Many of us enjoy a good extra virgin olive oil with our breakfasts, lunches… But not all of us know what needs to be done for the olive tree to produce good olives. In this article we will try to shed a little more light on the necessary care to be carried out throughout February in order to grow a healthy olive.

The olive tree is a tree that requires little care throughout the year, however, this month’s task will be one of the main ones to perform. Being an evergreen tree, its annual growth is not very developed, so the olive tree is a very long-lived tree and will grow slowly throughout its life.

As far as pruning is concerned, we will focus mainly on removing new shoots on the trunk and branches, which do not have a productive function. Then we will thin out branches, mainly in the second year, with the aim of maintaining the shape and bearing of the olive tree, while facilitating air circulation and sun penetration.

All this work will contribute to improve the health and vigor of the tree, making it ready for the next harvest.

That said, here ends this article on olive tree care in the month of February.

The entry OLIVE TREE CARE: PRUNING was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.

In today’s article is about another of the labors of the field, but in today’s case, related to the world of the olive tree. Today we will talk about olive harvesting.

In our region, olive harvesting begins the first week of November, which is the moment when the olives begin to change color, to a more saturated green or even reddish tones, without ever waiting until they turn black. We do this because it is at this point when the olive reaches the peak of its aromas, texture and colors, which will be reflected in the final oil.

As we do in the grape harvest, in our case, the olive harvest is also manual. This will be done using the traditional method of the region, known as milking, which is based on hanging a basket on the front of the torso of the farmer and dropping the olives into it.

Subsequently, we will take the olives to the mill, where in a matter of 20 minutes they will become oil definitively, by means of the centrifugal method, where a mill will crush the olive, it will pass to the emulsifier, which will beat the mass, and, finally, it will pass to the centrifuge that will separate the stone, the oil and the water.

This is how we obtain our extra virgin olive oil of the Arróniz variety, characterized by its slight spiciness and bitterness, intense color and a tomato or fresh herb aroma.

That said, here ends this article on olive harvesting, next week we will talk about some macroeconomic data and curiosities of the wine world. If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to stop by our YouTube channel, where every Saturday we upload a video dealing with the same topic as here in greater depth. The video related to this article will be released this Saturday.

The entry OLIVE TREE CARE: OLIVE HARVESTING was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.

Many people think that the Rioja Alavesa is made up solely of vineyards, but, despite their inferiority in numbers, olive trees have also formed and continue to form part of the ecosystem of the area. About a century ago, the fields of this region were mainly made up of three types of plantations: vines, olives and cereals. Later, around the 70’s and 80’s, many farmers decided to focus on vine cultivation. In this way, vineyards began to be planted in the most easily accessible lands, leaving the olive trees on the hillsides and other places of more difficult access. Because of this, we can still find a certain number of olive trees in the surroundings of some vineyards, many of them being centenary trees.

In addition to this, the olive tree is not only a tree used to produce oil, but also serves as a shelter for insects, reptiles or birds that are part of the natural ecosystem necessary for the proper development of the vine.

Being the olive tree a tree that does not lose its leaves, it may seem that throughout the year it remains the same, but it is not so. If weget closer, we will see throughout the year changes in the color of the leaves, we will prune it and form new shoots, it will turn white in bloom, the small olives will grow…

That is why in today’s article we want to focus on the few but essential tasks to be carried out throughout the month of August to obtain an optimal development of our olive tree.

Throughout this month two main tasks can be carried out: on the one hand, we can eliminate the shoots and suckers born on the ground and trunk that compete with the rest of the branches, while leaving the ground and trunk clean, which will facilitate the harvesting tasks when the time comes. On the other hand, in case it is a hot summer, we can water them a little, giving back some extra life to the tree.

That said, this is the end of our introductory article on olive tree care. Next week we will talk about how wine was created and focus on the evolution of wine. If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to stop by our YouTube channel, where every Saturday we upload a video addressing the same topic as here in greater depth.

The entry OLIVE TREE CARE: THE MONTH OF AUGUST was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.