Origin · 2026 Harvest
Every autumn, on the dry-stone terraces of the Montsant, we repeat a gesture most of the industry has left behind: picking olives by hand, one branch after another. We do not do it out of nostalgia. We do it because you can taste it in the glass.
In a few words
- The harvest begins in the first half of October, when the Arbequina olives reach veraison.
- We pick by milking (ordeño): branches are combed and the olives fall onto nets, unbruised.
- Every batch is milled the same day, cold, below 27 °C.
- With no heavy machinery or synthetic pesticides, the grove is also a haven for biodiversity.
When are olives picked for an early-harvest EVOO?
There is no fixed date: the tree decides. In the Montsant, Arbequina usually reaches its point between early and mid October, at veraison, when the skin begins to turn from deep green to violet. It is the moment of highest polyphenols and the greenest aromas: tomato leaf, artichoke, fresh almond.
Picking earlier means giving up litres: green olives yield less oil per kilo. We do it anyway, because what we gain in freshness and character more than makes up for it. The 2026 harvest is already under way.
Milking: why we still pick by hand
Milking means combing the branches by hand or with small rakes so the olives fall onto nets spread beneath the tree. The fruit never touches the ground or suffers machine vibration. It reaches the mill whole, skin intact, avoiding the oxidation and fermentation that would later show in tasting.
Every olive passes through someone's hands before reaching the mill
| Hand harvest | Intensive mechanical | |
|---|---|---|
| Selection | Each olive at its point | Everything at once |
| Fruit | No knocks or vibration | More bruising and broken skin |
| Centuries-old trees | Kept intact | Trunks and roots suffer |
| Soil | Uncompacted | Compacted by heavy machinery |
| In the oil | More aroma and polyphenols | Higher risk of oxidation |
From tree to mill in less than a day
- 01Picking at dawn, while the fruit is cool.
- 02Transport in ventilated crates, never in sacks.
- 03Cold milling the same day, below 27 °C.
- 04Natural settling and storage in stainless steel, away from light and air.
The hands behind every harvest
Every harvest brings together people who know each tree, each terrace and each corner of the grove. Those who pick can tell the exact point of the fruit, set aside what is not good enough and move at the pace the tree asks for. It is knowledge you will not find in any manual: it is passed on.
Finca Hostalets 1898 is a fifth-generation project. Each generation has inherited more than an estate from the last: a way of judging. Respect the rhythm of the grove before that of the market, and measure a harvest by the quality of the fruit, not the kilos. We tell it in our story.
We do not just grow olives. We look after a living landscape that, once a year, gives us its fruit.
A living olive grove in the heart of the Priorat
The estate lies in Cabacés, within the setting of the Serra de Montsant Natural Park, and is protected by the PDO Siurana. Here the traditional grove is more than a crop: centuries-old trees, dry-stone walls, wild field margins and uncompacted soils form a complete habitat.
Among the trees you often see warblers, great tits, hoopoes, Iberian wall lizards, mantises and butterflies, plus many pollinators sheltering in the ground cover. It is no accident: it is what happens without synthetic pesticides or heavy machinery.
The grove as a habitat
SEO/BirdLife's Olivares Vivos (Living Olive Groves) programme, with the University of Jaén and EU LIFE funding, has shown that restoring less than 1% of a farm's unproductive land is enough to measurably increase its biodiversity. The way we farm shares many principles of regenerative agriculture: protecting the soil, encouraging wildlife and respecting natural cycles. We go deeper in the Priorat terroir.
Illustration · Life in an organic olive grove
Keeping the hand harvest takes more time, more people and more coordination. It is also what lets us offer an early-harvest, cold-extracted, CCPAE-certified organic EVOO without breaking the balance on which the fruit's quality depends, year after year. Every bottle of Finca Hostalets 1898 is born in a living grove.
2026 Harvest · Priorat
Picked by hand. Milled the same day.
Organic Arbequina · Early harvest · Cold extraction · PDO Siurana
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us most about the harvest
When does the olive harvest start?
In the Priorat, the early-harvest Arbequina season usually begins in the first half of October. In other areas and varieties it can run until January or February.
What are the advantages of hand harvesting?
It lets you choose each olive at its point and avoids the knocks and vibration of machinery, preserving the aromas and polyphenols that define the oil's quality.
What is the milking (ordeño) method?
A traditional technique of combing the olive branches so the fruit falls onto nets, without touching the ground or being bruised.
What is early harvest olive oil?
Oil from olives picked before they are fully ripe, when polyphenols such as oleocanthal are at their highest. It gives fresher, more aromatic oils, with fewer litres per kilo.
How long between picking and milling?
At Finca Hostalets, less than a day: every batch is cold-milled on the day it is picked.
Why do centuries-old olive trees give different oils?
Their deep roots reach water and nutrients a young tree cannot, and their adaptation to soil and climate translates into more complex aromatic profiles.
What is the difference between organic and conventional EVOO?
Organic oil is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers and is officially inspected every year. In our case, by the CCPAE.
SEO/BirdLife's Olivares Vivos programme is cited as a reference for the ecological value of traditional olive groves. Finca Hostalets 1898 is not certified under the Olivares Vivos label.
