Like a well-oiled olive machine
We use a lot of Nelson-produced olive oil at home so it’s time I wrote about the small, but high quality, local olive oil industry and the dedicated producers in the region. One of them is Kakariki Olives in Redwood Valley.
Why choose Kakariki Olives to profile as an example of excellence in the olive oil industry in the Nelson Tasman region? Quite simple really, a few months ago they won a gold medal for their Mediterranean Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the Extra Virgin Olive Oil New Zealand awards.
Oh, and they went on to take best in class for the same oil and that has earned the oil a place at the judging table at the world olive oil competition in New York.
The Kakariki olive grove was established in 2000 by John and Helen Dunlop and purchased by Ray and Brenda Gregory in March 2018. The olive grove is planted with about 3500 olive trees that are largely Tuscan varieties and they produce a medium to robust style of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Brenda says it’s a real family business. ‘‘Ray and I both work on the grove, Ray deals with the chainsaw and tractor work. I am usually found in the factory making orders and keeping up with stock. Our daughter Georgia is our social media star while completing her nursing degree.’’
The couple have a background working in different industries in the rural sector.
Ray says they are used to hard work and working outdoors so were looking for something to get them out of the trucking business where they were contractors to others.
‘‘We needed a change and wanted to do something for us, something we could add value to and grow. We saw Kakariki Olives advertised, came and had a look at it, spent a couple of hours wandering around the grove and checking out the equipment before the agent brought us to meet John and Helen the next day.
‘‘They had poured their heart and soul into developing a wonderful environment and lifestyle as well as a business and the fact they were prepared to mentor us and show us everything about growing and processing olives gave us confidence in the business.’’
That was the deciding factor for the couple.
Owning a large olive grove is hard physical work at times, the trees need pruning every year and they take off up to 25 per cent of the tree each year to keep the height down and remove old wood.
‘‘Fruit comes on the new wood, like any fruit tree really’’ Ray says. Because he owned a deer farm prior to trucks he understands the rural scene and knew how to use a chainsaw, a helpful skill for pruning.’’
The harvested olives are processed onsite. John and Helen put the press in, ‘‘and taught us how to use it and we also have our own harvesting equipment because it’s really important to get the fruit from the tree, pressed and into tanks in the shortest time,’’ says Ray.
All of the olives at Kakariki Olives are cold pressed in a single press and they only sell blended oil ‘‘so we have consistency year-after-year, and while the blend may vary slightly the flavour profiles will be the same’’ says Ray.
Kakariki Olives had already notched up a number of gold, silver and bronze medals for its oils over the years but the star last year was the Mediterranean blend that was awarded a gold medal and best in class (best commercial robust blend) and has been sent to New York for the World Olive Oil Competition to be judged in May this year.
The olive oil industry in Nelson may not be large but Kakariki Olives has proved that if you put the hard work in and look after your trees then you can make a premium product.
You can buy it at the Nelson Market on Saturdays: ‘‘People bring along their bottles and we refill them making it cheaper for the customer.’’
Under the watchful eye of the couple who established Kakariki Olives, Ray and Brenda Gregory are continuing to develop the business and make sure the Nelson olive oil stays firmly on the map.