Olive Oil Production just the best
Surprisingly, olive trees will grow just about anywhere in NZ and, even more surprising, by international standards the oil produced is of the highest quality thanks to our climate.
NZ olive oils are among the finest in the world according to Roberto Zecca, the president of the Californian Olive Growers Assn, and chair of their panel of taste testers. Of nearly 70 NZ oils tested this year, an extraordinary two-thirds achieved Gold Medal extra virgin status by scoring at least 86 out of a possible 100 points. In overseas competitions NZ oils also earn golds and often take out "Best in Show".
Zecca says: "Why on earth would you use anything other than your own oils? Comparing cheaper oils from the Mediterranean with New Zealand oils is like the difference between champagne and bulk wine. In New Zealand you are making champagne quality olive oil.
How come? Surely New Zealand with its damp, cool climate would be at best a marginal oil producer compared with the hot Mediterranean where they have been growing olives for millennia.
It appears that New Zealands strong sun and cool winds that produce hot days and cold nights trigger the production of volatile compounds alcohols, esters and ethers that keep the oil liquid and it is these that produce the fruitiness and flavours desired by oil connoisseurs.
Sjef Lamers, a Nelson-based consultant in soils and plant nutrition, believes that NZs advantages lie in high light intensity and cooler conditions, factors that also make our wines superior.
The leaves can make plenty of sugars during the day, but at night the plant burns them up only very slowly because of our low temperatures. So the plants have a lot higher sugar reserves and can push a lot more energy into fruits, says Lamers.
The combined effect of the light and temperature stressors is to produce a range of flavours and intensities that, as with wine, vary with location from subtropical Northland to the more continental cold climate of Central Otago.
Olive tree roots are tender, dont like wet conditions, and so site selection and drainage are important. Other than that they seem to be able to grow anywhere in NZ. For example, although they are evergreen and normally form an end bud as a marker for the dormancy period, in Northland some keep growing all year through and dont form an end bud.
The wide geographic spread of New Zealand groves may make for variety, but it can be a headache for the many small producers that make up the industry. The majority of growers are hobbyists with plantings that number in the hundreds of trees rather than thousands. Many groves are still young and have yet to reach full production but when they do, harvesting and processing capacity will be in short supply and relative isolation may mean that some producers will have to go it alone rather than share facilities and benefit from economies of scale.
Last year only around 120,000 litres of oil was produced. That figure is expected to double each year to reach 1 million litres by 2007. Since most is sold on the local market, retail prices seem likely to fall from the current NZ$20 or more for 500ml.
The industry as a whole is also achieving some cohesion through the grower organisation Olives New Zealand. It has raised quality awareness amongst its members and has introduced a quality mark for oils that reach high domestic standards. Strangely, the imported oils dont have to meet the same standards, are sold in clear bottles (a definite no-no) and sometimes show signs of rancidity.
Whether it is sold locally or exported, New Zealand olive oil sits at the top end of any market with a remarkable quality advantage. Of all the olive oil produced in the world, only 5% can be genuinely classified as extra virgin, and yet most of New Zealands production is of this standard.
Translating that into a sustainable price advantage is another matter in a world where commodity oils retail at less than NZ$10 per litre, but health factors could make a difference. Fresh oils are generally accepted as heart-friendly, and Kiwi oils have an additional benefit high levels of antioxidants that are nutritionally valuable as well as helping to extend the storage life of oil. Olive oil starts to deteriorate as soon as it is pressed, but NZ oils win international competitions despite the fact that, because of seasonal differences, they are produced six months earlier than their northern hemisphere counterparts.
Doomsayers believe that as the volume of oil to be sold grows exponentially in the next few years prices will fall rapidly and there will be a big shake-out in the industry with only the larger players surviving. However, others believe that by banding together and being able to offer sufficiently large volumes to overseas buyers that the industry will find a collective niche at the high end of the international market.
We look at three players of various sized based near Nelson, their trials and successes.
Moutere Grove
Ed & Liz Scott
The Grove: 20ha, 4500 trees, in olives, also some walnuts, and pine nuts. Organic. Entirely Italian varieties. First plantings 1996 and planted progressively. The first crop in 2000.
Successes: 2000 oil won best in show in Melbourne
2003 oil was the first NZ oil to win an award in Italy
2004 oil got 3 international awards in the USA, UK and Italy.
2005 oil won gold at the Olives NZ awards. Will go into international competition next year (because of seasonal differences, when NZ oils go into international competitions they are nearly a year old which should be a disadvantage, but they win many high level awards so this is quite telling about the quality of NZ oils).
Organics: Started off conventionally but spraying weeds and grass with glyphosate made Ed ill, and he was interested in organics so went down that track. If I knew then what I know now about how hard it would be I might have thought twice
Three main issues with organic production:
Weed control now does grass and weed control mechanically with side mower on tractor that withdraws hydraulically around trees, and has a rear-mounted 3m side-discharge mower that throws grass all out the one side forming a mulch layer.
Peacock spot fungal disease not unlike black spot in apples, not seen much in very young trees but it appears as trees get older and when they get to 4 or 5 they start getting leaf spots and shedding them. Control by pruning to keep trees open and air flow going, and use copper hydroxide spray on fresh growth in autumn and spring because that is vulnerable.
Fertilisers have constantly have done soil and leaf tests, take scientific approach, a lot of capital fertiliser (lime and dolomite) initially, boron deficiency, plant needs boron to flower and fruit effectively. With organics you have to demonstrate a need to use them, and show that what you use is the best available form.
Oil production: 1900 litres last season, low due to frost problems.
Marketing: have been exporting to USA for 5 years, this year over 60% of production went to US. Also send some to EU and to Australia, rest in NZ.
Ed is concerned that some growers might simply cut prices to sell increasing volumes.
We can produce very good oil but cant do it cheaply, and so there is a danger that people may make compromises on quality. NZ oil cant be treated like a commodity, and I think there is a huge challenge in making sure that you make a good quality oil and keep it that way. Unlike wine, oil is at its chemical peak when first pressed and from then on all the processes tend to reduce quality, so you have to take extreme care to keep that to the minimum, says Ed.
To encourage producers to maintain high quality, Olives New Zealand has introduced a quality mark, the extra virgin oil certification programme. The red sticker on bottles means the oil has passed stringent tests far higher than international export standards, passed taste panel assessment and is correctly labeled with a use-by date no more than 2 years from pressing.
Moutere Grove does its own pressing, storage, packing, bottling and despatch. Organic oil costs a lot more to produce, says Ed, and it requires a higher price to compensate.
Ten years down the track I am loving what I am doing, but I dont know of anybody in this industry who can give up their day job. We will make ends meet by lifting production a little, but whether it compensates adequately the investment and the lead-in time I doubt very much.
Frogs End Estate
Peter & Rae Coubrough
10.4ha, all in olives, progressively planted since 1992. Liz & Peter manage the property owned by another family member.
Have experimented with a score of varieties for both oil and pickling, but have now settled on six varieties. The main one is the Italian Frantoio, which does particularly well in the Moutere clay soil.
They produce oils of consistent quality, and have picked up about a dozen awards over the years. This year in the Olives NZ Awards they received two gold medals and won the best in class for the Intense Flavour class. (There are three classes delicate, mild and intense).
They say it takes much work and dedication to be successful.
You have to be passionate, nobody is making a living just from olives, says Liz, who works at the grove while Peter has a full-time job elsewhere.
Much time and effort go into pruning and weeding. They no longer do their own picking, hiring a contract gang to do that and an outside operator to press their oil.
Peter has done a lot of landscape planting and created a series of dams for water storage, and a series of ponds and a lake down by the estuary, which gives contrasting reds and golds against the evergreens of the olives in the autumn.
Marketing: Were selling 500ml of oil in top quality bottles with vinyl coated labels with foil around them so they wont be marked by oil. Now have extended into 1 litre cans with cheaper labels, and 5-litre cans that are sold to chefs. While they sell at the grove, most of their production goes to delis and high quality food outlets.
Tasman Bay Olives Ltd, Elovi brand
Roger Armstrong,
Like the other groves, this one has won its fair share of gold medals and awards 13 in all both in NZ and USA. They include the Olives New Zealand supreme commercial awards in 2003, Best in class for a blend at the Los Angeles county fair in 2004 and was runner up to the supreme award winner.
In taking his oils to the US market Roger had excellent feedback from Greek and Italian deli owners, and the like.
It took about 18 months of visiting and talking but we now supply a large high-end food and kitchenware retailer. People are aware of NZ from the Lord of the Rings, and many Americans have visited, and have a positive view of NZ foods, says Roger.
The demand is greatest on the west and east coasts where people tend to be more adventurous with foods.
Roger believes that as awareness of NZ oils and interest in them increases around the world opportunities for sales are also increasing, and there is no question that there are niches that the industry can get into.
We will end up with major players in NZ who will pick up contracts to supply overseas. We havent had enough volume to get into major outlets, but that will change in 2-3 years, and I think there will be co-ops and companies in various parts of NZ will source oil and secure contracts to supply. That will soak up a lot of the smaller production around the country, he says.
Also the NZ market is shaping up, prices coming back but so are production costs, mechanical harvesting being done, and that will make the oils more affordable. Maybe people will use cheaper imported oils for frying and NZ oils for dressings etc.
NZ olive oils are among the finest in the world according to Roberto Zecca, the president of the Californian Olive Growers Assn, and chair of their panel of taste testers. Of nearly 70 NZ oils tested this year, an extraordinary two-thirds achieved Gold Medal extra virgin status by scoring at least 86 out of a possible 100 points. In overseas competitions NZ oils also earn golds and often take out "Best in Show".
Zecca says: "Why on earth would you use anything other than your own oils? Comparing cheaper oils from the Mediterranean with New Zealand oils is like the difference between champagne and bulk wine. In New Zealand you are making champagne quality olive oil.
How come? Surely New Zealand with its damp, cool climate would be at best a marginal oil producer compared with the hot Mediterranean where they have been growing olives for millennia.
It appears that New Zealands strong sun and cool winds that produce hot days and cold nights trigger the production of volatile compounds alcohols, esters and ethers that keep the oil liquid and it is these that produce the fruitiness and flavours desired by oil connoisseurs.
Sjef Lamers, a Nelson-based consultant in soils and plant nutrition, believes that NZs advantages lie in high light intensity and cooler conditions, factors that also make our wines superior.
The leaves can make plenty of sugars during the day, but at night the plant burns them up only very slowly because of our low temperatures. So the plants have a lot higher sugar reserves and can push a lot more energy into fruits, says Lamers.
The combined effect of the light and temperature stressors is to produce a range of flavours and intensities that, as with wine, vary with location from subtropical Northland to the more continental cold climate of Central Otago.
Olive tree roots are tender, dont like wet conditions, and so site selection and drainage are important. Other than that they seem to be able to grow anywhere in NZ. For example, although they are evergreen and normally form an end bud as a marker for the dormancy period, in Northland some keep growing all year through and dont form an end bud.
The wide geographic spread of New Zealand groves may make for variety, but it can be a headache for the many small producers that make up the industry. The majority of growers are hobbyists with plantings that number in the hundreds of trees rather than thousands. Many groves are still young and have yet to reach full production but when they do, harvesting and processing capacity will be in short supply and relative isolation may mean that some producers will have to go it alone rather than share facilities and benefit from economies of scale.
Last year only around 120,000 litres of oil was produced. That figure is expected to double each year to reach 1 million litres by 2007. Since most is sold on the local market, retail prices seem likely to fall from the current NZ$20 or more for 500ml.
The industry as a whole is also achieving some cohesion through the grower organisation Olives New Zealand. It has raised quality awareness amongst its members and has introduced a quality mark for oils that reach high domestic standards. Strangely, the imported oils dont have to meet the same standards, are sold in clear bottles (a definite no-no) and sometimes show signs of rancidity.
Whether it is sold locally or exported, New Zealand olive oil sits at the top end of any market with a remarkable quality advantage. Of all the olive oil produced in the world, only 5% can be genuinely classified as extra virgin, and yet most of New Zealands production is of this standard.
Translating that into a sustainable price advantage is another matter in a world where commodity oils retail at less than NZ$10 per litre, but health factors could make a difference. Fresh oils are generally accepted as heart-friendly, and Kiwi oils have an additional benefit high levels of antioxidants that are nutritionally valuable as well as helping to extend the storage life of oil. Olive oil starts to deteriorate as soon as it is pressed, but NZ oils win international competitions despite the fact that, because of seasonal differences, they are produced six months earlier than their northern hemisphere counterparts.
Doomsayers believe that as the volume of oil to be sold grows exponentially in the next few years prices will fall rapidly and there will be a big shake-out in the industry with only the larger players surviving. However, others believe that by banding together and being able to offer sufficiently large volumes to overseas buyers that the industry will find a collective niche at the high end of the international market.
We look at three players of various sized based near Nelson, their trials and successes.
Moutere Grove
Ed & Liz Scott
The Grove: 20ha, 4500 trees, in olives, also some walnuts, and pine nuts. Organic. Entirely Italian varieties. First plantings 1996 and planted progressively. The first crop in 2000.
Successes: 2000 oil won best in show in Melbourne
2003 oil was the first NZ oil to win an award in Italy
2004 oil got 3 international awards in the USA, UK and Italy.
2005 oil won gold at the Olives NZ awards. Will go into international competition next year (because of seasonal differences, when NZ oils go into international competitions they are nearly a year old which should be a disadvantage, but they win many high level awards so this is quite telling about the quality of NZ oils).
Organics: Started off conventionally but spraying weeds and grass with glyphosate made Ed ill, and he was interested in organics so went down that track. If I knew then what I know now about how hard it would be I might have thought twice
Three main issues with organic production:
Weed control now does grass and weed control mechanically with side mower on tractor that withdraws hydraulically around trees, and has a rear-mounted 3m side-discharge mower that throws grass all out the one side forming a mulch layer.
Peacock spot fungal disease not unlike black spot in apples, not seen much in very young trees but it appears as trees get older and when they get to 4 or 5 they start getting leaf spots and shedding them. Control by pruning to keep trees open and air flow going, and use copper hydroxide spray on fresh growth in autumn and spring because that is vulnerable.
Fertilisers have constantly have done soil and leaf tests, take scientific approach, a lot of capital fertiliser (lime and dolomite) initially, boron deficiency, plant needs boron to flower and fruit effectively. With organics you have to demonstrate a need to use them, and show that what you use is the best available form.
Oil production: 1900 litres last season, low due to frost problems.
Marketing: have been exporting to USA for 5 years, this year over 60% of production went to US. Also send some to EU and to Australia, rest in NZ.
Ed is concerned that some growers might simply cut prices to sell increasing volumes.
We can produce very good oil but cant do it cheaply, and so there is a danger that people may make compromises on quality. NZ oil cant be treated like a commodity, and I think there is a huge challenge in making sure that you make a good quality oil and keep it that way. Unlike wine, oil is at its chemical peak when first pressed and from then on all the processes tend to reduce quality, so you have to take extreme care to keep that to the minimum, says Ed.
To encourage producers to maintain high quality, Olives New Zealand has introduced a quality mark, the extra virgin oil certification programme. The red sticker on bottles means the oil has passed stringent tests far higher than international export standards, passed taste panel assessment and is correctly labeled with a use-by date no more than 2 years from pressing.
Moutere Grove does its own pressing, storage, packing, bottling and despatch. Organic oil costs a lot more to produce, says Ed, and it requires a higher price to compensate.
Ten years down the track I am loving what I am doing, but I dont know of anybody in this industry who can give up their day job. We will make ends meet by lifting production a little, but whether it compensates adequately the investment and the lead-in time I doubt very much.
Frogs End Estate
Peter & Rae Coubrough
10.4ha, all in olives, progressively planted since 1992. Liz & Peter manage the property owned by another family member.
Have experimented with a score of varieties for both oil and pickling, but have now settled on six varieties. The main one is the Italian Frantoio, which does particularly well in the Moutere clay soil.
They produce oils of consistent quality, and have picked up about a dozen awards over the years. This year in the Olives NZ Awards they received two gold medals and won the best in class for the Intense Flavour class. (There are three classes delicate, mild and intense).
They say it takes much work and dedication to be successful.
You have to be passionate, nobody is making a living just from olives, says Liz, who works at the grove while Peter has a full-time job elsewhere.
Much time and effort go into pruning and weeding. They no longer do their own picking, hiring a contract gang to do that and an outside operator to press their oil.
Peter has done a lot of landscape planting and created a series of dams for water storage, and a series of ponds and a lake down by the estuary, which gives contrasting reds and golds against the evergreens of the olives in the autumn.
Marketing: Were selling 500ml of oil in top quality bottles with vinyl coated labels with foil around them so they wont be marked by oil. Now have extended into 1 litre cans with cheaper labels, and 5-litre cans that are sold to chefs. While they sell at the grove, most of their production goes to delis and high quality food outlets.
Tasman Bay Olives Ltd, Elovi brand
Roger Armstrong,
Like the other groves, this one has won its fair share of gold medals and awards 13 in all both in NZ and USA. They include the Olives New Zealand supreme commercial awards in 2003, Best in class for a blend at the Los Angeles county fair in 2004 and was runner up to the supreme award winner.
In taking his oils to the US market Roger had excellent feedback from Greek and Italian deli owners, and the like.
It took about 18 months of visiting and talking but we now supply a large high-end food and kitchenware retailer. People are aware of NZ from the Lord of the Rings, and many Americans have visited, and have a positive view of NZ foods, says Roger.
The demand is greatest on the west and east coasts where people tend to be more adventurous with foods.
Roger believes that as awareness of NZ oils and interest in them increases around the world opportunities for sales are also increasing, and there is no question that there are niches that the industry can get into.
We will end up with major players in NZ who will pick up contracts to supply overseas. We havent had enough volume to get into major outlets, but that will change in 2-3 years, and I think there will be co-ops and companies in various parts of NZ will source oil and secure contracts to supply. That will soak up a lot of the smaller production around the country, he says.
Also the NZ market is shaping up, prices coming back but so are production costs, mechanical harvesting being done, and that will make the oils more affordable. Maybe people will use cheaper imported oils for frying and NZ oils for dressings etc.