Environmental and seasonal influence on virgin olive (Olea europaea L.) oil volatiles in northern Italy

The flavor profile of extra virgin olive oil is an important quality factor to differentiate the market opportunities and to increase the value of Protected Designation of Origin products. The volatile compounds and sensory notes of ‘Casaliva’ and ‘Leccino’ olive oils from 16 olive orchards near lake Garda, northern Italy, were analyzed for three years. Results showed that in this specific mesoclimate the aromatic olive oil quality depends firstly on the year and secondly on the cultivar. ‘Casaliva’ oils showed a higher content of volatiles (aldehydes and compounds from LOX) and phenols, higher ‘green’, ‘fruity’ and ‘taste’ notes than ‘Leccino’. The most effective in separating cultivars were: trans-2-hexenal, cis-2- penten-1-ol, trans-2-hexen-1-ol, total phenols, ‘lawn’, ‘olives’ and ‘bitter’ sensory descriptors. The cultivar _ year interaction also significantly differentiated and characterized quality and typicality of oils. Moreover, this study showed that oils volatile compounds were more significant than sensory evaluation in discriminating the cultivars and the years.