The 2007 Season
It took several weeks and lots of patience, but Nagambie Gold now has new season’s extra virgin olive oil on the shelves!
Who would have believed that in a time of drought, rain would be to blame for three aborted attempts to harvest? In the end, a contract mechanical harvester, a group of grape pickers from Seymour, plus three very kind friends set to work on Sunday 27th May to finally harvest Nagambie Gold’s 2007 crop.
The pickers started at 7.30am and the harvester arrived at 10am, working steadily until 4pm. On Monday morning, everyone was back at work early, but alas, our bad luck was not yet at an end! At 10am, with only 100 trees left to pick, the mechanical harvester broke down! It was a hard push for all the pickers, but by 4pm they had completed picking the remaining trees, as well as their original task of stripping trees which had already been shaken by the harvester.
Finally, the last of the olives were delivered to Kyneton Olives where they were pressed and have produced very high quality extra virgin olive oil. Due to the drought and extreme summer heat, the 2007 yield has amounted to only half the previous season, however we believe the quality has improved. This is a trend which seems to have occurred across Australia’s olive growing community; it is a great year to buy Australian extra virgin olive oil!
On the Queen’s Birthday holiday, the end of the 2007 harvest was celebrated at Kyneton Olives. 100 guests from the surrounding region and from Melbourne enjoyed a four-course meal, showcasing extra virgin olive oil and local wines, seated in the processing shed (a.k.a. where it all happens) with the new processor and freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil as backdrop!
Setting for dinner at Kyneton Olives, Monday 11th June.
Susie Moscovitch (right) with Kyneton Olives’ grove manager, Elio, and his wife. Elio has been processing Nagambie Gold’s olives for the past three years.
News Flash!
We are pleased to announce that Nagambie Gold’s Premium Blend has again been awarded a Silver Medal at the NSW Northern Olive Oil Show. The 2007 Premium Blend, blended from oil of Frantoio and Manzanilla olives, was described by judges as a “balanced” oil with a “soft grassy nose” and a “milder fruit palate”. For more details on the awards, click here.
