Jaén debuts its oil: Úbeda celebrates the First Oil and the mills open their doors
Topics Diputación de Jaén Sierra de Segura
The First Oil Festival comes to Úbeda on the 7th and 8th, and throughout the month the Oil Routes offer visits and tastings at cooperatives and estates. In addition, mushrooms in Siles, tapas in Arjona and matanza in Valdepeñas de Jaén.
Redacción ·
The oil mills of Jaén are starting to grind and the first early oils are reaching the table. The province celebrates it with the Fiesta del Primer Aceite, which this year is held in Úbeda, and with visits and tastings at cooperatives and estates across half the province. There are also mushrooms in the Sierra de Segura, matanza in the Sierra Sur and tapas in the Campiña.
Here is what there is, weekend by weekend.
| Fecha | Lugar | Cita |
|---|---|---|
| Todo el mes | Once municipios | X Rutas del Aceite: visitas a almazaras y catas |
| Del 6 al 8 | Siles | XXIV Jornadas Micológicas «Villa de Siles» |
| 7 y 8 | Úbeda | XIII Fiesta del Primer Aceite de Jaén |
| Miércoles 11 | Úbeda | Club de Cata: aceite nuevo y vinos de Jaén |
| Del 13 al 15 | Arjona | Ruta de la Tapa |
| 14 y 15 | Valdepeñas de Jaén | XXIII Fiesta de la Matanza |
| Desde finales de mes | Martos | Actos de la Fiesta de la Aceituna |
7 and 8: the Fiesta del Primer Aceite, in Úbeda
The Diputación celebrates the XIII Fiesta del Primer Aceite de Jaén on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 in the Parque Norte de Úbeda, with entry via calle Don Bosco. It is the great festival of early-harvest oils: on Saturday, from 10:00 to 21:00, and on Sunday, from 10:00 to 15:00, you can taste and buy oils from the province, alongside cosmetics and olive-grove crafts.
Saturday starts at 10:00 with a popular breakfast with early oils. At 11:00, the communicator Manu Sánchez gives the pregón and the consultant Juan Vilar is named Embajador del Aceite; in the afternoon A Fuego Lento and Cantores de Híspalis perform. On Sunday there is live cooking by three restaurants from Úbeda and dancing with the Escuela Municipal de Danza.
There are also guided tastings of the denominaciones de origen and of the IGP Aceite de Jaén, a workshop in a microalmazara and visits to the almazaras La Carrera and La Unión, all with registration. From Friday 6 to Sunday 8, ten restaurants in Úbeda offer menus with oil, and a free city bus links plaza Vázquez de Molina, plaza de Andalucía and the Parque Norte every half hour.
All month: the Rutas del Aceite
To learn how oil is made, the X Rutas del Aceite de Jaén offer guided visits to almazaras, olive groves and estates with tasting, from 5 to 10 euros, with registration at the Centro de Interpretación Olivar y Aceite de Úbeda (953 755 889). Registration is charitable, benefiting the Asociación Síndrome 22q. These are the November ones:
The Rutas del Aceite in November
- Sunday 1, 11:00: Begíjar, Oleícola San Francisco. Visit to the almazara and tasting.
- Saturday 7, 11:00: Mogón (Villacarrillo), cooperativa San Vicente. Visit and breakfast with different oils.
- Sunday 8, 11:00: Baeza, Oleícola Jaén. Visit and tasting.
- Saturday 14, 10:30: Úbeda, cooperativa Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Tasting of oils and cheeses.
- Sunday 15, 10:30: Arroyo del Ojanco, Cortijo La Zarza. Route through an organic olive grove to a thousand-year-old olive tree, tasting and mountain meal.
- Saturday 21, 10:30: Villacarrillo, cooperativa Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Almazara and field of varieties.
- Sunday 22, 11:00: Linares, Hacienda Santa María 1885. Century-old olive grove, 1935 almazara, tasting and four paired dishes.
- Saturday 28, 10:30: Villanueva de la Reina, Aceites Guadalquivir. Olive picking and production; each person takes their oil home.
- Sunday 29, 11:00: Úbeda, restaurante Ermita Madre de Dios. Three tapas paired with oil and wine from Jaén.
The same centre organises on Wednesday 11, at 17:00, a Club de Cata with oils from the new harvest and wines from Jaén.
From 6 to 8: mushrooms in Siles
In the Sierra de Segura, Siles celebrates from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 its XXIV Jornadas Micológicas, which are also the third inclusive ones, at the El Sequero visitor centre. There are talks, among them «De setas por la Sierra de Segura», by the mycological association Lactarius; foraging outings in the sierra, a mushroom exhibition, the mycological photography competition and, to close, a tasting of traditional recipes with the mushrooms collected.
13 to 15: tapas in Arjona
Arjona celebrates from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 its Ruta de la Tapa, within the programme of its Otoño Cultural. Last year seven bars took part, each with two tapas for 3.80 euros, and there were draws for hampers and for a dinner.
14 and 15: the matanza of Valdepeñas de Jaén
In the Sierra Sur, about half an hour from the capital, Valdepeñas de Jaén celebrates on 14 and 15 its XXIII Fiesta de la Matanza, organised by the gastronomic brotherhood El Dornillo with the support of the Diputación and the Ayuntamiento. On Saturday there is a gastronomic showcase, with local products, and on Sunday the matanza festival, with pregón, parade, recognitions, street theatre and popular dances. Last year more than 5,000 plates of matanza viands were handed out.
And at the end of the month, the olive of Martos
Martos, which presents itself as the cradle of the olive grove, begins at the end of November the preliminary events of its Fiesta de la Aceituna, whose big day is December 8, with thousands of free «hoyos aceituneros» of bread, oil, cod and olives. Last year, from mid-November, there were exhibitions, tastings, a tapas competition with oil, routes through century-old olive trees and a flamenco evening. This year's programme has not yet been published.
Shall we let you know what matters?