Meloto in Vodnjan: olive oils from Buža, Rosinjola and Žižolera

Meloto in Vodnjan makes single-variety oils from Buža, Rosinjola and Žižolera. Tasted side by side, they differ in fruitiness, bitterness and pungency.

How Buža, Rosinjola and Žižolera differ

Meloto bottles Buža, Rosinjola and Žižolera as three single-variety extra virgin olive oils, allowing each oil to be tasted without the influence of the other varieties.

Buža is fruity, with balanced bitterness and pungency. Rosinjola brings fresh fruit, grass, apple, almond and aromatic herbs. Žižolera is more astringent, bitter and pungent, with pronounced notes of grass and leaf.

From the town press to today's Meloto

The Belci family has made olive oil since at least the 1940s, when grandfather Matteo processed small quantities on the town's hydraulic press. Livio and Lorenzo established the present farm in 1992, and it is now run by Matteo Belci. The name Meloto comes from Marussa, Livio and Lorenzo's grandmother, who was known as Melota.

Olive groves cover seven of the farm's thirteen hectares, on red soil at 50 to 150 metres above sea level. Older trees grow alongside newer plantings, while Buža, Rosinjola and Žižolera remain the core varieties.

Meloto's scores and awards for individual oils

Flos Olei scores the producer, not an individual bottle. Meloto received 96 points in 2021, 2022 and 2023, 97 points in 2024, and 98 points in both 2025 and 2026.

At the 2024 International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, the single-variety oils Meloto Rossignola and Meloto Busa won gold medals. Busa also won silver in 2025.

Tasting the three oils in Vodnjan

All three oils can be tasted one after another in the tasting room. The family relates their differences in aroma, bitterness and pungency to the cultivation of each variety, harvest timing and processing.

The tasting room seats up to 40 people and has parking. As Meloto does not publish fixed opening hours, the contact form is used to arrange a visit.

Distance from Bale: 14 minutes driving (11.3 km)

Olive oil score in the Flos Olei guide: 2022 96, 2021 96, 2023 96, 2024 97, 2025 98, 2026 98

Address: San Rocco 22/b, 52215 Vodnjan

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