OLIVE OIL | THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES
In the family ’ s elegant dining room , the antique wooden table was laid with fresh crusty country bread , cheese from Azeitao , two types of olive oil , and of course a dish of freshlybrined olives . ‘ Maybe they are not quite ready ” apologised Joaquim , as he poured me a glass of his cousin ’ s wine from Casa Santos Lima in the Dao . The olives were this year ’ s harvest – and the freshest I ’ d ever tasted . “ If you want to eat them earlier you have to cut the olives to allow the salt to penetrate ” he explained . Joaquim likes to eat , and talk about , olives , but he was looking restless .
The Olive Groves ‘ I ’ d go mad in four walls ” he told me later as we walked through the groves . ‘ I love the open space . Relativity is different in the countryside – time is different .’ And as I watched Joaquim , leaning against his mud-splattered Jeep , gazing contentedly across his fields , I knew what he meant .
As we strolled through the sun-dappled estate , the late winter sunshine casting long shadows , Joaquim explained to me that he grows five different varieties of olive , planted in two ways . Some groves are planted the traditional way – tall trees widely spaced . But , like Herculano himself a hundred years ago , Joaquim too is at the forefront of new developments . He has created groves of densely planted smaller trees , which allows for mechanised and costeffective harvesting .
‘ Fast picking means that you can pick at exactly the right moment , organoleptically speaking . Which is all good for the taste ’.
40 | Summer 2012 | www . portugal-life . net |