Orchards of Almazara La Alquería

Where: Region of Muro de Alcoy, Province of Alicante, Spain

Hectares: 150

Trees: ~30,000

Primary cultivars: Alfafarenca, Blanqueta, Picual

Single or multiple orchard locations: Multiple

In the Province of Alicante, Spain, in the region of Muro de Alcoy, the olive orchards of Almazara La Alquería exists. Almazara La Alquería both harvests and processes olive oil. The company used to be part of a co-op but started their own mill in 2010.

The organization was started in the 1950s by Juan Martínez, when he originally purchased an olive grove the size of two hectares. Juan is survived by his wife, Gloria Alfaro, 87 (as of January 16, 2022), and the business is operated by family members that include Juan’s son Juan Martínez and son-in-law Tony Cano; and grandsons Carlos Cano Martínez, Gabriel Cano Martínez, Mari Belda, and Rafa Belda.

Today Almazara La Alquería manages (owns and leases) 150 hectares totalling approximately 30,000 olive trees.

The olive groves are dispersed in a variety of places in the Muro de Alcoy region including on the Sierra de Mariola (Mariola Mountain).

Almazara La Alquería predominantly harvests the cultivars Picual, and two varieties indigenous to the region: Alfafarenca and Blanqueta. The company harvests by organic methods and practices an Early Harvest.

As a result of harvesting, the company annually produces three flagship Extra Virgin Olive Oil brands: Picual, Alfafarenca, and Blanqueta. It has been observed that at least the foregoing blends from the 2021 harvest have been certified by the DOP Aceite de la Comunitat Valenciana (PDO Oil of the Community of Valenciana). In addition to an adopt-a-tree program—which includes international customers from places such as France and Germany—they further make their olive mill available to customers for private orders.