Venterra: Wind, Earth and a Family Dream in Puglia
Puglia had always remained our last unexplored cradle of Italian olive oils.
So when we travelled there in the summer of 2025, we knew we could not leave without visiting one of the region’s most representative producers — an estate that had just been awarded Best Italian Organic Olive Oil of the Year (2025) by Gambero Rosso for their Picholine Cru.
I remember how we were sitting on a beach in Polignano a Mare, turning the pages of “Oli d’Italia 2025”, when we came across the name: Venterra
It was only twenty minutes away from us. By the afternoon, I was already in contact with Elise, who — despite being on holiday — felt our genuine interest and arranged a visit the very next day with Chiara.
First Visit in the Summer of 2025
When looking for the way, there are no billboards announcing Venterra, other than small signs guiding you from the main road to the estate.
The road is dusty and rocky. Secular olive trees line the entrance, their thick trunks sculpted by time. The red soil — the famous terra rossa rich in iron oxides — contrasts with the shimmering green leaves reflecting the sunlight.
A gentle wind changing directions constantly awaits us while we get out of the car. Looking at that red soil, and being constantly cooled by the wind, the name makes instantly sense:
Vento e Terra. Wind and Earth: Venterra
Meeting Chiara
To meet Chiara, we descend into the underground production area — naturally cool even in peak summer heat. The reception and milling facilities are located there, preserving optimal conditions for quality.
Though it was mid-summer and quiet, Chiara’s passion filled the space: We spoke about values, about authenticity, about long-term thinking. About olive oil not as a commodity, but as an expression of land and care.
Chiara starts placing the tasting glasses, just the way I like it, just the way it should be: small cups placed in order of intensity, for us to see, feel and taste. But just before we began, Spiro entered.
A Tour with Spiro — The Mastermind Behind the Olive Oils
For more than twenty years, Spiro has been the curator, guardian, and creative force behind Venterra’s olive oils. Instead of tasting first, he proposes to make a tour of the estate, which we happily and enthusiastically accept.
We drove slowly across the estate’s rolling hills. From above, the trees formed a living green carpet moving with the wind. Healthy, vibrant, almost painted.
Spiro isn't a man of many words. We cross by fields of olive trees, while he shows us and speaks of the varieties: Picholine, Peranzana, Coratina.
He speaks of how every year is different, how this gives him sense and purpose, of harvest timing and gentle processing, of observing trees, earth, nature as one observes people.
We stopped often, less for photos and more to breathe. To touch leaves, to feel the warm red earth in our hands, to watch over the beautiful green valley at our feet, to embrace and become one with the trees that have stood there for generations.
The Tasting
Back in the cool basement, we can finally taste: the balanced oils first, the fruitier right after, ending with the more expressive ones.
Philip my son - who joins us as often as possible, and who has an incredible, unspoiled taste - and I both leaned towards the stronger personalities — Coratina and Peranzana.
But it was the Picholine that captured us: elegant and structured, with the lightest yet noticeable bitterness, and with late coming pungency to make it purely memorable.
We now understand the award!
Second Visit — November Harvest
When I returned alone in November, the atmosphere had changed.
Crates of freshly harvested Arbequina were arriving for immediate milling. The winds of Venterra carried the scent of fresh olives, and I could have stayed there for hours...
Those vivid colours, those fresh olive that minutes ago were waiting to be picked gave me a feeling of being alive!
Going in, Spiro stood overseeing everything — tasting, smelling, touching, with the posture of a creator driven by precision, instinct, experience, and more than anything: passion. He welcomes me warmly and offers me to taste the olive oil just being pressed: green, pure, unfiltered - and I literally love it! I have always, always dreamt of this moment.
He asks for my opinion, which I gladly share, and I can see satisfaction in his eyes.
That day I also met Rocco Ferrara — engineer, father, co-founder. We sit together for a minute or two, which turns into a half an hour of stories, values, principles and learnings of life.
He told me how his family — none of them originally farmers — invested their savings to revive abandoned land in Grottaglie, to give back Puglia the fame and dignity of its territory, by following the dream of giving Puglia's native olive varieties their purest expression.
It is rare to encounter that level of long-term commitment, yet it is something that we witness in all our relationships with our other producers.
I could not leave without taking some boxes with me.
Some olive oils deserve to be discovered, and some stories need to be told.
Venterra is a story, Venterra is exceptional olive oil.
Venterra is both!