This year's crop was harvested in May. We were looking for a little more ripeness in the crop by delaying harvest for a couple of weeks. The fruit we picked was a lovely mix however as with many New Zealand growers this year it wasn't a good year. Some growers have had a low oil yield due to the wet winter. Our grove instead had a low crop which we believe was due to heavy winds in November. Olives are wind pollinated and those November winds just blew our pollen away instead of pollinating the flowers! Our prevailing winds are westerlies and south-westerlies, strong and cold.
All the same our loyal band of olive pickers were here again to help with harvest. Harvest days are usually sunny. It gets pretty warm in the grove but it must be fun because they do return year after year! Providing a tasty lunch and finishing the day with a well earned vino also helps! Another tradition we like to keep going is the "Pickers Tasting". Once the oil has been decanted a few times and allowed to settle (we don't filter our oil) we get the friends together again to sample the individual varieties and we spend a great afternoon together. With the small crop this year we are only able to offer Tuscan Blend rather than individual varieties.
With so much rain this winter and wet ground everywhere as we head toward spring we can only wait and see how the trees perform.