Located along the Ruamahanga River near Masterton in Wairarapa, River Grove is a family-owned olive grove established in 2004 by Steven and Chris Price, who moved from Wellington with their three children. The property spans 36 hectares, with 12 dedicated to olive trees and the rest leased for beef grazing. Over the years, the Prices have expanded their grove, now growing 4,000 trees.

Our changing weather, once again, played a major role in the fruit development this year. A fairly normal summer ended with a lot of rain and stormy conditions in February. April was also wet but May was unusually dry. Fortunately, temperatures were reasonable and we had no major frosts in the lead-up to harvest. We employed a new weapon in our annual fight with the starlings this year - a laser. Much less likely to upset the neighbourhood, the laser is positioned on a platform just above the canopy so that the beam sweeps across the trreetops in a random pattern, which makes navigation difficult for the birds. We were very pleased with the results. While we still had our bird canons deployed in the grove we were able to reduce their use and the result was a noticeable reduction in fruit loss. Harvest proceeded fairly uneventfully, with only one major breakdown and all the new season oils are safely on the shelf and ready for sale.

We are proud to display the red Olives New Zealand sticker on our bottles. This little sticker says a lot. It gives our customers a guarantee that the oil they buy is 100% Extra Virgin oil, first press, cold pressed and grown and processed in New Zealand. So remember to look out for the sticker when you buy New Zealand olive oil.