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Published: November 30th 2009
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We took the Rama bus from Florence to Paganico, a small village half way between Siena and Grosseto in the region of Tuscany. We were picked up at the bus stop by Antonio, the owner of the farm and a carload of his friends. As we traveled towards the farm, we stopped at a pizzeria for an aperitivo, a pre-dinner drink, and picked up some pizzas to go. Arriving at the farm some minutes later, we were graciously welcomed and slightly overwhelmed by 20 or so of Antonio’s family and friends that had been in town that weekend to celebrate the beginning of the olive harvest. With very few people speaking English, we tried to keep up with all the conversations. We were helped out by some of the younger family members who learned English in school. Everyone was super nice and there was a mixture of at least 5 languages being spoken, German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and a little English. Drinking wine from the farm and eating vegetarian pizza, except for the prosciutto which seems to be a stable on every pizza, we joined in conversations with just about everyone until the time came for some friends to depart
and for us to go to bed.
The first day of the olive harvesting was a fairly easy one, we harvested from some young trees not much taller than us, about 6 ft tall. We were helped in this work by two German couples, Evi and Georg and Josef and Regina, friends of Antonio and Margarita’s. They were down to visit for the week to assist in the olive harvest and were compensated with a beautiful setting and many liters of olive oil and wine to take back home to Germany.
We were provided 3 meals a day, a simple breakfast consisting of all the bread and jam we could eat, coffee and tea, and many other delights here and there. Lunch was typically the largest meal of the day always with a pasta dish and loads of cheese, fresh olive oil, bread and of course vino. Margarita adapted her cooking to accommodate two new vegetarians to the farm which we greatly appreciated and enjoyed. These large meals usually consisted of at least 3 courses which was a new thing for us, we had to adapt to be able to work after such a large meal
which was not very easy especially after a few glasses of wine. Dinner was served late and usually a bit lighter than lunch although the wine consumption was much greater, salute! Le Sorgenti just harvested the grapes for their wine in late September and made a total of 5000 liters, not too shabby. We were able to enjoy this young wine even though it is still in the process of fermenting. They have two different grapes that were kept separately and will be combined when the time is right later this year.
Olive harvesting was a fairly simple process, but hard work at the same time. We had nets, large and small, that we placed on the ground around the trees to catch the olives. The olives were stripped from the branches with small hand rakes where they fell onto the nets. The olives were then gathered with the nets and put into crates. We averaged about 8 to 12 full crates of olives per day. The young trees were nice and easy while we were able to reach all the olives. The older trees were a bit more difficult but also more fun. We often had to
climb the tree to reach the olives, sometimes with the assistance of ladders and the hand rakes on long poles. It was not bad work at all, but got tiresome after a full day of picking. The meals, although, made all the work very much worth it. The amount of picking was very dependent on the weather. Olives cannot be picked when they are wet from rain or morning dew because they could get moldy before being pressed. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate a few days and we had to wait until the rain cleared and the sun dried the olives. Evi, Georg, Josef, Regina and the two of us took advantage of a particularly wet morning and took a trip to a Monastery a bit further into the Tuscan countryside. It was a beautiful drive as the sun began to come out and we had a great time as we explored the grounds of the monastery and sat in briefly on the daily prayers. The church was a very simple building with no extravagant features like many of the European cathedrals that we were used to. We made it back just in time for another amazing lunch and got
back to picking that afternoon.
After two days of tireless olive picking, Antonio invited us to go to Peri, a small village where the olives are pressed. The entire process is quite simple but was very fun to watch and participate in. We unloaded a total of 580 kilos of olives which were first washed and separated from the few stems and leaves that were still attached. The olives are then crushed and churned as the oil is removed. To make the olive oil extra rich the oil is sent through two separate centrifuges where every last bit of water is separated from the oil. After about a two hour process we left with just over 115 liters of oil, which was more than Antonio had anticipated. The smaller green olives produce the most oil; we had a good mixture of green and black olives. We took a walk around the tiny village of Peri which was all very old stone buildings, tiny cobblestone streets and unbelievable views, a very typical Tuscan village. That day for lunch everyone feasted on the fresh green olive oil, an experience we will remember forever.
Throughout the week the group
of us took turns making the meals which allowed us to taste a great variety of food including traditional Italian and Baviarian delights. Our meal that week was made using half a leftover pumpkin which we roasted with carrots, onions, garlic, sage, rosemary and a little cinnamon slathered in olive oil. This was then served over heaping plates of spaghetti. A first time dish for us dubbed by all “Pasta Americana” everyone thought it was quite interesting, we loved it though. After the meals there were some great conversations over Italian coffee and cookies.
The week came to an end, the olives were finally all plucked from the trees and it was time for most to head back home. Sad to see our new friends leave, we exchanged email addresses and were assured we had several places to stay next time we were to visit Germany. In preparation for their departure, we were taught how to care for the 25 or so goats and about 15 Mediterranean buffalo. We were excited to work with the animals, although it was a big responsibility. Antonio left for Germany for three days and that was the last we would see of
our German friends and Margarita with her wonderfully soulful laugh and beautiful smile.
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Mike and Sandi
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Olive Oil
Hey. Me and Olive Oil (Lisa) are making tons of soap. Send us some of that oil and we will make you a special batch! Have Fun! Sandi says Aloha