Another harvest: Olives

Every year in November we begin harvesting our second crop in Sonoma, Olives. The olive oil production in Sonoma Valley has increased over the years and this year is not an exception.

So how do you harvest an olive tree?

There are two different methods depending on the topography and size of the trees. The usual way is to lay nets on the ground and rake the tree allowing the olives to fall to the ground. The tarp is then gathered and its contents poured into a bin to be hauled to the press. The other way surprisingly enough is the old fashioned way, by picking one olive at a time.

Unlike grapes we don’t worry much about rain damaging the crop. The fruit can usually handle some rain and since the process to make oil has the olives floating in a tub of water before being processed makes it a little concern. We could even harvest in a rain, but is harder on the picker than the olive.

Our biggest concern is frost. This time of year our Valley is known for having a hard frost at the beginning of December, which can destroy the fruit literally overnight. This makes for some sleepless nights this time of year because we don’t have any frost protection in the orchards due to the cost.

Our climate allows many different varieties to be grown for olive oil production. Some of the common varietals in the valley are the Italian varietals (Leccino, Pendolino, and Frantoio); French varietal Picholine; and the Spanish varietal arbequina. to name a few. Our climate allows these varieties to produce top end oil. The process to make oil takes only a couple of hours and unlike wine is ready for consumption immediately.

So in the next few weeks why your wine tasting, why not stop for a taste of the other crop Sonoma has to offer at one of the presses located in the Valley.