Chianti Classico PDO Celebrates New Harvest with ‘Novo’ Event in Florence

Summary

The event ​“Novo” show­cased new extra vir­gin olive oils from the lat­est har­vest by the Olio DOP Chianti Classico Consortium in Florence, Italy. The four-course din­ner cre­ated by chef Andrea Perini fea­tured dishes paired with Chianti Classico PDO extra vir­gin olive oils, high­light­ing the diverse aro­mas and fla­vors of the oils.

“Novo,” the Tuscan word for new, is the name of an event cre­ated by the Olio DOP Chianti Classico (Chianti Classico PDO Oil) Consortium to present extra vir­gin olive oils from the lat­est har­vest.

The inau­gural edi­tion was held on December 19 in the evoca­tive set­ting of Florence’s Niccolini Theater, the city’s old­est the­ater and one of the first mod­ern the­aters in Europe. For the occa­sion, its his­toric stalls were opened to host guests along­side pro­duc­ers, indus­try pro­fes­sion­als, and mem­bers of the press.

The event also marked two impor­tant mile­stones: the 50^th anniver­sary of the Consortium and 25 years since it received Protected Designation of Origin cer­ti­fi­ca­tion.

The Consortium sup­ports pro­duc­ers in their ongo­ing com­mit­ment to qual­ity, extend­ing its mis­sion beyond pro­duc­tion to include sci­en­tific ini­tia­tives and pro­fes­sional train­ing pro­grams.

An expres­sion of a ter­ri­tory span­ning nine munic­i­pal­i­ties in the provinces of Siena and Florence, in Tuscany, Olio DOP Chianti Classico is pro­duced by the Consortium’s 181 mem­bers. The oil is char­ac­ter­ized by aro­mas of green olive, raw arti­choke, fresh grass, and almond, fol­lowed by a lin­ger­ing spici­ness.

Presented by Consortium President Gionni Pruneti and Chianti Classico Wine Consortium Director Carlotta Gori, the evening fea­tured a four-course din­ner by chef Andrea Perini.

Each dish was paired with a Chianti Classico PDO extra vir­gin olive oil, with guests encour­aged to sam­ple addi­tional oils from a selec­tion arranged by inten­sity and sen­sory pro­file.

The menu was accom­pa­nied by a selec­tion of Chianti Classico DOCG wines, with Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC rec­om­mended for dessert.

During the event, Perini was named the first Ambassador of Chianti Classico PDO Oil, in recog­ni­tion of his long-stand­ing exper­tise and ded­i­ca­tion to pro­mot­ing the con­scious use of olive oil in the kitchen.

In clos­ing, Pruneti and Gori paid trib­ute to the pro­duc­ers who, together with the Consortium’s first pro­moter, Lapo Mazzei, founded the orga­ni­za­tion. Their pio­neer­ing vision con­tin­ues to guide the denom­i­na­tion more than 50 years later.

“As we cel­e­brate half a cen­tury since its found­ing, the num­ber of Consortium mem­bers has con­tin­ued to grow,” Pruneti told Olive Oil Times. ​“Our goal remains to pro­tect an oil from a region uniquely suited to olive cul­ti­va­tion and of excep­tional beauty, while sup­port­ing grow­ers com­pet­ing on the global mar­ket under the shared sym­bol of the Black Rooster.”

After the event, Perini shared a detailed account of how he con­ceived and pre­pared the din­ner.

First course – Beef sashimi

Top sir­loin was cured for ten hours in a salt-and-sugar mix­ture with aro­matic herbs, includ­ing mar­jo­ram, fen­nel, and dill. Finely hand-sliced, the beef was served as three indi­vid­ual bites, each fin­ished with a dif­fer­ent olive oil.

“I used three blends of sim­i­lar char­ac­ter but dif­fer­ent inten­sity,” Perini explained. ​“I added bal­samic vine­gar to the medium-inten­sity oil and gin­ger and soy to the most intense one, so each bite expressed a dis­tinct aro­matic pro­file.”

The dish was accom­pa­nied by salsa verde may­on­naise and gia­r­diniera, refresh­ing the palate between tast­ings. Guests were invited to fur­ther exper­i­ment by adding oils of vary­ing inten­sity.

Second course – Celeriac faux risotto

Diced cele­riac was toasted like a tra­di­tional risotto, then reduced in broth made from its trim­mings, and finally stirred with ​“bur­ro­lio” and over­cooked rice paste to achieve a creamy tex­ture.

Served with a cele­riac stock infused with gin­ger, lemon ver­bena, and thyme, the dish was fin­ished with Galaverna fon­due, dried pollen, and a medium-inten­sity extra vir­gin olive oil. Its prepa­ra­tion high­lighted an anti-waste approach by using the vegetable’s scraps.

Third course – Fallow deer sir­loin

The veni­son was pan-seared with spices, baked, sliced, and glazed with a reduc­tion made from its bones. It was served along­side bor­lotti bean purée and baby spinach sautéed in extra vir­gin olive oil.

“A del­i­cate oil in the purée helped cre­ate a vel­vety mouth­feel,” Perini noted. Guests were encour­aged to add medium-inten­sity oils with almond and pine nut notes.

Dessert – White choco­late cre­moso

The dessert com­bined white choco­late cre­moso made with water, elder­berry syrup, and extra vir­gin olive oil, topped with semi-can­died and fresh bell pep­pers, straw­ber­ries, and goat’s yogurt foam.

“An intense, green, and spicy oil brought fresh­ness to the dish, enhanc­ing the veg­e­tal notes of the fruit,” Perini said, invit­ing guests to fin­ish with oils fea­tur­ing intense fruiti­ness and herbal aro­mas.