Harvest timing is one of the most important decisions in olive oil production. An early harvest often yields greener, more peppery oils with higher polyphenol content — but less oil per fruit. A late harvest brings riper olives, rounder flavour and typically more oil from each individual fruit. The trade-off is greater risk: winter, rain and wind can bring olives to the ground before we harvest them.
Family estates do not decide by a uniform industrial calendar, but by observation: How do the trees stand? What is the weather? Which olives are good enough — and which are not?
At Quinta da Salgueirinha we harvest deliberately late, from late December to early January — because ripeness and character matter more to us than maximum litres. We do not use olives that have fallen. What is not good enough does not go into our oil. We lose total volume, but gain more control over quality and flavour.
After harvest come stone milling, cold extraction and months of rest. Only when the oil is ready do we release it. For us, timing is not a technical footnote but the core of our choice: quality over yield.