Lake Taupo Olives

Green Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been cold pressed from hand-harvested olives grown on the banks of the Kuratau River, in the South Western corner of Lake Taupo. Forming part of the charming view from the Floating Rock Winery & Café, Lake Taupo Olives Limited is a grove that is owned and managed by Will Shirer.

With more than 1,000 trees planted over 20 years ago, this block of land is one kilometre from the river’s mouth, and the local climate and soil conditions are ideal for olive production. Resident in the area for 35 years, Will now has a nose for the perfect conditions to produce olive oil and wine.

Our golden and smooth olive oil is produced from a blend of trees, with Barnea, Picual, and Picholene being the main constituents. It’s cold pressed and filtered, which means it retains more nutrients during the production process as no heat or chemicals are used. Virgin oils are the healthiest since they contain higher levels of polyphenols, antioxidants that have been linked with better health.

In Ancient Greece Homer called olive oil “liquid gold”, and we think it’s the perfect description for this delicious and versatile oil which you can purchase from our Floating Rock Winery & Café.