Lisadurne Hill

0400 667 368
russell.knight4@bigpond.com

lisadurnehill.com.au

We planted our first trees in 2008. The grove of 27,000 trees (25,000 high density FS17 variety and another 2,000 with eight traditional varieties) was planted in the ‘Hill Paddock’ on our family farm called ‘Lisadurne’. The farm has been in our family since 1876. The olive grove was planted to give the farm a viable financial future.

Our first commercial harvest was in 2011 and we started entering our four EVOO labels into state and federal competitions. Our bulk oil from the FS17 trees we market as ‘Hill Paddock Blend’. The three boutique labels are Hojiblanca for our single varietal, Rushworth Gold for the Picual (often blended with our Picholine) that is a very nice salad oil, and lastly the Angus that is predominantly Coratina and is usually our most robust oil (strong as a bull!).

All our oils have won significant awards since 2012. We still treasure the awards our Hojiblanca achieved at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food competition in 2013. Not only did it win best oil in Show but also best product overall. It is a rare year that one or more of our EVOO does not win a Gold medal.

We also sell two varieties of table olives – Kalamata and Sevillano. These are all hand-picked and brine cured until they debitter to our taste. There is quite a lot of work in checking and testing the olive barrels till they are ready.

Five years ago we added a Lime Agrumato to our oil labels. Fresh limes are pressed with either the FS17 or a Frantoio to make this Lime oil. The Agrumato has a bit of a fan club.

Although the olives are our main focus, ‘Lisadurne’ is also a farm with sheep, cattle and alpacas. The alpaca’s fleece is processed into yarn and available for sale. Around 2010 Russ decided to plant some Shiraz grapes with the aim of making enough red wine for family use. The red wine is usually drinkable. I asked Russ to plant some Trebbiano grapes for making Balsamic Vinegar. A taste of a traditional balsamic from the North of Italy prompted this planting.

We have been selling the Mosto Cotto and Classic Balsamic in small bottles since 2017. Mosto Cotto is the simmered Trebbiano grape juice that takes 3 days to quietly reduce to a third of its volume. This is sold as a sweet condiment, while the majority is blended with a high quality red wine vinegar & barrel aged for at least seven years to make our Classic Balsamic Vinegar.

The latest addition to our farm produce is a Rose Hydrosol. 2022 was the first year we have had a commercial quantity of this fragrant rose distillation. Damask roses are being planted in the small “Rose Paddock”. The petals are picked late October to November and distilled within hours.

We are planning a tasting room for groups and bus loads to sample our products and walk around the garden. The garden at ‘Lisadurne’ has been a work in progress since 1980 when my mum Wendy Heily began planting wind breaks and then more intensive garden beds. For the last five years the garden has been refurbished and expanded. It is becoming an even more beautiful place to enjoy but we still have a long way to go - Tina Knight