OUR OLIVE ESTATE

After many holiday trips from America, we purchased property in the Far North of New Zealand in 1996. In 2000, after extensive varietal research and soil preparation, we planted 1,400 olive trees on 10 hectares (25 acres) at Tokerau Beach, in Doubtless Bay on the Karikari Peninsula, about 35 kilometers (23 miles) from Kaitaia. Our olive grove is in the heart of what is well known in New Zealand as the "Far North", the origin of our brand trade mark -- Far North New Zealand Olive Oil. The map of New Zealand on our label helps you see how close we are to the very northern tip, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea.

With the beach only steps away, our grove has sandy soil at the front that transitions to a heavy peat soil in most of the grove. A high water table under our soil feeds the trees and no irrigation is required. Being closer to the equator means we never see freezing weather and our olives are ready to harvest many weeks before olives in other New Zealand areas. We harvest our Leccino mid April, with the other two varieties following soon thereafter.

We harvest when the olives are approximately 3/4 ripe for a much better natural flavor. Olives that hang on the trees too long produce more oil, but they start losing their great flavor and build up acidity. We believe that our high quality and more flavorful oils are worth sacrificing oil volume.

Our Estate grove produces some of the finest extra virgin olive oils in the world. Extra Virgin is olive oil that has less than 0.8% free fatty acid and is extracted solely by mechanical means without use of heat (cold pressing). We use a modern centrifugal press to extract the oil and we only press the olives once. Our olives are harvested and immediately sent to the press, producing oil that has less than 1/2 the permitted acidity. Immediate pressing substantially reduces oxidation and deterioration of the oil that occurs with many large producers that do not have sufficient capacity to press their harvest quickly.

Being a small family olive Estate, we can give close personal attention to every aspect of our operation. We pick at optimum harvest time, cold press within a few hours, and store the oil in an air conditioned dark room to maintain freshness and outstanding flavor. Far North New Zealand Olive Oil focuses exclusively on maintaining the high quality of our oils, from our Estate to your table. We invite you to try our oils so that you may enjoy the bounty that lies in the land of the long white cloud.