Mid last week, our Wellsford olive press finally received the go-ahead from MPI that it could operate under a contact-free receival of fruit and process into oil. We’re thrilled that another local business has been given the opportunity to minimise the disruption of the Covid-19 restrictions.
For us at Brick Bay, our bubble scrambled to get the fruit off the trees and after a long day of handpicking, (much like milking a cow) the olives were stripped from the branches and delivered to the olive press.
Our enormous ponderosa lemons accompanied the olives, to produce our unique lemon-pressed olive oil which is being bottled as you read and will be available online along with our classic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. By including the lemons in the actual press, this ‘agrumato’ oil captures in the essential oils of the two fruits, a bright, clean citrus flavour that cannot be duplicated by the more common infusion method.
On a sad note, olive trees in Europe continue to be devastated by Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium spread by insects which has caused a 60% decline in yields in Italy since its first discovery in 2013. The disease is now spreading to Greece and Spain, which along with Italy, account for 95% of European olive oil production. This will invariably impact on the prices of imported olive oil, read more here.
