#520 ... Ruakokoputuna Olive Oil

... this was taken with iPhone at Moore Wilson's Fresh just off Tory Street. Purveyors of quality foods are invited in to promote their wares to the customers .. here are Wendy & Mike, two passionate olive oil producers from Martinborough doing a tasting session with this years crop. You can find out more about this olive grove at ruakokoputuna olive oil

and read about their very new Pegaso 500 has been installed in a specially designed and built processing room at the RUAKOKOPUTUNA OLIVE GROVE just 10 minutes drive from Martinborough. The pressing room meets all required food safety and hygeine standards. The Pegaso 500 is a state-of-the-art processing machine which the couple purchased after a trip to the OMT Factory in Italy.

The machine is capable of pressing 500kgs an hour and instead of a hammer mill it has a ‘crusher’ which is much more gentle for the olives for the extraction of extra virgin olive oil.

Another not so well known fact about Ruakokoputuna is the glow worm caves. A short walk up the creek bed and into the caves has you discovering the worlds only true glow-worms. I went there a number of times in the mid 70s ... YES true !!