From Grove to Table: The Story of Tintilla Estate’s Olives
When Tintilla Estate was first planted in 1994, the olive grove went in alongside the vines, not as an afterthought but as part of the same idea, a single property producing more than just wine. Over the years, the grove has grown in stages, and it now includes Spanish varieties such as Manzanillo and Sevillano, the Italian Frontoio, and the Egyptian cultivar UC13A6.
From tree to table
Our olives are hand-picked, then fermented using traditional methods before we infuse them with garlic, lemon or oregano, depending on the batch. It’s slow work, and it’s done the same way it’s always been done here, without shortcuts.
Beyond the table olives themselves, the grove and our kitchen turn out a small range of estate produce. Olive tapenade blends our olives with anchovies, capers and Merlot from the vineyard next door, quite literally. Seasonal jams include a fig jam grown and made on the estate, alongside a chilli tomato relish, red and white wine vinegars made as a by-product of our winemaking, and vin cotto, a grape must reduction with citrus and spice, available in limited quantities from January to March each year.
Why grow olives alongside wine
Olives and grapevines share similar growing conditions, and having both on the one property means visitors get to taste two sides of what the land here can produce, in the same afternoon, from the same cellar door. It also means very little goes to waste. Wine by-products become vinegar, grape must becomes vin cotto, and Merlot ends up in the tapenade.
Tasting the harvest
We pour Hunter olive oils from local producers alongside our own, including Belarna Grove, so you can taste the range of what the region produces, not just what we make ourselves. If you’re visiting during harvest season, ask your host what’s fresh from the grove that week.
Visit the grove
Olive and wine tastings run together at our cellar door, six days a week from 10:30am to 5:30pm, with extended hours until 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Group bookings are essential. Get in touch to book your visit and taste the story behind the grove.