It’s harvest time

In all the Mediterranean countries as well as California, the olive harvest occurs between mid-October and late-December, depending on the variety and the degree of ripeness desired by the grower. As the harvest is about to begin, we asked each of our producers what they expect this year. Here are their impressions.

Azienda Agricola Minervini

“In the province of Bari, as in all of Italy, I believe, the spring and the summer have been fresh and rainy. These weather conditions have facilitated the development of Dacus oleae, the dangerous flies that destroy the olives. For this reason, we will harvest early this year. The positive aspect is that the olive trees have had sufficient water, and this leads me to believe the olive oil will be good. I will begin picking the crop in the next week.” - Gregorio Minervini
 

 

Cortes de Cima

“After a cool summer and warm autumn, we expect high quality, but with average yield. We expect to start by mid-October, for our usual early harvest. As we harvest earlier than many of the other growers in the area, we don’t have problems finding workers, mostly Eastern Europeans. Also, our olive harvest starts on the heels of finishing our grape harvest, so many of our workers switch jobs after a short rest!” - Carrie Jorgenson

 

 

Planeta

“2014 will be a year of small production, probably similar to last year or a bit better. In general here in Sicily, there are grounds to fear that production will be below average in quantity, but not in quality. The summer was cool and dry, September had normal temperatures, and in October it has started raining as usual. This is beneficial to best complete the maturation. It is too early to talk about the quality, but we believe it is good. We have decided to start the harvest earlier, in search of a fresher olive oil, a little more green and less fat and mature. Currently, the olives are clean and ready for the harvest. What we are certainly not lacking in Sicily are young people willing to work in the countryside.” - Alessio Planeta

 

O Olive Oil

“The yield is expected to be quite low this year due to the very dry/drought conditions in California. But the oil is usually very buttery and flowery when these conditions have occurred in the past. Hoping for the best, and a late-October rain could dramatically change the yield and outcome on our Mission olives which we’re planning to harvest in early to mid-December. - Greg Hinson

 

Carpineto

“The harvest will unfortunately not be very plentiful this year. Since our olives are organically grown (it does not appear on the label because we don't want to deal with the tedious bureaucracy of an organic certification), they have been attacked by the fruit fly. In particular, the low-lying orchards have been devastated, to the point we are considering not picking them at all because an olive spoiled by the fruit fly would produce a defective olive oil, not the green, grassy and fragrant product our customers expect from us. The higher elevation olives, however, have been spared from this plague, but harvest will start mid-November at the earliest. From those olives, which are sound and beautiful, we expect to make an excellent product in the intensely aromatic style that is typical of Tuscany. Unfortunately in our orchards we estimate total yield to be down by at least a third. This year, quality is the key word, we'll hope for a larger quantity next year!” - Francesca Zaccheo

Mas d’en Gil

“This year we are going to have a little bit less yield. It has been a relatively ‘soft’ summer, this means relative moderate temperatures during June and July, but warm August and September. At the end of September and beginning of October, we have had some rain, but this is something positive in our case because it is the last month before picking. We are going to increase the harvest team in order to reduce the picking time. This will for sure reduce the yield, but we are going to achieve more aromatic and elegant olive oil. Let’s cross fingers… we will be starting on October 20th.” - Martha Rovira

 

 

 

 

 

Marqués de Valdueza

“In Spain, most growers are expecting a terrible harvest, but Juan Lozano, our farm director, made a few key changes this year in pruning and fertilizing and we expect a record harvest in terms of organoleptic quality. The first tests are exceptionally good and I think that you will be extremely pleased with both Marqués de Valdueza and Merula this year. Because about 12% of new trees have also come into production, we will have a better crop than last year, too, so while the rest of Spain is talking about shortages, we feel that we will be able to offer you a bumper crop in 2015!” - Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo y Argüelles

 

Kalikori

“Our olive oil harvest in Messinia Kalamata is always an important social occasion where families, neighbours and friends get together to pick the olives and press them for the first extra-virgin olive oil. The weather at the time of harvest is of great importance, and experienced farmers know when it’s the right moment to start. We rely heavily on our Uncle Kosta, who is the caretaker of our grove. We always prefer to start before the cold wet days of fall or when our olives are on the cusp of turning colour, from green to dark. If it does rain, all the townspeople will take the day off, relax their aching bodies and usually meet up in the local kafenion for a nice stiff Greek coffee to discuss the progress with their peers.  By noon, if there are no repairs to be taken care of, we’ll be having mezedes with local homemade wine or a shot or two of ouzo. This year in particular, we seem to have been blessed with an abundance of olives on the trees. We had a wonderful summer and just the right amount of rainfall. Our challenge as always will be to collect our harvest as quickly as possible. And oh yes, did I mention that one of the most rewarding parts of the harvest is enjoying a picnic at break time?” - Effy Lingris

 

Francisco Gomez

“We are expecting an excellent harvest this year. We will be starting early compared to last year, six days earlier to be precise. Temperatures were favourable this year, with very little rain. We shouldn’t have any trouble finding pickers.” - Agustin Bolinches

 

 

Teanum

“The 2014 harvest for both grapes and olives has been challenging in Puglia. Due to strong winds and rain during flowering season, there has been a very low fruit set this year. In addition, we suffered hail storms and further strong winds, resulting in a decrease of 50% in production. Therefore, in order to maintain our high quality standards, we proceed with a careful selection of the olives and we expect to achieve an excellent extra-virgin olive oil, with extremely low acidity and delicate fruity character, as always. Nevertheless, quantity will be very limited this year!” Matteo Napoletano

 

 

 

Villevieille

“The harvest is in full swing, although there isn’t that much swinging this year since, like all producing countries, we’ve suffered from poor weather. The olives have been attacked by flies and the harvest isn’t very plentiful, just like last year. Two bad years in a row can really hurt a cooperative like ours, since we only work with locally grown olives. But a true olive grower, drawing inspiration from his trees, is a patient man who knows how to wait for good things. In the meantime, we will have to make do with what nature has given us. Nevertheless, these changes will help us evolve by showing us we can’t control everything and we must continuously adapt. The example of a few AOP producers who manage to succeed despite difficult circumstances proves that with hard work, determination and respect for nature, we can learn to go with the flow and not feel the impact of these changes so hard. We are the ones who need to adapt to nature, not the other way around.” - Bruno Ferrieres

 

Favuzzi

“This year, the harvest will be smaller in terms of production because of last year's large harvest, and because the weather was not favourable to olive growth: on the one hand, the high spring temperatures were detrimental to the flowering and setting of the fruit, and on the other hand, the heavy hail storms in parts of the Sierra de Gata region damaged both fruit and trees. These combined events caused up to a 50% reduction in the harvest forecast with which we are working. In terms of the quality of the fruit produced, although there is not a lot, what is harvested is extremely healthy. Thanks to having begun the harvest some 20 days earlier, the oil is remarkably fruitier, and with a stable balance between spice and bitterness.”