Press Release April 2005

Award-Winning Olive Oil in the Press

The arrival of Morgenster 2005 is imminent!

With summer's flavour-filled fruit in the olive press and the grapes in the cellar, it is a time of celebration at Morgenster. As the 2005 olives are presently being turned into delicious, healthy oil and the wine matures in the safety of oak, the farm looks forward to another season of award-winning produce.

The beautiful olive groves on the farm were planted to a mix of high quality olive varieties, for the production of an excellent blended olive oil and table olives. It was a labour of love and precision. Soils were carefully chosen and painstakingly terraced, the trees hand-harvested and the fruit treated to the most modern methods of production. The result is a pure olive oil that meets the most rigorous definition of the term "cold-pressed extra virgin". This means that the oil has the ideal ratio of less than 1% acidity and is produced by only the first cold pressing. Morgenster Extra Virgin Olive Oil is truly the créme de la créme.

The estate olive oil has been rewarded with Italy's foremost prize, the L'Orciolo d'Oro, six times. Locally, in blind tastings of local estate oil, Morgenster regularly comes out tops. Other accolades include being voted "Oil of the Year" in the Southern Hemisphere New Season Extra Virgin Olive Oils Top Eight in Sydney, as well as receiving a Gold Medal at the 2004 L.A. County Fair. Morgenster also makes a lemon-infused olive oil. Then there are also two varieties of table olive: large green Nocellara del Belice and black Kalamata, as well as a delicious olive paste.

The health benefits of Morgenster's oil are great and varied. Studies have shown that Italians, who regularly use olive oil, fruit and vegetables in their diet, suffer the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease in the world. There is strong evidence that adopting the Mediterranean lifestyle can lengthen your life and prevent the two major killer diseases in modern society: arteriosclerosis and cancer. High incidences of heart disease occur in South Africa - where olive oil consumption is also relatively low.

It is therefore no wonder that it was an Italian, Giulio Bertrand, who planted the olive trees, as well as vines, on this beautiful historic farm. Morgenster Extra Virgin Olive Oil is ideally enjoyed cool to preserve the bright flavours, and it is perfect for salads and pastas. The lemon-infused olive oil is ideal for drizzling over fresh grilled fish.

And that's not forgetting the high quality wine: the Morgenster red blend and the Lourens River Valley red blend. Both are made to be structured and deeply textured, with the Lourens River Valley designed to be somewhat more approachable in its youth. Here, renowned Frenchman Pierre Lurton of Chateau Cheval Blanc consults.

With the 2005 olives and grapes being pressed from the season's new harvest, it's a great time to celebrate life with the delicious - and healthy - Morgenster products.