"MEET THE GROWER" - VITO MANCINI FROM REDBELLY CITRUS
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LEFT. LEONARD MANCINI. RIGHT. VITO MANCINI. DIRECTORS OF REDBELLY CITRUS.
As we kick off the Blood Orange season in Australia, we caught up with Vito and Leonard Mancini of Red Belly Citrus.
One of the founding directors of Redbelly Citrus, Vito Mancini, remembers his first encounter with a blood orange, “As a boy, I was always fond of my grandfathers back yard, walking in and around always excited me by seeing what vegetables planted and what fruits were in season".
LUKE AND THE REDBELLY CITRUS TEAM TAKE A STROLL IN THE ORCHARD.
Brothers Leonard and Anthony Mancini, as well as cousin Vito Mancini, purchased property North of Griffith in the wealthy and fertile lands of the Riverina to develop their dreams of growing the perfect blood orange for Australia.
“We looked for land that would help give the same characteristics as what is known to be the best growing area for blood oranges – Catania in Sicily. This work was helped both by our family knowledge and help from the NSW Department of Primary Industries who have spent a lot of time and resources in mapping Australia’s climate to the famous region in Italy that we have used to guarantee an impressive ability to produce the deepest and inspirational colour in our blood oranges.”
The Australian blood orange season runs from August to October
The blood orange has been cultivated in Italy for centuries and current production levels still outmatch any producer in the world. Blood Oranges are one of the most versatile Citrus fruits currently available, they can be used as a substitute for most Citrus varieties including Orange, Lemon and Lime and also works well in combination with all Citrus varieties.