There is something deeply satisfying about olive harvest season at Vineyard Cottages. Especially after last year, when our olive trees produced what could only be described as an extremely modest crop. About one olive, to be exact. In a moment of frustration sometime during winter, I may or may not have marched outside with the back of an axe and given the trees a rather stern reminder about their role in life. Apparently they took the feedback on board because this year they have exploded into the most beautiful bumper crop imaginable.

After being flattened by flu and every autumn bug going around over the last fortnight, I finally managed to get out into the orchard yesterday with Sarah and Marieke to begin the harvest. Tarpaulins and old sheets were spread beneath the trees while branches heavy with fruit were shaken until olives rained down across the canvas below us. There is something wonderfully nostalgic about olive picking. Warm autumn sunshine, crisp blue skies, birds overhead and that soft sound of olives hitting the tarps. It feels old-fashioned in the very best possible way.

Before long the buckets were overflowing and it was time to take the fruit up the road to Bill and Eileen Spence, who still press the olive oil for us each season. I love that connection so much. The Spences built Vineyard Cottages many years ago and there’s something rather special about the fact they are still part of the story here, helping turn our olives into rich, vibrant oil every autumn.

This year’s oil is looking absolutely beautiful. Fresh, silky and alive with flavour. Good olive oil should taste exactly that, alive! A little grassy, slightly peppery at the back of the throat and packed with freshness. Years ago I spent some time doing olive oil judging in Northland and learned very quickly that exceptional olive oil behaves much like great wine. It has balance, texture and personality. The peppery hit in the throat that catches you slightly? That’s a very good thing. It means the oil is rich in polyphenols and beautifully fresh.

What you don’t want is tired, stale oil that has sat forgotten in the pantry for years. I once took a tour group to Waiheke Island to meet international olive oil judge Margaret Edwards, who tricked the group into choosing a seven-year-old rancid oil as their favourite. They were horrified when she revealed it. But it proved an important point, so many people are used to old olive oil that they forget what fresh olive oil is supposed to taste like. The moral of the story? Buy olive oil and actually use it.

Because our pressing process is still beautifully manual, it takes time, patience and a lot of care. I arrived yesterday just in time for the traditional post-press glass of Chardonnay with Bill and Eileen and tasted the very first oil of the season. Vibrant green, gloriously fruity and silky smooth with that lovely peppery warmth lingering right at the back of the throat. Autumn in a bottle.

And now, as Mother’s Day weekend arrives, the kitchen here at Vineyard Cottages is filling with the scent of mandarins and tamarillos generously gifted by Bill, ready to find their way into our High Tea menu this weekend. Once the beautiful chaos of events and guests settles down on Sunday evening, dinner will be wonderfully simple, homemade pasta tossed with fresh olive oil, garlic and basil, topped generously with parmesan.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to finish the weekend.