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Moutere Grove
This tiny organic farm was established by country Doctor Ed, and his wife, Liz Scott in 1996. The Scotts are committed to producing exceptionally high quality, organic, extra virgin olive oil. Their 50 acre farm lies in the picturesque Moutere Valley, an area where, before the olive trees were planted, the land was used only for pasture. Ed and Liz only grow traditional Italian varieties, typical of the famous blended oils from Tuscany. The unique climate and clay soils of the Moutere Valley (renowned for the quality of the fruits and vegetables grown there) near Nelson, add their own character and intensity to the flavours of the oil.
As with great grapes, great olives come from challenging growing conditions. The conditions in which the Scotts grow make their olive oil, produce oils with complex and robust flavors. They have won many prizes for their oil, including the Gold Medal at the Los Angeles County Fair for the last 3 years, and very prestigious prizes in Europe, including some of the major competitions in Italy. Many of the retailers who work with The Organic Olive Oil Company are offering this oil in 250ml and 500ml sizes. If the retailer near you is not carrying Moutere Grove Oil, you may order directly from us.
Moutere Grove olive oil is certified organic by Agriquality. Agriquality meets both the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) regulations, and the regulations for the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (NOP). Meeting the NOP standard is required for an organic product to have the USDA organic symbol on the bottle. The oil is produced by a single, cold extraction, within a few hours of the olives being picked. The Scotts process the olives right on the farm using a new OMT Pegaso 500 continuous process centrifugal press, with a capacity of about 1/2 ton of olives per hour. The press is dedicated to pressing only organic olive oil. Moutere Grove oil has complex grassy aroma with hints
of herbs and tropical fruit. In the palate, the oil has rich, mellow flavors that
develop to a lingering peppery aftertaste. The free fatty acid levels, which are very important for both an oil's initial quality, and its "staying power" have been consistently below 0.1% since 2003. (The international standard for extra version olive oil is 0.8 grams per 100 grams!) In 2007, the acid level is 0.09 (0.09 grams per 100 grams)!!! The Peroxide level for the 2007 is a remarkably low 3.4mEq/kg. (This is a measurement of the degree of oxidation in the oil.) Many of the retailers who work with The Organic Olive Oil Company are offering the Moutere Grove oil in 250ml and 500ml sizes. If the retailer near you is not carrying it, you may order directly from us.
Moutere Grove is Award-Winning:
What Others have to say: Marco Oreggia, in L'Extravergine 2007 (the English edition) writes "The only farm selection from NZ, the excellent extra virgin Moutere Grove from organic farming is a beautiful intense emerald green colour, limpid, its aroma is rotund and fine, characterized by rich and elegant hints of artichoke, wild thistle, lettuce and a slight hint of fresh country grass. Its taste is powerful and complex, with a harmonic flavour of vegetables, dried fruit and officinal herbs with distinct mint, sage and rosemary. Bitter and pungent are present, and very well-balanced with sweet a sweet almond finish." Our press house, storage and bottling room is a Certified Food Premises and inspected by the local District Council to this level. We have Organic Certification by Agriquality for our olive oils since 2002,
The organic industry in NZ is small, but developing fast. There are 2 major certifying agencies, Bio-Gro and Agriquality, although now Agriquality is auditing Bio-Gro’s auditors! There is also a bio-dynamic standard called Demeter. The export value of organic produce is now doubling every 2-3 years, much of it in the traditional areas of meat and dairy products. The local market place is really not adequately regulated, as you do not need certification to make organic claims. However, the wise are now increasingly aware of the need for certification of organic products they wish to buy.
Geography: We are located in the Nelson region, which is at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand, locally knows as "Top of the South." Our soils vary from sandy clay loams to Moutere clay soils on the sloping half of the property. The sandy clay loams do require some 'rescue and strategic' irrigation in dry years. We have a 2 million gallon reservoir, which we have built and that supplies this irrigation water, from run off exclusively off our land. Our land is bounded by the Moutere stream and the Rosedale stream. Climate is temperate, with rainfall usually mainly in winter and spring. Annual rain is usually around 1000mm. We do get frosts in winter, but daytime temperatures can be as high as 15C, even in the depths of winter. Summer temperatures often exceed 30C. However, it is a relatively cool climate for olive growing. This positively influences the depth and intensity of flavours in the oil. It also tends to make for lower oil percentages than in hotter regions. 2007 Moutere Grove Olive Oil Characteristics
In addition, we have planted 100 walnuts (walnut oil in the future is the plan), pinenuts, and we grow globe artichokes for the local market. In 1999, we commenced the process to organic certification. In 2002, we imported a press from Italy, a Pegaso 500 from OMT. It is a continuous process centrifugal press system. We have been delighted with it and the quality of oil it produces. We look forward to a time when Moutere Grove will become our full way of life. To that end, we strive to reach commercial viability within the next few years. Export for us as well as other local businesses is vital, as New Zealand is a very small market, with limited space for the high-end, boutique and niche products that we produce. We currently export to Australia, Japan, Singapore, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as to the United States, through The Organic Olive Oil Company. We are fully committed to continuing the organic production of our products, and this is an essential plank of our philosophy! Today, we are the major 'hands-on' for all the jobs on the property. We look forward to managing a staff for the day-to-day operations. Ed remains an enthusiast for olive oil and its wonderful range of flavours. He has been a judge on the panel of the ONZ awards for the last 5 years, and is trained in organoleptic tasting of olive oils. |
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Moutere Grove, near Nelson on the northwest corner of New Zealand’s magnificent South Island,
is widely recognized as one of the premier producers of organic, extra virgin olive oils on the planet.
The
great Tuscan varieties: Leccino, Frantoio, Pendolino and Moraiolo are
the only olives grown at Moutere Grove. Each type is harvested and processed
separately.
with
the previous years being transitional organic. The Agriquality seal is on our bottle to show this
(gold foil on the back label). The Agriquality organic standard is IFOAM certified, and
we get a certificate of equivalence for all our exports to the USDA organic standard, and also to EU certification standards from FSANZ, which is the Food Safety Authority.
There is government-to-government agreement that allows us to use the USDA organic claim and seal.
Organic industry in New Zealand:
We acquired the 20 Hectare (50 acre) property in 1996,with the intention to grow olives.
We are now fully planted and have about 4500 trees of Tuscan varieties.