Olive Picking News
olive stories, news and holiday ideas from around the world
(to promote your own event please
contact us via admin@olivepicking.com)
Exciting TASTING OPPORTUNITY on October 8th and 9th at the Frantoio Hispellum in Spello, Italy. There will be
tastings led by Alessandro Baldicchi of their new seasons' Terre Rosse Extra
Virgin biodynamically grown olive oil. A range of other delicious products will also be
available. This is a delightful part of Umbria, close to Assisi. For more information contact mbellia@hispellum.com.
Now
is the perfect time to BOOK an olive picking holiday. There is a great choice: spend a few hours
or a few weeks helping with the harvest. Many people have kept prices the same as last year and there are
options to enjoy even if you don't wish to hire a car. Escape the humdrum and the cold - in less than four
weeks you could be harvesting olives in the sun! If this is too soon for you to get away the havest
continues until January depending on where you want to
visit.
Olives and ANIMALS The weekend of 13 - 15th January 2012 promises to be very special: staying in a beautiful
rural Mallorcan hotel, you will help harvest some olives, enjoy an olive oil cookery class with a
Michelin starred chef and most unusually you will be able to share in the Festival of San
Antonio - a blessing by the village priest of the local animals. If you don't have a live
animal handy then why not bring a favourite soft toy to join the horses, cats, dogs and donkeys! For further
information contact info@canreushotel.com
Driving Over LEMONS If you have read and loved Chris Stewart's book about the
challenges and delights of making a new life in the Las Alpujarras region of Southern Spain you may
like to know that on 30th October you can join him in this wonderful region for seven days of
walking and exploring, including a visit to an ancient olive press where (of course) you will be
tasting the local oil. Contact info@alpujarra-tours.com
UK
Olive Oil Consumption The UK is steadily increasing its consumption of Olive Oil with recent figures showing an
annual purchase of 28 million litres creating a market now worth over £150 million in sales,
but an amazing 50% of UK families still don't use olive oil despite its fabulous taste and
many health benefits!
Visiting CRETE? If you are lucky enough to be visiting Crete this summer
then why not take time to visit the BIOLEA Astrikas Estate, home of award winning organic olive
oil. The Estate couples traditional production techniques, such as stone milling with the latest thinking on
sustainability. The company works within Crete to champion organic cultivation and is set within a
stunning part of northwestern Crete just 30km from Chania. Excellent directions are available from their
interesting and attractive English Language website click here to access
it.
TIME
FOR OLIVE TREES The
RHS Spring Gardening Show at Malvern was
a great success this year and congratulations to Villaggio Verde who created a medal winning show garden entitled:
'Time for Olive Trees' which demonstrated how at the end of an olive grove's life the
trees can be removed and transplanted into containers for us all to enjoy. Many smaller olive trees were spotted
making their way to new homes as they were manoeuvred into cars outside the show
ground!
Help
us find the VERY BEST OLIVE OIL In conjunction with OUR OLIVE PICKING BLOG we are looking for the very best
olive oil in the world! To nominate your favourite oil tell us why you love it and why it's so
special.
Summer is on its way to THE OLIVE
GROVES Which means
now is a great time to start thinking about arranging your very own olive picking holiday for the autumn. There is a great choice this
year in traditional places such as Italy and the less usual - how about Croatia for
example?
A
treat for YOUR SKIN If outside
work and weather is taking its toll on your skin you may be interested in 'Simply Rich Body Cream' just one of
a number of products hand made to order in southern Spain by Lujos using
their own estate grown and bottled olive oil.
VIDEO
Diaries Following on from the success of
our Best of the Blogs page we have started to develop a Best of the Video Diaries
for you to enjoy. They say a picture's worth a thousand
words!
Try
the OLIVE PICKING QUIZ If
you have a few minutes to spare why not try our quiz and test your Olive knowledge! What is a drupe, how big is the world's largest
olive ....
2011 DATES NOW AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING Most holidays now have
their 2011 dates and prices confirmed. To browse and book go to Olive Picking Holidays and plan
something very special to look forward to.
Why not treat yourself to a NEW
BOOK Sit outside and daydream of a NEW LIFE IN THE SUN! Our page
of special
books brings you a great choice of reading from people
who have done just that (and maybe 2011 will be the year that you join
them!
NEW YEAR
RESOLUTIONS? If you are planning to have a 'greener' 2011 why not visit our
travel page and explore the option of travelling through Europe by train. This is a great option for
anyone planning an olive picking holiday in Spain or
Italy.
GIFT IDEAS If you are looking for present ideas check
out our new page and store for help. Ideas range from small items that you can customise, using photographs
from the Olive Picking website, through to the purchase of your own Olive Grove. Start shopping
NOW!
The OLIVE PICKING SEASON has
arrived Olive Picking is now in full swing and there are some
brilliant blogs recording what's happening. Olive Picking has selected some of the best which can be viewed
via this link: Olive Picking
Stories from the Best of the Blogs.
Need help with your Olive
Picking?
Olive Picking is pleased to announce a new initiative which
plans to bring together those who need help with their harvest with people looking to volunteer. Find out
more here.
Olive oil experiences that can fit into a single fabulous
day
Many people would like to experience fresh local olive oil,
delicious food and fabulous scenery, now you can add an olive experience to a
weekend break or a longer holiday. This gives you the chance to experience all the urban delights of a major
European city yet balance it with a day exploring local rural traditions. If you are staying in Seville,
Barcelona or Palma there is even the option of collection from your
hotel.
Spirit of Italy
announce the launch of Harvest Italia
2011
With only
14 places available this tour promises to be a great opportunity to spend a week exploring Tuscany sharing in
the Olive Harvest. There is a day and a half spent olive picking in glorious surroundings and you will be
staying nearby in a beautifully appointed agriturismo (traditional farmhouse). A carefully planned programme
includes visits to Florence, Siena, and Chianti with designer outlet shopping another possibility! For full
information click here or view this short
video.
Zejtun Olive Festival
Malta Thanks to Alfred and Jasmine who have posted
this fantastic footage of the festival which took place at the end of September. Now even if you missed it
you can enjoy the experience too. Just remember to put the date in your diary for 2011. To discover
more Olive Oil festivals click here.
Act now if you want to enjoy a special Culinary Cycling Journey in
2011 This is a unique opportunity for keen cyclists to enjoy
a brilliant time in the Molise region of Italy. Olive oil tasting, wine tasting, truffle hunting and
plenty of cycling through the lust rolling countryside decked out in its autumnal splendor. Read more
about this holiday on our Olive Routes page.
Discover how to enjoy Olive Picking for
free If you love the idea of an Olive Picking holiday
but think you can't afford it there are still options you can consider. Many people need a hand with
harvesting their olives and if you are happy to exchange your labour for food and accommodation this could
be the ideal win-win situation! Perfect for gap year travellers of any age or people looking for a short
break and maybe the chance to improve you language skills. Current options include Italy (various choices
here), the south of France, Sardinia ... follow this link to our volunteer page to find out more.
A very special
painting holiday timed to co-incide with the olive harvest in Tuscany On this holiday
there is the chance to help with olive picking but mainly it's about spending a week painting outside in a
timeless landscape with a small group of like minded people. Staying in an old farmhouse and surrounded
by beautiful views, olive groves and a vineyard, you will be spoilt for choice when looking for artistic
inspiration. This holiday is organised by Open Air Italy.
Olive Stones can give you a great nights
sleep! No longer just a wastes product an innovative use for
olive stones has been discovered by a Spanish company who have developed 'charcolive' a patented product developed by
carbonising the olive stones. This makes them highly absorbent and so useful for, amongst other things,
odour absorption. The also apparently make a great pillow filling, the olive stones shape themselves
around the head and neck to provide support and also provide a gently massage effect. The company will
ship their products worldwide.
Did you
watch the 'largest olive harvest in Texas
history' The 'largest olive harvest in Texas
history' took place on 14-15 September 2010 at the Texas Olive
Ranch (two hours drive west of San Antonio). Details of future events at the ranch will be
published shortly. There is an interesting historical precedent to the planting of olive trees in Arizona.
The picture below is taken from the website waymarking.com which shows photos of some very old olive trees
planted in 1896, in the centre of Scottsdale. Originally these were a windbreak planted by the towns founder
to protect his citrus trees.
Winfield Scott's Olive Tree in Scottsdale,
Arizona
| 
