Harvest Season in Puglia: What Happens in Oct and Nov

In Puglia, the olive harvest usually runs from October into December, when the fruit is picked, taken to the mill and pressed, ideally within hours. October and November are the heart of the season, when the first, greenest and most intensely flavoured oils of the year are made.

When is olive harvest season in Puglia?

Timing varies from year to year and from farm to farm, depending on the weather, the altitude and the olive variety. In general, picking in Puglia starts in October and can continue into December, and sometimes beyond for oils made from fully ripe fruit.

Producers who want a fresh, green, peppery oil pick earlier, while many of the olives are still green or just turning purple. The yield is lower at this stage, because the fruit holds less oil, but the flavour is more intense and the oil richer in polyphenols. Later picking gives more oil with a softer, rounder taste.

How are olives harvested?

Across Puglia you will see a mix of methods. On many farms, nets are spread beneath the trees and the branches are combed or shaken, by hand or with handheld vibrating rakes, so the olives fall onto the nets. Larger groves may use machines that grip the trunk and shake the whole tree. On steep or old groves, picking is still very much a manual job.

Whichever method is used, the aim is the same: get healthy fruit off the tree without bruising it, and away from the ground. Olives that sit on the soil or in heaps begin to deteriorate and ferment, and that damage shows up later as higher acidity and off flavours.

What happens at the mill?

Speed matters more than almost anything else. The best producers aim to press their olives on the day they are picked. At the mill, the olives are:

• separated from leaves and twigs, then washed
• crushed, stones and all, into a paste
• gently mixed so the oil droplets join together, a stage known as malaxation
• spun in a centrifuge, or pressed, to separate the oil from water and solids

Careful mills keep the temperature low throughout, which is what "cold extraction" means on a label. The fresh oil can then be left unfiltered, or filtered to make it clear, before being stored or bottled. Our article on unfiltered olive oil explains what that choice means.

What does new season oil taste like?

Freshly pressed oil, sometimes called olio nuovo, is a highlight of the Puglian autumn. It is vivid green, sometimes cloudy, and full of grassy, peppery, bitter flavour. In Puglia it is traditionally poured over toasted bread rubbed with garlic, and over beans, greens and soups.

Coratina, the variety most closely linked with central Puglia, is especially striking at this point, with strong bitterness and a long peppery finish. You can read more about it in Coratina: The Olive Behind Puglia's Boldest Oils.

Why does the harvest matter when you buy olive oil?

Olive oil is at its best when it is young, and it changes gradually over the following months. Knowing roughly when olive oil is made helps you judge freshness when you buy it. It also explains why quality varies: each harvest is a new crop, shaped by that year's weather, and the care taken during picking and milling shows directly in the oil.

It is also a reminder of why Puglia matters so much to Italian olive oil. The region has tens of millions of olive trees and produces a large share of Italy's oil. We look at why in Why Puglia Is Italy's Olive Oil Heartland.

How ours compares

Our extra virgin olive oil comes from a single estate in the hills between Puglia and Basilicata, not far from our base in Gravina in Puglia. It is Coratina-led, cold pressed, unfiltered and bottled at source, so the oil goes from the estate into the bottle without being blended or shipped in bulk.

Our current oil was tested in January 2026 by Studio Analisi Chimiche e Ambientali, an ISO 9001-certified laboratory, which confirmed it as extra virgin with polyphenols of 687 mg/kg and free acidity of 0.36%. The full results are on our lab results page.

Quick answers

How many olives does it take to make a litre of oil?
It varies with the variety and ripeness, but it typically takes several kilos of olives to make one litre of oil, and more when the fruit is picked early.

Can you visit Puglia during the harvest?
Yes. Autumn is a quieter, cooler time to visit, and many farms and mills welcome visitors. Check ahead, as harvest is a busy time.

Does new season oil keep as long?
Very fresh, unfiltered oil is best enjoyed within a few months of opening. Store it in a cool, dark place.