Dauno
Dauno, an intensely characterful olive oil from Puglia, made from trees that were never originally intended for commercial production!
Background & Location
Dauno comes from northern Puglia, just five miles from the Adriatic Sea, at the foothills of Gargano National Park. It’s a landscape shaped by heat, drought, and dramatic seasonal change.
The oil is a collaboration between friends Fiorenza and Ziad. The trees belong to Fiorenza’s family farm, and for generations the oil was made only for personal enjoyment. That changed when Ziad first tasted it and said: “I wish I could buy this.” Dauno grew from that moment.
The groves are cared for with minimal intervention, simply what the trees need. The result is an oil that feels pure, restrained, and deeply respectful of its origins.
Harvest Notes
The 2025 harvest was unusually high-yield, surprising after last year’s drought, which was so intense that satellites measured soil temperatures around 50°C, comparing their Puglian village to parts of the Sahara.
Hanging over everything is the threat of Xylella Fastidiosa, a bacteria now recorded in the Gargano National Park. A reminder that olive oil is not just a flavour, but a fragile agricultural culture worth protecting.
Tasting Notes
Dauno is bold, expressive, and unapologetically characterful. This year’s oil is slightly more intense than previous seasons.
It’s incredibly versatile, but it really shines with richer, more distinct flavours: citrus salads, radicchio, lamb, steak as a finishing oil, and kohlrabi.
One of Ziad’s favourite uses is for ‘mantecatura’: adding olive oil cold at the end of cooking pasta or risotto to create a final emulsion and gloss.
And for something less conventional, it’s also brilliant in baking. You could try using it in shortcrust pastry!
Recipe: Pancotto
A harvest favourite in Puglia, somewhere between bread soup and a warm salad. It exists purely to justify using heaps of olive oil.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Mixed seasonal greens (cime di rapa, mustard greens, chicory, chard, rocket-any combination works)
2 large potatoes
500g stale sourdough (or any good loaf)
2 garlic cloves
Heaps of olive oil
Salt
Method
Clean and chop your greens, keeping in mind that stems and leaves cook at different speeds.
Bring a pot of generously salted water to the boil. Add potatoes first. Five minutes later, add the greens (stems first, delicate leaves last).
Cut bread into large cubes (about 1 inch). Once the vegetables are cooked, add the bread to the boiling water. Drain after around 30 seconds (sooner if it starts breaking up).
In a large frying pan, heat abundant olive oil with crushed whole garlic cloves (and chilli if you like). Add the drained vegetables and bread to the pan. Stir gently; pancotto isn’t meant to become creamy.
Drizzle more olive oil as you go to dress and bind everything. Finish with chilli flakes and/or more raw olive oil.
