Chris and Steven Price, the owners and growers of River Grove Olives, said that the pair owned roughly 40 hectares of land beside the Ruamahanga River, north of Masterton in the Wairarapa. The bulk of the land is leased for grazing beef, with around 13 hectares planted in olive trees ranging in age from five to 23 years old.
"Up until 2004, we were involved in the construction industry in Wellington. We had decided to look into the possibility of sending our son to Rathkeale College in Masterton, and during that process, our property came onto the market," said Chris.
The pair decided to look at the property; the rest is history. At the time of purchase, there were just under 2000 trees in the ground, all planted in 2000. The couple arrived in time for the first harvest and have been learning ever since.
The majority of the trees are of two varieties, Frantoio and Leccino. However, the pair has plantings of various sizes with 17 more varieties.
Chris explained that each variety has unique characteristics and tastes, and the pair work closely with the olives to find out which grows best in their area's specific conditions. Being on the bank of the Ruamahanga River, the soil from which River Grove's olive trees grow is a mixture of gravel, clays, and river loam.
"They are young soils and very fertile, so our oils reflect this as they are milder."
Weather in the late summer and autumn also affects flavours, with Chris adding that the pair hoped there would be a return of a typical Wairarapa summer this year after three years of La Nina weather patterns.
"We aim to produce first-class, high-yielding fruit from healthy, 'happy' trees."
Chris said that Steven was the grower, as this is where his passion lies. Both aim to have healthy olive trees, which Chris described as beautiful trees and live surrounded by them as the couple does; they care about them very much.
New Zealand's growing conditions for olives differ from Europe, with Olives New Zealand and the Ministry of Primary Industries invested in researching specific growing practices over the last eight years, which the Price's follow closely, the rewards of which have led to the pair doubling their crop for the last seven to eight years, averaging 20kg of fruit per tree year on year.
Day to day, Chris said there was always something to do, whether monitoring the weather or improving the farm and grove.
"Our days are governed by the seasons and the weather."
River Grove has just finished harvesting, so the business is back into the rhythm of spraying and pruning until early December when the trees flower again, then irrigation and monitoring the trees until the next harvest.
The early years, when the trees were young, were some of River Grove's most challenging harvests as the trees had to be hand-harvested, which is incredibly difficult and physically taxing labour, which was often conducted in the wet due to harvest typically coinciding with colder, wetter months like June.
The trees in production now at River Grove are all mechanically harvested with a tractor tree shaker. However, according to Chris, this last season has been the most challenging, as it has been wet with weeks of no sunshine, meaning that oil yields are also low.
The difference between an El Nino cycle and La Nina weather patterns is quite marked in the Wairarapa.
"We have just had three years of La Nina, so it has been wetter over summer and warmer going into winter, challenging growing conditions for olives."
Now, moving into an El Nino pattern, Chris said there would be more hot, drying conditions, so water will be an issue, especially around February when the fruit wants to grow, with harvest potentially interrupted by more severe frosts.
"Long-term, warmer weather will be good for olives."
River Grove's land is incredibly fertile, with the olive trees thriving, which means that the oils produced are naturally milder, which Chris said was preferred by the New Zealand customer base.
The company's oil sales increased throughout the pandemic as lockdowns drove people to buy more locally and cook more frequently. Post-COVID has harmed the industry, with the cost of living and inflation meaning that people are more frequently struggling to pay for groceries, choosing items based on price point first and foremost.
Eighty percent of the fruit River Grove produces is sold to The Village Press in Hastings, which presses and markets the oil throughout New Zealand on supermarket shelves. For the rest of the fruit, the Price couple hold and press for their boutique oils, selling it locally in Masterton and to regular customers across New Zealand.
The Price's have slowly been increasing the size of the grove to make it more financially sustainable. Chris added that they had successfully achieved that by propagating another 3000 trees, increasing the grove size to 4100 trees from 2021 to 2022.
"We have also bought a tree shaker so that we do not have to depend on contract harvesters and an olive press (an ongoing project) so that we may become self-sustainable."
Chris's favourite is the Koroneiki, a Greek variety with tiny fruit, as it is easy to grow, always fruits well, and produces excellent oil.
