It is November and as usual in Provence, almost overnight
, no longer summer. You wake up in the morning and you know the days of flip-flops and midday siestas are numbered. It is sunny but the Mistral wind is causing the temperatures to drop. But that also means one of the most important
en harvest season of the year begins!
A surprise for many, but yes, olives are harvested in winter!
The new oils will be available from January at the earliest.
Wine & Olives
I met Carole at our local market in Pernes les Fontaines. She runs a winery not far from us with her husband Fabrice. As is often the case, they grow olive trees as well as vines. Carole is a very passionate farmer and immediately offers me a look at the harvest. I don't need to be told twice!
Two days later, on an early sunny but also very windy morning, I am standing in front of your winery in the Hameau de Serre, not far from Carpentras .
With a stunning view of Mont Ventoux and the smaller Dentelles du Montmirail mountain range. Carole and her team have long been at work and I am immediately greeted by Carole's dog. Also there are Fabrice, her father and friends of the family who help with the work.
Verdale - a traditional olive from Carpentras
Fabrice & Carole only grow Verdale olives on their estate. This is one of the traditional varieties that have been grown here in Provence for centuries. The olive oil has a delicate taste with notes of fresh grass.
The Verdale is one of the first olives to be harvested. But depending on the type of olive and the taste you want to achieve, the harvest time varies between November and February.
Getting ahead of the rain
Rain is forecast for the coming days, so everyone is doing their best to harvest as quickly as possible. Rain is good for the trees (especially after the long dry period in 2019), but it worsens the harvest because the olives absorb more water.
The ratio of water to oil in the olive is therefore adversely affected for farmers.
Traditional and modern harvesting techniques
In order to collect all the olives, a large net is placed under the tree. All the olives then fall directly into the net and can be easily collected.
There are various methods to bring down the olives. There are, for example, highly modern harvesting machines that shake the entire tree and ensure that the olives fall from the tree into the net.
In the traditional method there is only muscle power + a small rake with which the branches are shaken.
Fabrice doesn't work with large machines but he does have a little modern luxury. He holds a rake-like tool in his hand that vibrates at the top. This makes it easier to knock down the olives without using large equipment.
Meanwhile, Carole's father climbs into the treetop to harvest the hard-to-reach branches in the middle of the treetop, now manually.
Sorting is a must
As soon as all the olives have fallen, everyone has to get to work to remove any branches and leaves from the net.
They should not be put into the olive press as they affect the taste and colour of the olive oil.
In addition, the olives are weighed before grinding to determine the price. Unnecessary weight is of course to be avoided.
The proud result
The yield of today's work is an impressive 700 kg of olives.
Today, however, is only the first of at least three harvest days. The collected olives must now be brought to the olive oil mill as quickly as possible where they will be processed into olive oil.
We bring the harvest to the village of Le Barroux where Carole has her oil pressed by the monks of the Abbaye de Sainte Madelaine.
More on this in a separate blog post.
