Sabiá olive oil will have a new mill in 2023 and promises to launch its first sparkling wine

Sabiá, an olive oil brand that has become one of the most awarded in the country — in four years, there were 57 national and international awards, including entry into the ranking of the ten best in the world by the Spanish competition Evooleum —, is about to inaugurate a grandiose project. .

Born in Santo Antônio do Pinhal, in the Serra da Mantiqueira portion of São Paulo, where it maintains 5,700 olive trees on 17 hectares, the company had already been investing in new olive groves in the southern municipality of Encruzilhada do Sul.

There, the crop reaches 110 hectares, with 31,400 trees. Now, the owner couple Bia Pereira and Bob Vieira da Costa are investing R$ 25 million in the construction of a mill with the capacity to process 1,800 kilos of olives per hour, to be installed in a headquarters prepared to receive visitors.

There’s more: by 2024, the duo will launch their own sparkling wine. Two hectares of chardonnay, pinot noir and italic riesling grapes have already been planted.

“It will be a light, fresh sparkling wine, ideal for happy hour”, says Bia, who still keeps the brand a secret. “All I can say is that it won’t be called Mockingbird.”

Designed by architect Marcelo Alvarenga, from Play Arquitetura, the new building will have the industrial sector installed underground, to take advantage of the terrain’s relief and ensure milder temperatures.

The equipment, which should arrive at Encruzilhada do Sul in January 2023, was custom designed by Italian Giorgio Mori, considered the pope of the sector.

“In addition to analyzing the architectural project, he tasted our oils, extracted at different stages of the harvest, and saw everything that happened with the fruits throughout the process. From there, he dimensioned mixers, centrifuge, connections and filling area, with the objective of reducing the extraction time as much as possible”, explains Bob.

Issues related to sustainability also guided the project – according to agronomist Emanuel da Costa, master lagareiro da Sabiá, 100% of industrial waste, such as olive pits and the bagasse resulting from the extraction, will be used to feed the boilers and fertilize.

“Giorgio Mori considered our mill one of the most modern in the world”, Bob is proud.

Above the mill, the space reserved for visitors includes a highline, from where it will be possible to taste olive oils and sparkling wines while watching the sunset over the pampas and a lake, which will be called Tomie Ohtake.

“We’re going to install a sculpture of her in the lake and eventually organize exhibitions of her works. The other side of the garden will honor Leonard Cohen, because Bob and I love his poems and music,” says Bia.

Southern Crossroads was not chosen by chance. Since 2000, the city located 171 kilometers from Porto Alegre has been attracting investments from large wine groups such as Chandon and Valduga, as well as olive growers. What is lacking, for now, is tourist infrastructure.

“This is the new frontier for olive growing and wine in the country. When the road is doubled, tourism will come quickly,” Bob bets.

The couple hopes that the next crop, harvested between February and March 2023, will already be extracted in the new mill. Tourists will have to wait until 2024.

With the expertise of who already receives around 500 visitors a weekend in Santo Antônio do Pinhal, the duo wants to ensure that everything is in order before cutting the inaugural ribbon – which promises to be just the first one, says Bob.

“More forward, we intend to have a restaurant and, who knows, a hotel.”