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.