Excitement, anticipation in Slovenia as olive harvest gets underway

Slovenian olive growers produced this year’s first oil even before the official start of the olive harvest on September 30 with Župan’s Olive’s Olive of Trust event. The first oil was produced on September 18 at the Babić oil mill in Babić near Koper, the largest town in Slovenian Istria, where 90 percent of Slovenia’s olives are grown on about 2,000 hectares. Olive grower Daniel Stojkovič Kukulin did not hide his satisfaction with the quality of his first oils of the season. “There are as many as 1,340 milligrams of polyphenols in a liter. A real elixir,” Stojkovič said. He was the first in Slovenia to begin harvesting. Other Slovenian olive growers also showed interest in an earlier harvest. Among them are Vanja Dujc, Franc Morgan and Boris Jenko, some of the country’s most successful producers. Many announced that they would start picking olives next week. They are satisfied with the quality of the fruits, and the harvest is better than expected, considering the prolonged ...