October in the olive grove: the harvest as the fastest way among neighbours

The Istrian tourist board counts olive oil among the region's central themes, and behind it stands a network of small groves worked by families, often with the help of neighbours and friends.¹

The ministry in charge follows the food-and-wine offer in its announcements, where oil holds a special place: behind every medal-winning bottle stands somebody's harvest.²

Picking happens in the morning, by hand or with small machines, nets spread under the trees, and the day ends at a common table: who picked, eats.¹

The oil is pressed the same or the next day, so help with the harvest is often repaid with a litre of new oil, the first and greenest of the year.¹

The simplest route is asking a neighbour with a grove whether a hand is needed in October: the answer is almost always yes, and the invitation for next year arrives by itself.^1,2