30.10.12
Birthday outing to Chianti
We began our day at 09.30 from Piazza del Carmine -meeting our mini van and expert driver Filippo – I heard a few low grumbles from sleepy people, but essentially we were all very happy that the clouds had cleared and the torrential overnight downpour had finally stopped!
The entrance to the Olive Farm
After driving through the early morning mist and watching the long shadows stread across the Tuscan hills our first stop, near Impruneta, was in this beautiful place shown above where we initially watched the farmers, collecting olives…..
Vinyards and olive groves San Casciano in Val di Pesa
….and later pressing, their first olives of the season.
Watching the olives going into the press
Filippo and one of the pressers explain this process of pressing, which wasn’t exactly simple, but does enable all the farms and vineries in the area to produce their own extra virgin olive oil without buying and maintaining their own equipment.
Each farmer gets a waggon with his own number on it and their own olives don’t get pressed until their personal waggon is full
Olive press
The olives are moved on rope trays from press to press to ensure that not a drop of pure oil is lost.
And the resulting bath of olive oil is as vibrant as anyone could wish!
First press
And for the workers …. who work round a 24 hour shift during this critical season – know that fine oil with be their reward for their labour – and throughout they can count on a fine wood oven cooked meal
Nick watching the wood fire
Nothing is wasted in oil or wine picking processes – so naturally even the sediment has a use – as a base for heating oil – which we will need soon!
Pile of sediment ready for supplying heat in the winter
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