Our Olive Oil

Its location, at the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand, has an ideal climate for producing some of the finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the world. The trees grow in the stony, free draining soils so typical of the Wairarapa, alongside the Ruamahanga river. The cold, wet winters followed by long, hot and dry summer days are perfect conditions for the olives, resulting in oils with uniquely fresh flavours to gratify even the most discerning palate.

The grove was established in July 1999 with the 31 acres being progressively planted over the following 3 years. The olive grove has 3650 trees comprising varieties from Italy (Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino), France (Picholene) and Spain (Manzanillo, Picual).

The special character of Leafyridge Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also attributed to the traditional values which we have adhered to over the past 12 years in growing, harvesting and processing the olives. Harvesting takes place in June and July each year with the olives sent to the nearby press within a few hours of picking. The large Co-operative press (The Olive Press), of which we are members, is situated only 15 minutes away from the grove. This immediate pressing ensures minimal damage to the olives and results in the production of the highest quality extra virgin olive oil. Once pressed, the oil is left to settle for at least 6 weeks in large stainless steel tanks before bottling.

We are proud of the fact that we produce our own olives used in our extra virgin olive oil. This means that every aspect of the quality of the oil we produce is controlled by us, from tree nutrition and pruning to the actual harvesting of the fruit and the pressing into extra virgin olive oil.

The first commercial quantities of Leafyridge Extra Virgin Olive Oil were available in October 2005, for which we won a silver medal. In 2006 Leafyridge won two Gold medals at the NZ Olive Oil Awards and since then our Extra Virgin Olive Oils have won many gold or silver medals at the Annual NZ Olive Oil competition.

Leafyridge Extra Virgin Olive Oil carries the Olives New Zealand Red Certification mark verifying that it meets the requirements for Extra Virgin Olive Oil as laid down by the International Olive Oil Council. This means that you can be sure you are buying the very best quality olive oil.

We get an enormous amount of pleasure and satisfaction from what we do to produce our oil and we are certain that you will get just as much from using it, whether in baking, cooking, on salads, or even as a health tonic, on its own!

Ruth and Craig Leaf-Wright

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