The Accidental Olive Orchard

Truth be told, we didn’t know we’d bought an olive orchard until after we moved onto the property.

The trees covered the hillsides, and during the buying process our attention was fixed on the house rather than the surrounding landscape. Even so, it’s a little embarrassing to overlook nearly 200 olive trees.

We moved in over the holidays in 2010. Not long after, Kyle announced the “discovery” of our orchard to a less-than-enthusiastic wife.

I don’t particularly care for olives.

I do, however, love olive oil.

And just like that, our unexpected adventure began.

 

Today, our orchard is home to nearly 500 olive trees. We harvest primarily Manzanilla and Chemlali olives, while Arbequina, Mission, and Koroneiki trees add diversity through cross-pollination and years of experimentation.

Every morning, Kyle walks the orchard with our three dogs. He checks the leaves, watches the soil, notices what has changed overnight. I can never quite tell if he’s talking to the trees or the dogs, but either way, they seem to appreciate the conversation.

Living with an orchard has changed the way we think about olive oil.

Great olive oil doesn’t begin at the mill. It begins months earlier—with healthy soil, careful pruning, enough winter rain, warm summer days, and the quiet patience of trees that have been teaching us something new every season.

We care for our orchard using traditional organic methods and harvest by hand. That means every season is a little different. Some years nature is generous. Other years she asks us to be patient.

We’ve learned to accept both.

Because the finest olive oil isn’t manufactured.

It’s nurtured—tree by tree, season by season, harvest by harvest.

Every bottle of Bel Lavoro olive oil begins with that simple belief.