In 2003 speaking no Spanish at all we headed off to Andalucia with our three children and the intention of building a house, learning the language and immersing ourselves in local Spanish life.
It was a huge challenge but well worth it. Having begun to get to grips with the language we bought 30 acres of land with a large cow barn and, incredibly luckily, very quickly got planning permission to build a beautiful home.
With a number of olive trees on our land we started to pick the crop each year and take them to the local ‘cooperativa del pueblo’ to be pressed along with the olive harvest from Miguel, Paco, Ana and all the other locals (some of whom still bring the ripe fruit from their fincas to the village by mule!). At the cooperativa Rafael and his team press the olives to create a delicious extra virgin olive oil which is shared amongst the locals and now enjoyed by others further afield.
In 2016, after twelve years of great fun for ourselves and so many others, we decided to sell the house. Happily our link with Casarabonela carries on through Fino which sells the delicious olive oil produced in the village where we had such happy times.
Whether you’re trying Fino for the first time, or are one of our many loyal customers, I hope Fino brings a sense of Andalucian adventure to your kitchen table.