THREE FIRSTS FOR LAKELANDS OLIVES

The 2005 olive harvest delivered Lakelands Olives a bumper crop of top quality biodynamic organic fruit and extra virgin olive oil – and three significant industry achievements.

The season’s highlight was the commissioning of Australia’s first olive de-pitter, installed in conjunction with a newly imported state-of-the-art Italian Alfa Laval 500 processing line. The de-pitter is designed to remove the olive pits prior to processing the fruit. The resulting oil displays a detectable change in bitterness levels which facilitates the subsequent blending process, allowing the crafting of delicately balanced exceptional quality extra virgin olive oils.

‘The investment in this organically certified cutting edge equipment underlines Lakelands Olives’ commitment to producing exceptional quality biodynamic organic olive oils,’ says proprietor, Knut Kammann.

And the third achievement? The production of Australia’s first biodynamic organic herb infused olive oil – Lakelands Olives Basil Olive Oil – crafted from basil grown in the Lakelands Olives herb garden according to strict biodynamic and organic principles.

The 2005 olive harvest extended for a five weeks period through April and May, perfect stable, calm, sunny days and frost-free nights, ideal picking conditions.

The olives were hand-harvested into raised fruit catching frames that the Lakelands Olives team designed to prevent the olives falling on the ground. An Italian tree-shaker, which vibrates the olives into these frames, was also trialled for future use with larger crops. These harvesting methods minimise fruit damage and contamination, and the olives are cold decanter pressed within hours of picking.

The processed oil is stored in a modern climate-controlled facility at 16C, arguably another Australian first because its architectural Bondor walls (similar to the Maritime Museum in Sydney) have double-glazed German tilt & turn windows and opaque Swiss roller-blinds that restrict sunlight but preserve views of the grove and native bushland that surrounds the processing plant.

The Lakelands Olives 2005 EVOO harvest range will be released in July and will be available at selected organic and gourmet provedore stores, and at weekends and Public Holidays from the Lakelands Olives Tasting Room at the historic Bridge View Inn in Rylstone, NSW, south of Mudgee.

Back to News Summary