November is traditionally the time of the olive harvest in Chianti - as it is throughout Tuscany. I have often had the pleasure of being present during the harvest and pressing of the fruit and experiencing how the bitter fruit is transformed into a green delicacy that is an integral part of Italian cuisine.

That's why I'm dedicating this and other blog posts to the green gold of Tuscany - the journey from tree to Olio di Oliva Extra Vergine. Today, in the first part, everything revolves around the olive tree itself - these venerable trees with a great history.

Roman emperors once had victory wreaths woven from its branches. Entire nations gained wealth and influence in the Mediterranean region through the cultivation of the olive tree - namely the Philistines (1000 BC) and the Cretans (until 1500 BC). So let's first get to the bottom of the question of what makes the olive tree so special...

Depending on the variety of olive tree - of which there are more than 1,000 in the Mediterranean region alone and around 80 varieties in Tuscany itself - the gnarled trees can reach heights of between 10 and 20 meters. The wild olive trees are smaller than their cultivated counterparts.

Typical characteristics of all olive trees are the green-grey, smooth bark of the young branches and trunks and the intense silver-grey leaves that enliven and characterize the Tuscan landscape. All year round: Because the olive tree is an evergreen plant. In other words, it never loses all its foliage at once, but sheds individual leaves that are already several years old.

Olive trees, which belong to the olive genus, generally need a lot of time to grow: you have to be patient for six to seven years before the highly sought-after fruit can be harvested for the first time. However, this period is put into perspective when you consider that an olive tree can live for several hundred years, sometimes even more than a thousand years. So if you plant an olive tree today, many, many generations to come will see it grow and enjoy its fruit.

By the way: The oldest known olive tree specimen grows on the Greek island of Crete and is estimated to be a proud 4,000 years old.

It's all a question of age...

However, trees of this age are rarely found in Chianti. There is a tragic but very simple reason for this: in the winter of 1985, there was a sudden cold snap in large parts of Tuscany with temperatures of up to minus twenty degrees. This cold, coupled with the wetness of previous rainfall, destroyed many trees.

Initially, it was assumed that eighteen million of the twenty million olive trees in Tuscany were partially or completely frozen. But the broken trees were cut down and soon young shoots sprang up again from the wood that was thought to be dead. Plantations that had often been abandoned came back to life. Of course, the harvest was not particularly glorious for years because the rescued or newly planted trees did not bear as much fruit as the old trunks. It was not until six years after the great frost that Tuscany had an above-average harvest again.

Since then, the olive groves of Chianti have also recovered magnificently and almost everyone who owns a small piece of land has planted their olive trees there and makes their own olive oil. And if you don't have your own trees, you simply rent some... Because you simply can't do without olive oil.

The olive tree: a strong tree that likes it Mediterranean

The olive tree itself doesn't really need much: every year in spring, it is pruned, which is done a little more vigorously every five years or so. This is justified insofar as the olive tree bears the most fruit on fresh and annual shoots.

Typically, the olive trees in Chianti tend to be pruned into a round shape. There is a very pragmatic reason for this: if the tree is lower, it is easier to harvest the olives later. What the olive tree also needs is loose soil and temperatures that are not too hot, but not too cold either. Olives also don't like it too dry, but not too wet either. A portion of water now and then gives the tree strength and therefore also strong fruit. In other words, a typical Tuscan, Mediterranean summer is ideal for a good olive harvest!

The 2018 olive year in Chianti

In March 2018, there was another frost here in Chianti, which affected the olive trees. But it should be noted that not all frosts are the same! Severe frost refers to temperatures of around minus ten degrees and below - over a period of several days. Sub-zero temperatures in the moderate range, on the other hand, do not harm the olive trees at all - on the contrary: light frost "naturally" kills off certain pests. The decisive factor is that it does not freeze for too long - an olive tree can easily cope with two to three frosty days.

This year, thank goodness, there was no widespread frost - as there was in the mid-1980s - but only in a few places. As a result, some producers are complaining of crop losses of up to 40 percent this year, while others, just a hill away, have escaped with minimal damage. So nothing stood in the way of the harvest!

By the way: If you dream of a shady olive tree in your garden, you have a good chance of enjoying your olive tree for a long time. That is, if you manage to protect the tree from prolonged frost or simply move it to a warmer environment for the winter.