The trees were planted in 1994 by the first owner, who chose the slope for its drainage and its exposure to the afternoon sun. Arbequina fills the lower rows, Frantoio the upper ones, where the soil turns rockier.
Picking is still done by hand, into low crates that keep the fruit from bruising under its own weight. The press sits four miles down the valley, and the crates go there the same afternoon they are filled.
Three people work the harvest full time in the fall, plus whoever from town wants a few weeks of work under the trees. The rest of the year, it is mostly pruning and waiting.
