Harvest season

Friends of mine decided to up and move from city life in Paris and invested in farm life in Tuscany. They bought an old home and have spent the past two years learning how to be olive oilers. Wine harvest season is generally in October, but for olive growers it is generally in December. It is believed that by December, olives are ripe and juicy enough to fall naturally from the trees, thereby producing the greatest amount of oil. [btw: nets are laid down in late October to start catching the olives so you can avoid all the hand picking.] The December time frame is for everyone BUT the people who live in Tuscany who espouse the virtues of a blended oil (ripe olives are mixed with some of their greener brethren.) This is an example of supreme rationalization. Harvesting olives in December (at least in Tuscany) means wearing winter jackets and gloves and standing out in the cold for hours. Harvesting in November means light jackets and sunny days. This is probably why I could never be an olive oil tycoon. I imagine no one would want to buy an olive oil that was harvested in September (when I would still be wearing shorts!)