Harvest Notes 2025

Olives are naturally alternate bearing, meaning it is typical to have a heavy year followed by a light year. After our previous year’s record harvest, we were expecting a very light crop and were even worried about having enough fruit to harvest. Our ongoing efforts to improve the health of our farm ecosystem and build healthier soils paid off. This year was our largest “off” year ever!

This year’s harvest got off to a great start with a normal, early November start. November 4th was our first day of milling and we were delighted to host the team at evanhealy for a farm tour, milling experience, and delightful lunch.

The oils coming from our first days of harvest were a delight, some of my favorite oils I’ve ever milled. Our main goal moving forward with our agronomy is to increase the aromatic intensity and complexity of our oils, and this year we saw great progress in that respect. In the early days of harvest, our mill was alive with the intense aroma coming off of all of the machines.

Our mill, 20 years old and still going strong, gave us no shortage of headaches this year. She held together for the long days of milling that frequently went through into cold, chilly nights.

By the end of harvest in early December, we had managed to bring in 70 tons of fruit, which blew us away. The month of November tempered and tamed the fruit and we milled some delightful, balanced and mellow oils.

The oil has now been “put to bed” (secured in oxygen free tanks in our climate controlled storage) and we will spend the winter carrying out a deep clean of our mill and organizing our barn in anticipation of the coming growing season.

This is an elegant and structured oil. Bursting with vibrant aromas of fresh grass, green almond, pandan leaf, and green tea. The oil has a pleasant, crisp body and very minimal bitterness - more reminiscent of a dry, minerally wine. It is crisp, but subtle and carries flavors of both green aromatic botanicals and delicate fruits like banana, persimmon, and papaya. It’s aroma lingers on the palette in a long, clean finish with an assertive, peppery kick in the throat.

Our goal is to produce robust, high polyphenol olive oils that are deeply aromatic and pungent, but minimally bitter or astringent. This year is a prime example of an oil that comes from olives grown in healthy, living soil.

For the past few years, the diamond label carried our work into kitchens and onto dinner tables. The new label marks a shift forward. Cleaner, more focused, and more reflective of who we are now as a farm that has grown in clarity and conviction.

Our journey into regenerative agriculture is a reflection of real changes in the field and in how we think about our farm as a living system. Our aim remains simple: to produce olive oil that tastes unmistakably alive. The new label is designed to reflect that, while pointing toward a future where farming can repair, endure, and invite people to rethink what is possible when care and rigor guide the work.