Although Granada city certainly deserves to be famous for its UNESCO listed Alhambra, and in fact for lots of other reasons, many tourists miss out on visiting some of the most gorgeous spots that can be found in the province of Granada. Not only can you find beautiful nature, but the province of Granada is full of fabulous authentic villages and towns.
One wonderful example of this is the historic town of Algarinejo, where not only can you enjoy the real Spain, but now visitors can truly experience an idyllic olive oil route.
I was lucky enough to meet Antonio Tajuelo on Twitter, who kindly agreed to write about the local olive oil cooperative and route that he is intensely proud of and passionate about. Along with his close friend, Callum Henderson, he is excited to share their absolutely delicious olive oil and related products with people in different countries, as well as introducing you to their area in Western Granada. Over to you, Antonio!
Paella made with the Orodeal award-winning extra virgin olive oil
Award-winning extra virgin olive oil from Algarinejo
In Algarinejo, you’ll find a cooperative of more than 600 farmers, who passionately produce award-winning extra virgin olive oil. We have a prime location on the slopes of the western mountains in the province of Granada.The high rainfall, large temperature variations, high lime content of the soil and altitude (in excess of 600m above sea level) are ideal for growing great tasting olives.
More than 70% of our olive groves are on slopes greater than 30%, and we produce our blend with our native variety of picudo and hojiblanca olives.
We have won a number of national and international awards due to the high quality of our oil and stunning packaging. Also we are developing products related to our olive oil. Buying this great tasting unfiltered Orodeal supports the farmers, their families and the entire village of Algarinejo.
La Hoyabuela Country House
Located in Algarinejo, Granada, another stop on the route is a unique Country House located in the heart of Andalucia, on an olive plantation that dates back to the late 19th century, which maintains its original mill and oil cellar, ideal for holding small events.
Rebuilt on the ruins of an ancient Arabian fortress, it is surrounded entirely by olive groves, a stream and an Arabian garden in which water is the central theme running through its many fountains and channels.
The plantation is located in Algarinejo, in Western Granada near the Natural Park of the Subbética, 15 minutes from the Iznajar reservoir (the largest water reservoir of Andalusia).
It is surrounded by great towns of important historical and artistic heritage like Montefrío. This is the area of the international award-winning olive oil of protected Designation of Origin “Poniente de Granada”.
The olive oil cellar is the perfect place for oil tastings or intimate cocktail parties.
Innovative Chef José Caracuel Gomez at Restaurante Casa Piolas
To savour the locally produced, Orodeal, there’s no better place than the town’s highly acclaimed restaurant, Restaurante Casa Piolas. There the award-winning Chef José Caracuel creates a range of innovative dishes that are both inspired and related to the area’s extra virgin olive oil.
This restaurant was established in 1936 and has been passed down from generation to generation.
The foodie offerings blend together exquisite local Andalusian fine dining, with creativity and of course leave you with lots of ideas as to how you can use extra virgin olive oil in the kitchen.
Choose from Slow Food Menus, a la carte and enjoy delicacies such as olive oil pearls with different flavours or Oreo biscuits made with olive oil tapenade. These are just some of the delights you can taste in this corner of Algarinejo, which is unsurprisingly very positively reviewed both in the press and on the normal review sites.
Website: http://www.restaurantepiolas.com/
Chef José Caracuel Gomez is also available to do demonstrations.
Learn how to make artisan bread with olive oil
Learn how to make artisan bread with olive oil, with Carlos the local baker. Carlos can show you how to make bread with sourdough and extra virgin olive oil, craft bread from innovative flours with the local olive oil as well as understanding their health benefits.
Olive oil museum
Nearby Algarinejo, in the town of Montefrio we have the facilities of our PDO Poniente de Granada, where you can see how we produce olive oil and a space to make presentations. This is a great space to learn more about the steps of production of our extra virgin olive oil.
Casa María Rural House
Rural houses are an important aspect of tourism in Spain. María’s rural house in the town of Algarinejo is over 200 hundred years old. This gorgeous building has been lovingly restored, keeping its characteristic features such as its stone walls and wooden beams. It is a wonderful place to see the views of our olive groves and a perfect place to rest.
Casa María has 10 double rooms, all of them with their own unique style, situated in the middle of the town of Algarinejo. As well as being a great base to explore this idyllic olive oil route, it also has plenty of interesting walking routes to discover nearby.
Website: https://www.lacasademariadealgarinejo.com/
DOWNLOAD THIS ROUTE AS A PDF – CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW
Rafael Almirón, Co-op President and Antonio Tajuelo, Co-op Export Manager
Aceites Algarinejo SCA- ORODEALt
To order or discover more about Orodeal extra virgin olive oil, or this route contact:
Antonio Tajuelo
Export Manager Aceites Algarinejo SCA- ORODEAL
+34.628.42.56.08
export@orodeal.es
Website: http://1916gourmet.com
Ctra. Loja Priego km 36. Algarinejo (Granada)
How To Get There
Algarinejo
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By bus: regular lines from Granada and Loja
By train: nearest station is Loja (30 km)
By AVE (high speed train): Antequera 50 km
By plane: Granada (70 km.) and Málaga (90 km)
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Hello ,
We are coming to Grenada Spain and wanted to see the olive gardens . We wanted to visit the olive mill and this village so please let us know the detail
Hi,
The article was written before COVID. So I have emailed one of my contacts in that area to see if they have up to date information.
Thanks,
Jackie