November 2024 Olive Oil Harvest, A Continued Family Tradition

Tis’ the season for Olive Harvest! We are in our 11th year harvesting our five different varieties of Tuscan olive trees and it has become quite the family tradition.

We had to move our harvest date a few times due to this wet winter weather, and ended up starting the morning of Monday, November 18th and finishing in the afternoon on Tuesday, November 19th. Our Olive Harvest crew consisted of Bice family members Jennifer, Scott, Cristi, Nicole, Colton, and Rachel as well as our farm employees Krista, and Carlos. Kaikoa was also able to join in on the picking and sorting duties!

This year we used a mechanical olive harvesting rake which allowed the olives to drop on the nets we set below so we could sort and bucket them up. We of course go through and pick any remaining by hand as well. We got into a very good flow and were able to finish just in time to get them to the press!

Another family tradition we have is guessing how many pounds of olives that were produced. Every year is different and this year our total came to 1,713 lbs. Two years ago, we produced our all time record of 2,203 lbs. of olives.

We are very happy with this year’s harvest and the olive oil is tasting great! Being completely dry farmed this year the olive oil has deep complexity with floral, herbaceous and peppery notes. In the first 6-8 weeks the olive oil is called Olio-Nuovo and is prized for its fresh and intense flavor. It is available for purchase in our online shop to be enjoyed at your table or gifted for the Holidays. 

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!