Nowhere else in the world do so many olive trees grow or is so much olive oil produced as in Andalusia. Olive groves are an intrinsic part of the Andalusian landscape. Andalusia and olive oil might be said to be inseparable. The region today produces 83 per cent of all the virgin olive oil produced in Spain and around a third of that produced in the whole world.

The organoleptic properties and health-related benefits of extra virgin olive oil make it an essential component of the Mediterranean Diet. Autochthonous Andalusian types of olive include the Picual, Hojiblanca, Picuda, Lechín, Verdial de Cádiz, Verdial de Huévar, Lucio and Nevadillo de Granada varieties, and there are others types which, without having originated in the region, have found an environment here perfect for the production of top quality olive oil.

The richness and variety of Andalusia’s oils is reflected in the recognition of thirteen D.O.P.s (Denominaciones de Origen Protegidas – Protected Denominations of Origin), each one of which certifies the authenticity of a different type of oil. By province, the D.O.P.s are the following: Cadiz (DOP ‘Sierra de Cádiz’), Cordoba (DOP ‘Baena’, DOP ‘Montoro-Adamuz’ and DOP ‘Priego de Córdoba’), Granada (DOP ‘Poniente de Granada’ and DOP ‘Montes de Granada’), Jaen (DOP ‘Campiñas de Jaén’, DOP ‘Jaén Sierra Sur’, DOP ‘Sierra de Cazorla’, DOP ‘Sierra Mágina’ and DOP ‘Sierra de Segura’), Malaga (DOP ‘Antequera’) and Seville (DOP ‘Estepa’).