The harvest begins before sunrise. Every olive that falls onto the cloths spread beneath the trees carries that year’s sun.
Early-harvest olives are picked before full ripeness; the yield drops but the aroma sharpens. The first cold-pressed oil is almost emerald — it finishes with a gentle peppery catch in the throat.
This year we tasted the first press at the long table in the garden, with ember-toasted village bread. Part of those bottles goes into the olive-oil dishes on our menu; the rest is poured at our guests’ tables.
Journal
We went down to the grove on an October morning; the year’s first oil ran green and peppery from the stone press.
