For a few weeks each autumn, Tuscan oil tastes nothing like the bottle you buy the rest of the year. Olio nuovo is pressed within hours of the harvest and sold unfiltered: cloudy, bright green, grassy and bitter, with a peppery catch at the back of the throat that Tuscans call pizzicante. The bite comes from polyphenols and fades over the following months. If you are in Florence between late October and the end of November, this is when to taste it.
The hills around the city are planted mostly with Frantoio, Moraiolo and Leccino olives, picked by hand or with small rakes and taken to the mill the same day. In town, the new oil turns up first on fettunta: a slice of grilled bread rubbed with garlic, salted and soaked in oil, the simplest way to taste it. It goes on ribollita and bean soups through the winter. The four places below let you taste it where it is made, from a three-day fair in the Valdarno to a farmers’ market in the Oltrarno.
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ReOlio, Reggello
Reggello sits on the slopes of the Pratomagno, about 35 kilometres south-east of Florence, and olive growing is at the centre of its economy. Its oil fair, the Rassegna dell’Olio Extravergine, reaches its 53rd edition this year under the name ReOlio. From 30 October to 1 November 2026, local producers fill the town’s sports hall with guided tastings, talks and cooking demonstrations. This year’s theme is oil and health, with a focus on the polyphenols that give the new oil its bite. Reggello’s oil is known for exactly that: strongly fruity, grassy, with a bitter and peppery finish. Entry is free.
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Autumnia, Figline
A week later and across the same valley, Figline e Incisa Valdarno holds Autumnia, its festival of farming and food, from 6 to 8 November 2026. The centre of Figline fills with a farmers’ market of around twenty small producers selling vegetables, cheese, wine and the season’s oil, with tastings and an area of farm animals for children. Guided visits open the Teatro Garibaldi and the Palazzo Pretorio. Entry is free, and Figline is about 30 kilometres from Florence, an easy half day.
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La Fierucola, Santo Spirito
You do not have to leave the city. On the third Sunday of most months, La Fierucola brings more than 60 small farmers and artisans to Piazza Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno. The November market, on 15 November 2026, is given over to the new oil, and it is the easiest place in town to taste several producers side by side. Stalls open from 9:00 to 19:00.
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Fattoria di Maiano, Fiesole
To see the oil made, go up the hill towards Fiesole. Fattoria di Maiano is an organic estate of nearly 300 hectares, where Frantoio and Moraiolo olives are picked by hand in November and December and pressed in the estate’s own mill. Its best oil is sold as Laudemio. During the harvest, the estate runs guided visits that walk through the olive groves, into the mill while it is working, and end with a tasting. Book ahead: visits in October and November are arranged directly with the farm.
Stay nearby · 1 of 10 in Florence
Il Salviatino
A restored 15th-century villa in the hills of Fiesole.
