As those of you who follow me on Instagram know, I’ve been in Italy recently, specifically Cinque Terre. A combination of work & family/friends visit, timed around the olive harvest. In past years I’ve eagerly assisted with the grape harvest, going as far as stomping the many buckets of grapes with my bare feet. What fun! But olives? I had never before taken part in the harvest, choosing instead to busy myself with work while my Italian labors in the land. This year however, I decided to find out exactly how this homegrown oil is created. 
Step 1 : Make sure there are plenty of olives in the trees
Step 2 : Put down the nets to catch the olives
Step 3 : Sew the nets together (this is where I came in to assist)
Step 4 : Watch as the olives collect in the nets
Step 5 : Take a moment to meditate while olives fall from the trees (me assisting again)
Step 6 : Shake the trees and collect all the olives to bring to cold press
This year we estimate 300-500 kilos of olives. That makes for A LOT of extra virgin olive oil! Who’s joining next year?
