So what about the oil? It really couldn’t be simpler…

Our farm is an excellent location for excellent olive oil. We have hot, dry summers, cool but frost-free winters, and reasonable but not excessive rainfall (olives don’t like wet feet!). The farm has red, Cambric soil which is a geographic anomaly restricted to a small area in and around Heathcote.

Harvest time is around April, when the olives are firm and plump. We harvest by hand because it’s more fun that way! The baskets of olives go to our olive press within 24 hours of picking, to maintain freshness and quality of the oil. We put it into 50 litre containers, which we store in a cool, dark place to allow the oil to settle until it is bottled. We bottle the oil ourselves as well, though you can obtain bulk quantities if you want to. We store the bottles carefully, too. But not for too long, olive oil isn’t like wine, and doesn’t improve with age.

We get asked many questions about our oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil in general. So, we’ve compiled a simple user guide which should help. You can request a copy by joining our mailing list here. Make sure you tick the “Buying Olive Oil” checkbox.