So naturally, Jenny and James Bourke went out and bought an olive grove.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to go to the back of Bourke to live out the rural idyll they never saw coming; they simply wandered out to Womboota and bought a block there.
And when we say olive grove, what the Bourkes meant was a block with 1500 very young olive trees.
The planting was the easy part – the growing, the pruning, the picking, the processing and the packaging was a different matter altogether.
James said starting out in 2005 with those “very small” olives trees with organic certification in place, it became Jenny's domain to prune and shape the trees during the next few years.
He said he wanted to help, but for some reason, work at their Echuca business Engine Action, which they were running during the formative olive era, always seemed to peak at pruning and picking time.
“We did a lot of learning on the run and discovered it takes six or seven years for a tree to be anywhere near its fruiting potential,” James said.
“So we kept the Echuca business running in parallel — we had to eat,” he said.
“We are situated near the Murray River, not far from the historic village of Womboota in NSW.
“The varieties we have are Frantoio, Corregiolla, Manzanillo, Barnea and Kalamata, which are now, (21 years down the track), well established, and producing the very best in extra virgin olive oil.
“At harvest time we have lots of family and friends come to help, and we also employ some young backpackers from all parts of the world — and they are all a great help, along with the mechanical tree shakers (James has not confirmed he is finally any part of that work detail).”
Pruning is critical, the tree canopy needs to be open and aerated, and that also helps with the foliar seaweed spray, which they apply.
Native bees in the surrounding box trees take care of pollination, but unfortunately, in November last year, a blast of 40℃ weather struck, which has severely impacted production because of burn damage to the blossom.
Olives, James explains, are one of the hardiest trees around.
Once established, they can survive on the smell of the proverbially oily rag (editor’s note: laugh here).
The only time they really need reliable water is to fruit.
Fortunately, Perricoota Olives has installed drip irrigation, so that’s not an issue.
“We do all the production on farm. And we cold press our olives for the polyphenols, the natural antioxidant compounds found in them and extra virgin olive oil,” James said.
Polyphenols protect cells from damage, lower inflammation, and support heart health and major types include hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal, and oleuropein, which also give high-quality oil its bitter or peppery taste.
By definition, true extra virgin olive oil must be extracted via cold mechanical means, where crushed olives are mechanically processed at temperatures below 27°C without using heat or chemicals.
“Using heat lets you extract more oil, but at Perricoota Olives, we are about quality, and are producing about 5000 litres each harvest,” James said.
But their line of oils and olives is so popular you have to be quick – a cursory check of their website this week shows it plastered with SOLD OUT signs.
Not sure if they ever got the horse either.
Perricoota Olives can be found at Echuca Market and online.
To find out more, phone James on 0418 505 659 or visit https://www.perricootaolives.com/
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