Have you visited an olive farm? If not, I highly recommend it. This was our second experience at an olive farm and we learned something different at each time. The Liotrivi olive farm is located in Monemvasia and is family-owned and operated. Originally, the Liotrivi farm was the Liotrivi mansion and was the country home of poet Ritsos. It was sold in 1930 and the new owners converted it to an olive farm. The mansion now serves as a museum where you can see the authentic machinery which used horses to help press the olives until the mid-60’s when they began using more automated machines. But the process of harvesting the olives is the same as it has been for centuries. Olives are harvested in November and December. The trees are shaken to allow the olives to fall to the ground. Small hand held rakes are used to pull the olives from the trees in areas where they do not fall from the shaking. Nets are placed under the olive trees to capture the olives when they fall. The olives are put through a machine that separates the olives from the stems, next they are crushed which allows the oil to be released and separated from water which the olives also contain making it ready to be decanted.
We began our tour with a presentation on making fresh sourdough bread which we were later able to enjoy with a meal of fresh olives, tomatoes and cucumbers, cheese, and of course some local wine. The cool thing about this olive farm is that you can “adopt” an olive tree! You pay a small fee which helps support the family olive farm and you receive a shipment of olive oil from that farm in December. You can name your tree and they will send you pictures and updates of your tree during the year. It’s like being part of a CSA but you receive your share once a year instead of weekly and it is delivered to your front door! It seemed much more appropriate for gifts for friends and families than another picture of the Parthenon or a kitchen towel with “Greece” embroidered on it.
Here is the link to their website, I hope you will check it out. https://monemvasia.gr/
