About Us
Rata Olives: A Family Legacy of Premium Olive Oil Production
Established in 2003, Rata Olives is a family venture. Nestled in a free-draining terrace in the Rangitikei river valley near Rata, our olive grove is an integral part of our larger lamb fattening, beef and dairy grazing operation, owned and farmed by Hamilton and Gaylene McConachy.
Our journey began when we planted 550 Tuscan olive trees in 2003 - Frantoio, Leccino, and Pendolino. Over the years, we have expanded our grove to over 1700 trees, featuring a mix of Koroneiki, Picual, Nocellara, and additional Tuscan varieties. In 2023, we will plant an additional 400 Frantoio trees.
Our olive grove enjoys the sanctuary of a no-exit road, ensuring a safe, pollution-free microclimate that nurtures our trees to perfection. Our warm summers, gentle winters and a constant river breeze ensures that our grove is largely frost-free, even on the coldest winter days.
In 2022, we expanded our operation to establish our own olive press - a milestone in our journey towards a vertically integrated business. This allows us to pick, press, store, and bottle our olive oil on-site, ensuring unrivaled freshness and a premium-quality experience for our customers. We also offer pressing for other local growers.
From the moment our olives are handpicked, we swiftly press them, ensuring that our extra virgin olive oil is of the freshest and highest possible quality. Our oil is then stored in stainless steel vats within a temperature-controlled room (18-20°C) where it settles until it is time for bottling, guaranteeing the utmost quality with every pour.
Beyond traditional extra virgin olive oil, our in-house press enables us to create infused oils using the Italian agrumato process. We press our olives with clean fruit peels or herbs, using locally grown lemons, limes, tangelos, rosemary and garlic. We are constantly experimenting with new and exciting flavours!
Rata Olives is more than a business - it is a genuine family endeavor. From the planting of our first trees in 2003 by our then teenage children (who had to get those measurements meticulous!) to on-going weekends of planting and pruning, every step of our journey is woven with family bonds and shared passion. We all eagerly anticipate the annual olive harvest in June/July, with family members and friends travelling from all over the North Island to attend.
We are driven by our unwavering commitment to providing a premium quality New Zealand product and take great pride in supporting our wider community. To us, Rata Olives is not merely a brand; but a celebration of family, heritage, and a shared love of our extraordinary olive oil.
Please join us on our journey, where every drop of our oil reflects the warmth, love, and dedication of our family.
You're welcome.
Ham and Gay McConachy
