ralo 2025 "HARVEST FRESH" Pre-Order Newsletter
...the view north from volcano at Methana, Peloponisos
arbutus unedo, aka madrone, aka "wild strawberry"
March 17, 2025
ralo 2025 “HARVEST FRESH" NEWSLETTER
Dear Friends,
The fresh olive oil is ALMOST here!
We had expected its arrival by now but, alas, unforeseen and unexpected delays intervened.
Our best estimate is that it will be in our hands by mid-April and hopefully in yours by the end of April or start of May.
PRE-ORDER STARTING TODAY!
You can place your pre-orders immediately from our Online Store Products page.
We will send out details on pick-up and mailing out of pre-orders once the oil has arrived.
HARVEST REPORT
THE DROUGHT
The effects of the unprecedented summer heat wave and absence of rain were evident everywhere.
Grass that should have been green, wasn't.
Leaves that shouldn't have been brown, were.
When olive trees are stressed they retain or retrieve nutrients from the fruit and leaves to survive. Thus, the olives were slightly wrinkled and smaller than usual at that stage of the season.
All the talk said if the rains didn't come there would be no harvest.
Most of our usual growers were doubtful they would be able to supply us with any oil this year and, if any at all, only if it rained.
And so all waited for the rains to come.
And what did they do while they waited?
Coffee, lots of coffee...
...the coffee mystics lost their eyeballs looking for rain in the grounds
GROWERS' DILEMMA: HARVEST NOW OR WAIT?
Well, most waited.
The dilemma for growers was if they harvested they would be sacrificing oil yield that might come with the rain. But, that if it did not rain the olive fruit might fall from the trees and the year's entire crop would be lost.
The price to growers was also still high, not at consumer nosebleed levels as it was last year until just before the harvest, but still high compared to previous years.
Waiting could also mean a drop in price.
Some could not take those risks.
So they started harvesting to at least have some oil "in the tanks" that they could sell to recover their input costs and loans.
Despite the challenging conditions some truly fabulous oils were pressed at this "dry" stage of the harvest.
Generally, these oils tasted more intense and livelier than usual perhaps because less water in the olive fruit itself meant less dilution of oil flavours.
One variety that normally produces a purely mild-tasting oil, the "black olive" variety, took on a bold new character, starting mild but unexpectedly finishing with a burst of intense flavour and pepperiness.
Neither I nor the olive press manager had ever tasted oil from this variety with so much flavour and complexity.
I was smitten!
I immediately decided to make this intriguing oil our main selection for 2025.
Besides, not knowing the steps to any effective rain dance I didn't want this oil snapped up by someone else and be left without any oil of this quality to be had.
As the season transpired, I was glad I made this decision.
view from an intercity bus window
WHAT'S THAT FALLING ON MY HEAD?
A few short "teaser" sprinkles fell at the start of November.
Not everywhere, but in some places and for a matter of minutes.
Word spread fast.
Growers who had started harvesting, stopped, and those who were waiting started to get ready to go.
Finally, the rains came.
Good rain. Soaking rain.
But not heavy downpours that could take the olives to the ground, adding injury to insult.
A few days of elation were tempered by concerns in the other direction: Would the rains stop already so we can get into our fields and not get mired in mud?
Thankfully, the weather co-operated and the harvest season was not unduly hampered by too much rain.
The life of a farmer...
No wonder fewer younger people are choosing that life.
"Think of the Greece being lost"
THE SEARCH FOR THE SECOND OIL FOR 2025
Sighs of relief dissolved into a sober appreciation of the work to be done.
The harvest then started in earnest everywhere in the prefecture of Messinia, in southwestern Peloponisos.
Olive press parking lots went from empty to teeming with row upon row of olive sacks and crates stacked on pallets, with all sorts of vehicles both entering and leaving the area in a frenzy of activity.
Having already selected the mild-to-medium oil before the rains came, I was very pleased to have found our "ARGOLID" flavour profile preferred by lovers of milder tasting oils.
I was now on the search for our high intensity oil for 2025.
Our usual growers confirmed that they would not have the quantities we needed this year.
Luckily we have formed and maintained excellent relationships with a number of high quality producers over the past twenty-five years. I had been in touch with them since my arrival and had my place in their "queue".
After tasting several excellent fresh oils, I settled upon a full-flavoured, robust oil of the Koroneiko olive variety which fit the profile of our high intensity KORONI oils of the past.
It was a case of premium quality meeting nostalgia...
PRE-ORDER DEADLINE: THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025 at 23:59:59
Since the oil is delayed we have decided to make our pre-order period longer than ever before.
You have until Thursday, May 15th at midnight to place your pre-orders.
You can have your order shipped to your door or you can arrange a “no contact” curbside pickup in Waterloo.
Please give serious thought to how much oil you will need to cover you until at least May 2026 so you're not in the position that many of our customers find themselves of not having their favourite oil for several months or more.
Place your pre-order EARLY to ensure both the savings and your choice of oil in the quantity to keep you stocked until next year's oil arrives.
When we say we will sell out again, we mean it.
2025 CERTIFIED ORGANIC OLIVE OILS - TASTING NOTES
Both of our 2025 certified organic oils are from southwestern Peloponisos, in south-central prefecture of Messinia.
We are giving them names familiar to you based on flavour profile (not geography as in the past).
fresh "ARGOLID"
fresh "KORONI"
2025 Tasting Notes:
-
fresh ARGOLID: (MILD-MEDIUM INTENSITY): this intriguing oil starts with a light, smooth, buttery and delicate character which then unfolds with grassy, leafy tones and resolves with a lively burst of olive fruit and peppery finish
-
fresh KORONI: (STRONG INTENSITY): balanced robust, high intensity, full-bodied oil, with well-integrated olive fruit, leafy, grassy and herbal flavour components, noticeable fruit bitterness, and packing a peppery finish
THIS YEAR'S PRICES - PRE-ORDER NOW FOR SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS!
(psst! they're LOWER than last year)
The 2025 regular price of our 5L tins of organic oils is $195 (vs $210 last year) .
2025 Pre-order prices are:
-
1-3 Tins: $175/tin [vs $195 regular price]
-
4+ Tins: $160/tin [vs $195 regular price]
NO 42TREES OIL, NO SOAP
We will not have any non-organic olive oils for 2025.
We are also sold out of soap, perhaps forever. (The maker retired).
A WORD ABOUT OUR 500 ml CONTAINERS
Our beautiful bottles that we have been using since Day 1 are no longer available.
We have been actively trying to find an acceptable solution but have not found anything permanent yet.
You will have to indulge us with your patience this year.
As a temporary measure we have a small quantity of 500 ml cylindrical tins that should cover our needs for the first couple of months.
If we have still not found a permanent solution we will likely use the 500 ml bottle we formerly used for our 42 TREES oil.
REMEMBER OUR OTHER PRODUCTS
- 500 ml balsamic vinegar from Modena, Italy
-
200 ml balsamic vinegar from Greece, traditional Dark + White condiment balsamico (produced at a Greek winery by an Italian expert using native Greek grape varietals) [LIMITED QUANTITIES]
- Gigantic Green Olives 250g
ONLINE STORE, SHIPPING & 356 CAMBRIA PICKUP PROCEDURE
As you checkout from our online store you will have two options for your order:
- 1. Ship or
- 2. Pickup at 356 Cambria Place, Waterloo
If you choose “Ship”, we will notify you by email when your order has been shipped along with a tracking number so you can follow its progress to you.
If you choose “356 Cambria pickup", AFTER the oil arrives to us we will notify you by email newsletter and you will receive an individual "Your order is Ready for Pickup" email.
Then all you have to do is send us an email at least 24 hours before picking up to let us know which day and time you are coming, any day, seven days a week.
Your order with your name on it will be placed on the Order Pickup Table at the side door of Deborah's house at 356 Cambria Place.
Just pull up the driveway to the side door, look for the post-it note with your name on it from amongst the other orders and away you go!
Please NOTE: once you email us to let us know which date and time slot you have chosen, we will NOT email you back. Take it as confirmed.
Also, please remember to pick up your pre-orders as soon as reasonably possible.
Full details on our Online Store.
THANK YOU
We thank you for your continuing interest in our products and your support.
Be well.
Robert & Deborah
P.S. 1: MORE PHOTOS
...the best french fries in the world, late 2024 edition!
sunset from central Athens, looking south
AGIA THEODORA CHAPEL IN REMOTE ARKADIA
...perhaps even deities have Eureka moments..."Surely they will believe in me if I build a small chapel in the middle of nowhere, say with 27 trees protruding from the roof without the roots being visible anywhere - not inside or outside. That should do the trick"
HARVESTING & PRESSING THE FAMILY GROVES
- NEDA RIVER HARVEST -
Exhilarating and satisfying every time
ATHENS ART MURALS
IN BETWEEN COFFEES, THERE WAS TIME FOR MUSEUMS
