Successful harvest

Delicious olives à la Ruster Hügelland

Sabine and Franz Günther and Angela Pieretti-Eder (from left) at the harvest. The mayor of Rust, Gerold Stagl, is enthusiastic about the basic idea: "The olives are thriving."(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

Harvested in Burgenland, pressed in Italy - the finest oil opens up new standards of good taste. The work is still in its infancy, but the yield is growing.

Perfectly timed, the starting shot for the harvest was fired simultaneously on three plantations at 7.30 a.m. on Sunday. The focus of the painstaking work was the first olive grove "Olivia" of Sabine and Franz Günther with 750 trees in Mörbisch, 520 trees under the name "Olivae Pannoniae Superioris" of the Pieretti-Eder family from Rust and a smaller grove of the Batthyány family in Rechnitz.

18 liters of oil for tastings
Things progressed at a rapid pace. As soon as the harvest was complete, a total of 133 kilos of olives were shipped directly from Burgenland to San Lorenzo in Campo in Italy and pressed a few hours later at a partner company, where up to 30 tons are processed every day during the season. "118 kilos of our olives are of the Leccino variety, the rest Casaliva," explains Reinhold Eder. Apart from 1.5 liters of olive oil, which is made available for laboratory tests, 18 liters remain for tastings only, nothing is sold yet.

Leaves from the blend are dried. The resulting tea is considered to be as medicinal and healthy as the olives themselves.(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

Another 300 trees planned
But the yield will grow. Only a quarter of the trees are already bearing fruit. "We want to plant another 300 trees in the Rust area," announces Eder. According to rough estimates, the yield could already amount to one ton of olives in three years. In any case, the hilly area between Mörbisch and Rust has long enjoyed a good reputation as a growing region. The conditions are ideal, according to professional growers from Italy.

Practical knowledge about olives
The Pieretti-Eder family's first 286 trees were planted and raised in May 2018 with the help of the expert who looks after all of the Vatican's olive groves. Another 234 trees were added in 2021. "My wife's father, Pietro Pieretti, also contributes a lot of practical knowledge about land management and tree care," says Eder happily. This can be built on with a lot of confidence and a healthy dose of enthusiasm.