French Island Olives

French Island Olives are grown using the same philosophy of sustainability that underlies our whole farm.

The only olive grove on French Island, our 1,000 trees were planted in the autumn of 2000 on a gentle north facing slope on the southern coast of French Island. We selected varieties based on their ability to thrive in a coastal environment as well as their oil-making qualities. Four varieties were originally planted - Italian varieties Corregiola, Frantoio and Verdale and the Spanish variety Manzanillo - all of which are flourishing. Since 2002, several other varieties have been added in small numbers. When planting the grove, we decided on wide spacing to ensure each tree receives plentiful sunlight and nutrients as it grows and matures.

The grove has been carefully tended using organic and more recently biodynamic methods. The soil was painstakingly prepared in advance, enriched with natural lime and trace elements to ensure the trees were provided with all the essential nutrients for growth. The trees are fertilised with composted animal manures and the soil is further nourished with compost teas, seaweed and fish oil sprays together with other biodynamic preparations. The soil structure has been further improved by spreading natural rock dust. Weeds are controlled by locally occurring natural mulches including seagrass. We are now certified organic growers with the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA).

We chose not to irrigate the grove so the trees are fully adapted to the local environment, watered only by the pure natural rainfall of the region. While encouraging stronger and more resilient trees, this adds to the intense and unique flavour of our oil. Our olives are harvested by hand-rakes onto nets in the traditional way, sent to an organic processor for pressing and the oil is then returned to our farm in stainless steel vats to be bottled and labelled.

The first pressing of our French Island Olives was in 2003 producing a young, peppery flavoured oil and a good report from the oil maker. Since then our yields have increased and the quality of our oil assessed to a gold standard by the Gippsland Olive Grower's Association.

French Island Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - the essence of sustainability.