Business South August 2020

50 | Volume 29 | Issue 4 businesssouth Level 3 Whitby House, 7 Alma Street, Nelson, 7010 03 548 2369 letstalk@rwcanelson.co.nz www.rwcanelson.co.nz Proud to support Kakariki Olives with their Accountancy and Advisory needs. PRODUCTION » Kakariki Olives Passion for olives brings world success Located in the Moutere Hills, the Kakariki Olives grove now has over 3200 trees which thrive in the warm, sunny climate and clay soils. Below, the pressing team hard at work in the harvest season. Photos: Virginia Woolf Nick Gormack J ust two years after purchasing Nelson’s Kakariki Olives, Ray and Brenda Gregory are reaping the rewards of their passion and commitment. The only commercial olive grove in the Nelson region, Kakariki was established in 2000 by John and Helen Dunlop. Located in the Moutere Hills, the grove now has over 3200 trees and thrives in the warm, sunny climate and clay soils. Kakariki produces both blended Extra Virgin oils – (it’s “Tuscan” staple is a blend of Frantoio and Leccino olives) - and lemon- and lime-infused oils, which have both won numerous awards at the NZ Olive Oil awards over the years. The grove’s latest success is for a new “Medit- terranean” blend of Kalamata, Picholine and Picual olives, which not only won the “intense blend” class at the 2019 Olives NZ awards but went on to receive a gold award at this year’s prestigious international New York Olive Oil Awards. Brenda Gregory says they are extremely proud of the success of the blend. “We had a drought in summer 2019 and it was also very hot, so the fruit had a lot less water in it compared to other years and this gave it quite intense flavours. This allowed us to create a robust blended oil, which reflects the intense qualities of the fruit.” “In 2018 we didn’t even produce enough of that fruit to blend together, so it was great to be able to do it last year. It wasn’t planned at all, it just seemed a good thing to do given the nature of the harvest.” “It has a very strong aroma – like a cut tomato leaf – which comes from the picual, and the flavour is quite peppery, very distinctive. People are liking it and buying it and we are getting lots of new customers!” “We are learning all the time but it was very exciting to win the award and we’re definitely going to do the blend again.” The majority of the 3200 trees at Kakariki are the Italian varieties Frantoio and Leccino, which com- prise roughly two thirds of the total grove, with the rest being made up of Kalamata (Greece), Picholine (French) and Picual (Spanish) olives. The grove produces between 7000-10,000 litres of oil a year, which is sold through the Nelson Farmer’s market and also supplied in bulk to restaurants, retailers and private customers all over New Zealand. Kakariki has it’s own harvester and oil press, which is also used to process fruit for other smaller growers in the region. The olives are harvested in a short 4-6 week burst in June/July. “The harvest season is very intense, we run the press 14 hours a day and the clean-up takes two hours each day, and because everything hinges on that it does make for a stressful time.” For the last three years Kakariki has also been part of the Focus Grove programme which is run by Olives NZ to help develop the New Zealand industry. Under the programme (which involves growers in five different regions) the grove is monitored regularly by tree scientists and there is input from olives experts. “They’re looking at the management of the trees - the pruning, spraying, fertilising regime - to see what works best and how different variables may influence output. It’s been really good to be part of that for our own production and also to help the wider New Zealand industry.” She says they get wonderful support from the lo- cal community and enjoy the contact with custom- ers at the weekly Nelson Farmer’s Market. “The market is great for us, we get feedback from customers and we can also explain the products to them – it’s very rewarding. After the Covid-19 shutdown our customers were so glad to have us back – they couldn’t wait to stock up on oil – so that was pretty cool.” Brenda says the New York success will un- doubtedly raise the profile of Kakariki Olives. “And not just us but the industry as a whole - down the track we’ll be looking at exporting and at more online marketing and will just keep chipping away at it. It’s very much a young industry in New Zealand and it’s exciting to be part of that as the profile is building.” Brenda says while it’s been a “steep learning curve” since they took over business, they are enjoying the challenge. “It’s hard work but it’s like any farming really – you get out what you put in. “We have been very well supported by John and Helen - the previous owners- they really wanted to see their dream flourish and their input has been instrumental to our success.” For all your WOF, Servicing, Mechanical and Agricultural Contracting needs. 2a Appleby Highway, Richmond, Nelson Phone: 03 541 0556 Fax: 03 541 0566 Mobile: 027 425 3783 OPEN Mon-Fri 8am-7pm | Sat 9am-12pm