From the field to the bottle

In this guide

1. When the olives are picked
2. How the olive grove is looked after
3. What it costs to do it well

Almost everything that can be done right with an olive oil is done before it reaches the bottle. After that, it can only be spoiled.

This guide follows that path: when the olives are picked, how the grove is looked after, what happens at the mill and what economics hold it all together. These are the decisions that explain why two oils of the same variety from the same province can taste nothing alike.

When the olives are picked

It is the decision that changes the result the most. Bringing the harvest forward to October means giving up half the yield —between 8 and 12 kilos of olives per litre, instead of 4 or 5— in exchange for two to five times more polyphenols. That is the early harvest, and it is the line between a correct oil and one that is worth it.

How the olive grove is looked after

Organic, integrated or conventional are not quality labels: they are different ways of managing soil, water and pests. What each one really certifies —and why integrated production deserves more attention than it gets— is in the characteristics of organic EVOO. Its most literal version, with geese and horses grazing between the olive trees to keep the ground cover alive, is in livestock management in organic olive groves.

What it costs to do it well

None of the above holds up if the people doing it cannot make a living from it. Why the headline that 75% of olive groves produce at a loss does not say what it seems to say, what a cost study really measures and how much is actually paid for the best lots.