My name is Miguel Ángel García, farmer, and welcome to Rontonar Aceites! My world revolves around Benifallim, a small village in the interior of the province of Alicante. It nestles on the skirts of the Sierra del Rontonar and has all the charm of a long history in every terrace field.
I lavish all my love and attention on my family's olives trees, which have passed from generation to generation, and also recover abandoned plots. I fight for an agriculture based on respect for the earth, by applying the wisdom inherited from my ancestors and cultivating local varieties.
The olive trees grow on small terraced plots in mountainous terrain, at a height of between 680 and 900 metres. The terraces are cultivated without using synthetic chemical products. I worry about the environment and what future generations shall inherit, and that's why I feel that what I apply to my daily work is very important.
The olives are harvested in late October, the ideal moment for conserving their properties, and are then cold pressed.
I make an extra virgin olive oil with three varieties:
- Blanqueta: This olive comes from Muro de Alcoy, in the Comtat region of Alicante. It is also called Blanca or Blancaleta, which is a reference to the whitish colour of the fruit during early winter. It produces a green-gold oil, smooth with a slight, agreeable bitter and piquant aftertaste.
- Alfafarenca: From Alfafara, in the region of Comtat, Alicante. A more intense golden oil with a delicate aroma and flavour. Intensely piquant.
- Mançanella: From Lorcha, and the one most widely used in the Region of Valencia. A golden coloured oil, bitter, spicy and very balanced. Extremely aromatic.
I promote olive oil tourism in the mountains of Alicante to transmit knowledge about the farming and oils of the local varieties of the province.