Olive Harvesting in Greece Open to All Visitors

A graduate of Western New England University School of Law, Demetrios Panteleakis serves as principal of Icarian Real Estate Advisors and president of Macmillan Group, LLC, both located in Springfield, Massachusetts. In his spare time, Demetrios Panteleakis enjoys traveling and visits his family farm in Greece each year for summer vacations and the fall olive harvest.

As an olive-producing country, Greece has a history of olive growing that dates back thousands of years. Olive season begins in October, but at this time the olives are not yet fully mature. Oil collected from these green, unripe olives is called “immature” olive oil. Most areas begin harvesting in November when the olives start to turn from green to purplish-black.

Visitors can participate in the olive-picking process, whether they want to help for just one day or for as long as several weeks. They handpick the olives and place them in baskets and help carry them from the field. They also have the opportunity to transfer the harvested olives into a traditional olive press and learn how to extract the oil from the olives. Once the olives have been pressed, visitors can take home oil in lieu of payment for their labor, and many also purchase a few bottles as souvenirs of their experience.

The Olive Harvest in Greece

The president of the Macmillan Group in Springfield, Massachusetts, Demetrios Panteleakis manages a real estate portfolio with investments that total $100 million. An individual of Greek heritage, he regularly returns to his ancestral home and olive groves, which his family has maintained in province of Laconia for centuries. Demetrios Panteleakis particularly enjoys visiting the family farm during the annual olive harvest.

The olive harvest has long been an important part of part of Greece’s unique culture and heritage. In fact, Greece is the only nation in the European Union that gives civil servants special leave during the olive harvest.

Although some regions of Greece begin the harvest as early as October, most harvests take place in November just as olives begin to ripen, turning from green to a purplish black. As unique as the Greek soil that produces these olives, the harvest requires exceptional efforts on behalf of both farmers, who pick their olives by hand, and millers, who produce olive oil around the clock.

The Olive Harvest in Greece

Western New England College graduate, Demetrios Panteleakis is the president of the MacMillan Group in Springfield, Massachusetts. Each year, Demetrios Panteleakis travels to his family farm in Greece for the annual olive harvest. 

Olive groves exist throughout Greece, and while the harvest season starts as early as the end of October, it isn't until late November that the best olives are picked. Nevertheless, the harvest season continues through mid-January.

The wild olive tree is native to the eastern Mediterranean, and fossilized olive trees have been dated between 50-60,000 years old. The Greeks were the first people to cultivate the trees, and they have been an integral part of Greek culture since the Stone Age.

The olive tree is always growing, and during droughts, the trees must be watered to ensure that it will bear fruit. The trees also require careful pruning to stimulate the growth of the flowering branches and to keep the tree close enough to the ground for easier fruit picking.

The beauty of the landscape and the majesty of the trees make harvesting the olives such a joy that the olive harvest has become eco-tourism. Olive lovers from around the world come to Greece each year to enjoy the ancient tradition of picking this delicious fruit.