The Nyons olive
In Drôme and Vaucluse
The Black Olive of Nyons is the pride of Nyons and the Baronnies Provençales. This finely wrinkled black pearl, the Tanche, has seduced gourmets and gourmands for generations with its delicious fruity notes and its equally tasty local products: olive oil, Affinade, tapenade, …
Nyons, land of olive trees
The olive tree, the emblematic and legendary tree of the Mediterranean, has been rooted in the history of the Nyonsais and Baronnies regions for over two millennia. Its presence marks the last bastions of the land of Provence. Ever since the Romans extended olive cultivation throughout their empire, particularly during the economic boom of the 2nd century AD, the olive tree has been planted in Nyons and throughout Provence. In Nyons, the oldest evidence of olive cultivation is an oil millstone found in the excavations of a villa dating from the early 1st century.
In the north of Provence, just past Mont Ventoux, we discover the Nyonsais and Baronnies Provençales, a region of gentle mountains, deep valleys and capricious rivers. This is where the olive tree originated, precisely at Saint May, which marks the boundary between the first olive trees and the last walnut trees. Here, man has cultivated the most resistant olive variety: the Tanche, also known as the “Olive de Nyons”. Black and wrinkled, the Tanche is picked between December and January. Its adoration for the cold is such that in Corsica, in the olive conservatory where all the olive varieties are grown, it has always refused to bear fruit!
The man and the olive tree
The olive tree, a tree that has traveled and suffered, gives back to mankind a hundredfold for the care it lavishes on it. Man and this mythical tree have established a genuine emotional relationship, even a passion. The olive tree is an art of living, a school of patience, a tree that is cared for with great fervor. No Provencal can imagine his or her countryside without olive trees. It’s a fundamental part of their culture and history.
In Nyons and the Baronnies, people have always been very attached to this eternal tree that provides them with such delicious fruit and oil. The Tanche olive tree is the local pride and joy, occupying a special place in the landscape and in the hearts of the locals. Just as we would do for the locals, Tanche olive trees are regularly surveyed. These trees contribute not only to the local economy, but also to heritage, gastronomy, tourism, health and culture. They are not simply a crop, but an act of love between man and his mythical tree, which is nurtured and raised like a child.
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