Olive Harvest Begins in Agrolaguna’s Olive Groves

The olive harvest has begun in Agrolaguna’s olive groves near Poreč. Agrolaguna, a company within the Agrokor group, has 65,000 olive trees on 220 hectares in the Poreč area, from which 130 tons of premium virgin oil can be obtained annually, depending on the harvest. The largest olive grove is in Červar, where there are 45,000 trees on 168 hectares. The first harvesters in this grove were journalists arriving from various Croatian editorial offices. After a welcome and refreshments of Istrian prosciutto, cheese, and wine, Suzana Diklić from Agrolaguna’s marketing prepared a surprise for the journalists. Although no one took the invitation to the olive harvest seriously, as such arrangements usually mean; come, see, ask, and report, the journalists still picked olives. Not only did they pick, but they also competed, divided into three groups. Each group picked fruit from one tree, and the winning group consisted of journalists from Lider, Dobra Hrana, and the HTV center in Pula. In less than half an hour, we harvested 23.4 kilograms of olives, which can yield about three liters of oil, and each harvester received a bottle of muscat wine as a reward. To make it easier and more enjoyable for the harvesters, an accordion player entertained them by playing and singing Istrian songs next to the olive grove. However, the bad news is that machines have replaced people in this job, and in a month, they will harvest all the olives in the mentioned groves.

The olives picked by the journalists were immediately sent to the oil mill, where they were cold-pressed to obtain extra virgin oil. This is the processing method for every urban olive in Agrolaguna’s olive groves; the sooner the oil goes for processing, the better its quality will be preserved. The quality of Istrian olive oil is recognized on a global level. The world guide for extra virgin olive oils, Flos Olei, declared Istria the best olive-growing region in the world in 2016.

The importance of Istria as an olive-growing region and the quality of Istrian olive oil was discussed by Agrolaguna’s director Goran Kramarić, while Katja Gašparini guided the journalists through the oil mill, explaining the olive processing process. We tasted fresh young olive oil directly from production, fresh and full of fruity flavor, which was just twenty minutes before it became a golden-green ‘oil waterfall’ a berry fruit.

In addition to the olive oil brand Ol Istria, Agrolaguna produces very high-quality and premium wines that have received numerous awards. Vina Laguna pair exceptionally well gastronomically with another Agrolaguna product, the Istrian cheese Špin, which is produced in the Špin cheese factory in the eponymous estate in Taru. Annually, 300 tons of hard cheese and 100 tons of cottage cheese are produced in the cheese factory. The production takes place under technologically modern conditions but follows the indigenous Istrian recipe using milk from sheep and cows grazing on Istrian pastures. In the Špin estate, there is a tasting room where all Agrolaguna products can be sampled in one place. However, in addition to having very high-quality and diverse products, Agrolaguna is also an environmentally responsible company, managing all waste generated in the production process and treating wastewater.