Photo Gallery of the Month: 2016 Olive Harvest at Jordan Winery

After a weekend of heavy rain, our nineteenth estate olive harvest began in Alexander Valley under blue skies on November 1—exactly two months after the start of grape crush. The week of sunny, warm days that followed was exactly the kind of weather needed to dry the soils quickly, allowing us to pick our one Spanish and three Italian varieties of olives at their desired ripeness. Harvest started with the Spanish Arbequina before moving into Pendolino, Leccino and lastly, Frantoio. The entire 2016 olive harvest should be finished by today, and seven days of picking is always my goal.

So far, I’m very pleased with the expressive flavors in the newly pressed oils–fruity, grassy, pungent and spicy notes–exactly what we strive for. The quantity of olives is down after a bumper 2015 olive harvest, as expected. Stay tuned for our full 2016 Jordan Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil vintage report later this month.