2014 Harvest
What a difference a year makes. Last year there wasn’t much fruit in the district and the flavour was very strong and bitter because of the small fruit size due to the long hot dry summer. This year was another hot dry summer but the trees seemed determined to set some fruit with the late rain helping with milder conditions leading into harvest.
We started harvest picking table fruit by hand as it was all maturing very slowly due to the March rains. This freshened up the trees as they no longer had that stressed look. A cousin and his wife from Wollongong and a few local mates came to help out picking table fruit.
Then the real business started with the olive crush for oil. We decided to pick the Nevadillo Blanco early as the wet conditions were starting to kick in. The processing plant worked well for the season but (like all animals it can have a mind of its own), especially when the paste hose feeding the decanter blew off under pressure and covered Joo-Yee in oily paste. At least we know the feed pump is working well but the clean-up meant another late night.
We finished our last crush for the season on the 10th June. We are extremely happy to report that we crushed 36 tonne of our own fruit, picked 2 tonne for table fruit and processed 35 tonne of district olives for oil. The oils this year are still on the strong side but are better balanced than last year.
We have been able to harvest sufficient quantities of each variety that will give us more options for blending in the styles that suit the Wollundry Grove brand as well as displaying some of the diversity of this regions oil.
Our 2014 harvest has been successfully EVOO certified(Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and is now ready for sale through our local stockists, online or alternatively, visit our grove.
To read more from our first newsletter, click below: