Onoke Olive Oil

Olives and Olive oil

The olive is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world.
A native to Asia Minor, it spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine throughout the Mediterranean around 5-6,000 years ago.
Olices were being grown on the Isle of Crete by around 3,000 BC and may well have contributed to the immense wealth of the Minoan kingdom.
From there, the olive spread to Africa and Southern Europe and have even been found in Egyptian tombs from as early as 2,000 years BC. Greek culture quickly caught on to the benefits of olives and olive oil and soon passed their knowledge on to the Roman Empire. The Greeks were engulfed by the all-pervading Roman culture which was spreading far and wide, eventually bringing the healing and culinary properties of the olive to the far reaches of the known world.

Onoke Olive Oil - an extra virgin oil made from the frantoio variety (from coastal Tuscany).

A small green-to-red-ish fruit with relativley high yield. Its flavour reflects the saline coastal environment at Lake Ferry Settlement.

The olives are picked mid-winter and pressed in Martinborough.

While South Wairarapa is potentially a great region for olive oil production and export, the Onoke Lakeside Estate product is intended for the NZ domestic market,

Our trees are well suited to the soil and weather conditions of Lake Ferry, one of New Zealand's sunniest locations - with surrounding sea and lush growing conditions.

Onoke Olive oil is marketed predominately via direct sales in the Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay and Wellington regions.