Olive Presses of Rioja Alavesa - arabaturismo

It has belonged to the Town Council since 1913 thanks to a donation made by a local resident, Eustaquio Álvarez de Eulate.

Originally it was water powered but this was converted to an electric motor. It still retains its primitive belt drive system.

Farmers of Lanciego and the surrounding municipalities have been coming here for many years to press olives. It currently presses around 80,000 kilos of olive, producing approximately 21,000 litres of oil.

Of interest: oil producers in Álava use the same Arróniz olive variety as grown in Rioja Alavesa, an area with a particular climate that produces a special aroma and a taste with a bitter, spicy flavour.

The olive tree in Álava is attributed to the Phoenicians, who introduced the culture of oil and its production. Nevertheless, it was the Romans who filled the area with olive trees. Ebro = “oleum flumen” (river of oil). Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Eusko label of quality.

Location

Lanciego is 58 kilometres from Vitoria-Gasteiz via the A-2124 through the Puerto de Vitoria mountain pass, the BU-750 to Ventas de Armentia, the  CL-127, the A-126 to Lapoblación, the NA-7300 and the A-3220. Logroño is only 16 kilometres away via the N-232a and the A-3220.