When olives are harvested, and why the date changes everything

In Tuscany we pick between October and November. But inside those six weeks lies the difference between two completely different oils — and the choice is made by the grower, not the calendar.

Veraison

An olive does not ripen all at once: it changes colour gradually, from green to purple to black. That passage is called veraison, and watching it is the job of whoever decides when to start.

A green olive holds less oil but more polyphenols — the compounds behind the bitterness, the pepper and the keeping quality. A black olive holds more oil, but those compounds have already partly broken down.

What waiting gains, and what it costs

Picking early means taking home less oil from the same olives: twelve or thirteen kilos per hundred instead of sixteen or eighteen. That difference shows up in the accounts.

In exchange you get a green, bitter, peppery oil, rich in antioxidants, that lasts longer. Waiting two weeks means more oil and a sweeter, rounder profile — an oil more people like straight away, and one that ages a little sooner.

Here the choice was not to choose: we pick twice. The early olives become Luce, those of the full November harvest become Raccolto.

The weather decides more than the calendar

A week of rain shifts everything: the olives swell with water, the yield drops and the risk of fruit fly rises. An early frost can force you to pick in three days what was planned over two weeks.

That is why no serious grower fixes a date in September. You watch the tree, you taste the olive, you keep an eye on the forecast — and you book the mill at short notice.

Why we pick by hand

Mechanical shakers are faster and for large groves they are the only practical way. On a terraced hillside with old trees they cannot pass, and in any case they bruise more.

A bruised olive starts oxidising while it is still in the crate. Combs and nets cost time and give it back as lower acidity and intact aroma.

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