiano1) is a “personal adventure” of the Furneys.

It all started in 2017, when the couple bought and renovated a new house in Chianti, about 20 kilometers south of Florence.

The property included an orchard with 400 mature but poorly maintained olive trees.

Surrounding them are thousands of trees and vines owned by Antinori Vineyards.

Little did Bruce and Katherine know that this small valley has an interesting microclimate and is well known for producing Tuscany’s best extra virgin olive oil.

They were determined to revive the orchard and produce the best EVOO possible.

Bruce Fernie’s Chianti property.

Bruce and Katherine had their tree properly pruned for the first year. They used only organic fertilizers and hired local workers to mow, manage and harvest the fruit.

The first harvest was in 2018. They won a silver award at the NYIOOC, “the world’s largest and most prestigious olive oil quality contest.”

Gabbiano Uno’s 2023 harvest was a “guessing game”, says Bruce. Crops withstood hail, drought, and extreme heat.

However, he says, “The 2023 G1 La Corta will be better than ever.”

Quantities are limited due to early harvest. However, they enhanced both the quality and “tangy spiciness” of the olive oil.

Surprisingly, they fared much better than many Italian producers who had no harvest at all due to last year’s highly publicized olive oil shortage.

Gabbiano Uno 2023-2024 “Olio Nuovo” is now being pressed, bottled and ready for shipment.

Furneys is sold at Bettlebung Farm on Martha’s Vineyard.

They’ll love Westport’s retail store. We will send samples upon request. (Full disclosure: I tried it. I’m not a NYIOOC judge, but it sure tasted delicious to me.)

Bruce welcomes email: bjf@gabbiano1.com. Gabbiano Click here for his Uno website. (Thanks: Sarah Gross)

(‘06880’ frequently reports on interesting achievements of Staples High School graduates of all ages. To support our efforts, click here. Thank you!)



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