What is climate to agriculture? Evolution. Why? Because only in favorable climatic conditions can nature produce and reproduce resources that give life and meaning to a community.

In the previous article we discussed the importance of soil in the production of a quality olive oil, and in this article we will discover more about the climate and how this influences each olive harvest differently from one year to another.

The DARVARI GARDEN olive tree plantation is located in Turkey, in the city of Canakkale, which benefits from a Mediterranean climate. What does that mean? Here the summers are hot and dry, and the winters are cool and rainy, the perfect place for an olive grove to grow healthily all year round.

An olive tree cannot withstand temperatures below -8°C for more than a week, so it must be planted in an area where the winters are milder. Too much heat is not good either, because very high summer temperatures, higher than ~30°C, can influence the photosynthesis process and implicitly the final harvest.

Studies show that the most suitable climatic conditions for olive cultivation are represented by what is today called the typical Mediterranean climate, which represents the transition between the arid climate in North Africa and the temperate rainy climate in Central Europe.

The optimal climate in the Mediterranean basin gave this area a beautiful heritage when it comes to olive groves. Moreover, it has made olive oil and olive-derived products an essential element of the daily life of locals. Olive oil production has become a tradition for families in the area, precisely because the Canakkale area offers the ideal climate for growing healthy olives.

Now it should be a bit more clear to us why climate is a key factor when it comes to producing a pure and authentic olive oil. The climate is what ultimately determines the harvest and the harvesting process. Depending on how much it rained or snowed, how hot or cold it was in a certain season, the olives end up having a certain taste, aroma, color and properties. No season is the same as the last, but in the end that is the beauty of this process. When you don’t always know what will happen next, how productive the yearly harvest will be, but you can’t wait to find out and enjoy the result. And in the end, we grow, we evolve, we let ourselves be influenced by what is happening around us, and we learn to do things better and sustainably thanks to our experiences.

The production process of creating an olive oil is a form of art in its own way. Every year’s harvest is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted by pouring rains, hot summers, the morning breeze and memorable sunsets.

The cultivation of olives is quite similar to that of grapes, because in both cases, it is necessary to pay attention to the smallest details and also have life-long experience. Depending on the climate, you can obtain a different result every year, because no two olive oils from different crops are exactly the same.

Each year, experienced farmers patiently wait for the perfect moment or day when they can start harvesting, which again differs year after year. At the same time, they are very attentive to the rains of that year, to how dry the summers are during the year, because these factors tell us how rich and healthy the harvest will be. The secret, then, is to choose the perfect time to reap the fruits of each harvest. But how do we know when that moment comes? Well, if we revealed everything, it wouldn’t be a secret. But what we can tell you is that this key moment is part of the secret recipe of every family of farmers on the sunny Mediterranean olive groves.