A life of care & attention for the land and a drive for sustainable "goodness"
Danilo Manco has been making his own award-winning blends of olive oils since 2001, and for as long as he can remember with his family before then. At Makers and Merchants we love his sense of provenance, his care and attention for the land and traditional manufacturing process, as well as his divine olive oil blends, infusions and balsamics.
Originally from Puglia in southern Italy, Danilo’s life is intimately connected to the seasonal rhythm of olive growing. He inherited his skills from his father and grandfather but he traces his passion to a life changing epiphany as a young boy harvesting olives with his grandfather. Frustrated by his own slow olive picking,
he picked up a wooden stick and started to thrash at the olive branches. His grandfather stopped his attack and asked him how he would feel if the stick was used in the same way on him. And in that seminal moment a life lesson in good husbandry was learned, and a drive for sustainable “goodness” born.
He believes that what tastes good should also ‘be good’, so all his products are carefully hand picked at just the right stage of ripeness, traditionally stone cold-pressed at the local mill, and kept free of colourants, additives and anything else that interferes with the authentic natural flavours derived from the Italian countryside.
Puglia stretches down the heel of the boot making it a land somewhat apart from the rest of Italy, but nothing could be further than the truth. Steeped in ancient history and surrounded by the sun drenched Adriatic, it is an important agricultural region sprinkled with small artisan producers creating some of the finest olive oils in the world. We are very proud to be working with these amazing producers.
For more info about Danilo
