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Harvest Notebook  |   Health Benefits 

THE OIL


DRY ROCK Olive Trees
Varietal Origins Description Oil
Picual Spanish hardy little trees, quick producers fruity green
Barnea Israeli fast-growing, sensitive to frost & wind smooth banana
Leccino Italian prolific/small olives/good blending oil golden buttery
Frantoio Italian slower to take off but worth it electric green peppery
Manzanillo Spanish early producer best for pickling

small numbers of other varietals eg
Picholine-French Uova di Piccone and Pendolino-Italian Kalamata and Koroneiki-Greek

Harvesting

DRY ROCK olives are picked by hand during Matariki - the harvest months of May and June when the Matariki (Pleiades) constellation is in the sky. They are taken away immediately after picking to be cold pressed at the large centrifugal Italian press in nearby Masterton (The Olive Press.) The oil is kept in large vats to settle until it is bottled unfiltered a couple of months later. We bottle in 250 ml and 500 ml bottles and are also moving into large cans.

Types of oil

The olives are picked in all degrees of ripeness from green to purple to black and some are blended together in different proportions which gives each of DRY ROCK's extra virgin olive oils distinctive tastes and characteristics for use with a variety of foods and cuisines. No two oils are the same. One oil may be golden and buttery while another is green and peppery. All DRY ROCK oils have a remarkably low acidity of well under one percent - typically 0.1 to 0.3% - which is why they're called extra virgin.


Award winners

Gold Award Winner Wairarapa Olive Awards 2003
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Barnea/Picual/Leccino

Silver Award Winner Wairarapa Olive Awards 2003
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Frantoio/Leccino

Supreme Winner NZ Culinary Olive Oil Awards 2003
Best Blend NZ Culinary Olive Oil Awards 2003
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Leccino/Frantoio blend

Certificate of Excellence NZ Culinary Olive Oil Awards 2003
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Picual/Barnea/Leccino blend

Wairarapa Olive Association Bronze Award 2002
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Frantoio/Leccino blend

Wairarapa Olive Association's Supreme Award 2001
Wairarapa Olive Association's Best Blend 2001
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil Barnea/Picual blend

DRY ROCK olive grove history

OLIVE HARVEST NOTEBOOK

 

 

 
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