If you’re looking for a gift for someone who loves Italian food, cooking, or traveling to Italy, here’s an idea that’s a little different: adopt an olive tree in Italy and receive personalized bottles of olive oil from its grove.
That’s exactly what you can do through Oliverse, a company that connects you with a real olive tree growing in an Italian olive grove. You get to name your tree, follow its progress throughout the year, and receive extra virgin olive oil with your name printed right on the bottle.
I recently received my first shipment of olive oil from Oliverse, and I think this is such a fun gift idea for anyone who appreciates good food and has a fondness for Italy. The olive oil is fantastic. We’ve already finished half a bottle just from dipping.
It’s both a physical gift and an experience. Instead of simply giving someone a bottle of Italian olive oil, you’re giving them a connection to the place where it was grown.
What Is Oliverse?
The idea is simple: you adopt a tree, the farmers care for it, and you get to enjoy olive oil produced from the grove where your tree grows.
The trees are maintained by local growers, who handle everything from tending the groves to harvesting the olives and pressing the oil.
One of Oliverse’s featured partners is Le 4 Contrade, a family-run organic olive estate near Andria in Puglia, southern Italy. The Spagnoletti Zeuli family has owned the land since the 1600s, and some of the olive trees on the estate are more than 300 years old.
Puglia is one of Italy’s most important olive oil-producing regions, so it’s an appropriate place to have a tree of your own.
Oliverse also offers adoption options in Tuscany, giving you a choice of Italian regions.
How Does Adopting an Olive Tree Work?
The process is straightforward, and you don’t need to know anything about growing olives to participate.
1. Choose your olive tree adoption.
Visit the Oliverse website and select your preferred region and adoption package. There are different options depending on how much olive oil you’d like to receive throughout the year.
2. Personalize your tree.
Your adopted tree gets a name and a unique identification number. You’ll receive a personalized adoption certificate, and your tree will be included on Oliverse’s online grove map.
You can even choose the name you’d like printed on your olive oil bottles, which is particularly nice when you’re giving an adoption as a gift.
3. Follow your tree throughout the year.
Your online account gives you access to updates from the grove, including information about the growing season and harvest.
For the Puglia grove, Oliverse offers photos, videos, and updates about your tree’s health, along with weather information from the estate.
4. Receive your personalized olive oil.
The farmers harvest the olives and press them into extra virgin olive oil. Oliverse says the olives are cold-pressed within hours of harvesting to preserve their freshness and flavor.
The oil is then bottled with your personalized label and shipped to you.
One important distinction is that the bottles contain oil from your adopted tree’s grove, rather than necessarily being pressed exclusively from the olives of your individual tree. That makes sense, since the amount of olives produced by any single tree can vary from year to year.
My First Oliverse Olive Oil Delivery
I recently received my first olive oil shipment from Oliverse, and having the actual bottles makes the whole adoption concept feel much more tangible.
The personalized label is one of my favorite parts of the idea. It’s not just a bottle of olive oil from Italy. It’s olive oil that’s connected to a specific grove and a tree adopted in your name. For someone who loves discovering food traditions while traveling, that connection makes the experience especially appealing.
I also like that the adoption doesn’t end when the bottles arrive. You can continue following the grove and learning about the harvest, which gives you an ongoing connection to Italy even when you’re cooking at home.
And, of course, having good Italian olive oil in the kitchen is never a bad thing. I will definitely renew my subscription for next year.
Why This Makes Such a Great Gift for Foodies
You can certainly buy someone a nice bottle of olive oil as a gift. But adopting an olive tree adds a personal element that’s difficult to replicate with a typical gourmet food basket.
It’s Personalized
The adoption certificate, named tree, and custom bottle labels make this feel like a gift chosen specifically for the recipient.
You could put a couple’s names on the bottles for a wedding or anniversary, use a family name for a holiday gift, or give an Italian food enthusiast a tree of their own.
It’s Something They’ll Actually Use
I always appreciate food gifts that can be used and enjoyed rather than something that just ends up sitting on a shelf.
Extra virgin olive oil is incredibly versatile. You can drizzle it over fresh tomatoes, use it to finish pasta, make a simple salad dressing, or serve it alongside good bread.
The personalized bottles also make a lovely addition to the kitchen counter or dining table.
It Connects Them to Italy
One of the things I love most about traveling in Italy is discovering how closely regional foods are connected to the people and places that produce them.
Olive oil is a perfect example. Different regions grow different varieties of olives, and the resulting oils have their own distinctive characteristics.
With Oliverse, you’re not just receiving a product labeled “Made in Italy.” You know which grove it came from, and you can learn about the people who grow the olives.
The Gift Continues Beyond the First Delivery
The adoption includes more than a one-time package of olive oil. You can follow your tree through the seasons, receive updates from the grove, and enjoy the oil included in your annual plan.
That makes it particularly appealing for people who enjoy experiences as much as physical gifts.
How Much Does an Olive Tree Adoption Cost?
Oliverse offers several annual adoption packages. At the time of writing, the Puglia options include:
- Young Tree – $109 per year: One young olive tree, a personalized certificate, three bottles of olive oil, and seasonal updates.
- Adopt a Tree – $249 per year: Two older olive trees, a personalized certificate, eight bottles of olive oil, and seasonal updates.
- Private Grove – $599 per year: Four older olive trees and 20 bottles of olive oil.
- Family Estate – $999 per year: Eight older olive trees and 48 bottles of olive oil.
Tuscany packages start at $129 per year, with different quantities and delivery schedules.
All of the packages include personalized labels and access to your tree’s information.
These are annual adoptions, so be sure to check the renewal terms when purchasing, especially if you’re giving one as a gift.
You can see the current packages and prices on the Oliverse website.
Can You Visit Your Adopted Olive Tree in Italy?
Here’s another reason this gift caught my attention as someone who loves traveling in Italy: you can actually visit your adopted tree.
Oliverse says adopters can arrange visits to its partner estates by appointment.
For the Puglia grove, that means visiting Le 4 Contrade near Andria, where you can see the olive trees and experience the estate.
Imagine planning a trip to Puglia and stopping by to see the tree that’s been producing the olive oil you’ve been using at home.
It’s a particularly fun idea for someone who’s planning a trip to Italy or has already fallen in love with the country.
Even if you never get the chance to visit in person, you can still locate your tree on the online map and keep up with what’s happening at the grove.
Ways to Enjoy Your Italian Olive Oil
When you get a special bottle of extra virgin olive oil, I think the best approach is to start with simple dishes that let you appreciate its flavor.
A few of my favorite ways to use a good-quality olive oil include:
- Bread and olive oil: Serve it with freshly baked bread and a little flaky sea salt.
- Caprese salad: Drizzle it over ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil.
- Bruschetta: Finish toasted bread topped with tomatoes and garlic with a generous drizzle.
- Pasta: Add it to freshly cooked pasta with Parmesan, garlic, or fresh herbs.
- Roasted vegetables: Drizzle a little over roasted vegetables just before serving.
- Burrata: Pair it with fresh tomatoes or grilled peaches and finish with olive oil.
For your first taste, I’d recommend pouring a small amount into a dish and trying it with plain bread. It’s a simple way to appreciate the oil before adding other ingredients.
Laura Lynch, creator and writer of Savored Journeys, is an avid world traveler, certified wine expert, and international food specialist. She has written about travel and food for over 20 years and has visited over 75 countries. Her work has been published in numerous guidebooks, websites, and magazines.