Hillcrest Estate’s olive orchards were established in 1993 and have yielded award-winning olives and olive oils in their short lifetime. The view from our orchards, situated between 300 and 400 meters above sea level, sweeps across Table Bay to Robben Island and Table Mountain.

Our orchards mainly consist of Mission, Frantoio, and Kalamata cultivars. In 2001 we processed our first table olives and outsourced the making of our first olive oil. Realizing the quality of the olive oil, we endeavored to make our own and purchased the necessary equipment. All production is done on the farm by hand; from harvesting to bottling. We have subsequently upgraded our machine to an Oliomo 150 and Hillcrest continues to make award-winning olive oils.

We became a member of SA Olive Industry Association in order to ensure that we adhered to their quality standards. The following requirements have been met; guaranteed 100% South African product, year of harvest is displayed on the bottle, adherence to the SA Code of Conduct and Practice for production and labeling, and assurance that high-quality standards are met with the label accurately reflecting its content.

Our olives and olive oil are available from the tasting room at Hillcrest, and at Ferndale Nursery in Constantia.

Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive Oil indicate oils that are completely natural and unrefined. All other oils can be assumed to be refined or to contain a proportion of refined olive oil. These blends are usually sold as Pure Olive Oil, Olive Oil, or Light Olive Oil.

Extra Virgin – natural, unrefined olive oil with a free acidity of below 0.8%, no defects, and a fruity characteristic.

Virgin – natural unrefined olive oil with a free acidity below 2%, with minimal defects.

Cold Pressed/Extracted – indicates that miling temperatures were kept below 28°C, preventing the destruction of the temperature-sensitive flavour compounds, antioxidants, and vitamins.

2002 Certificate of excellence Alfa Laval EVOO Competition

2005 Received a 3rd prize award at the Marco Zichella Extra Virgin Olive Oils of South Africa Competition

2006 Received the consumers choice award for our olive oil at the Marco Zichella Extra Virgin Olive Oils of South AfricaCompetition

2006 Received 2nd prize in the Marco Zichella Extra Virgin Olive Oils of South Africa Competition

2006 Won Gold at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style

2006 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for our table olives2007 Won Gold at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style

2007 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for flavoured olives2009 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE award for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Medium

2010 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Medium

2011 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Delicate

2012 Won Bronze at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Medium and Silver: Delicate category

2013 Won 2 x Bronze at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Delicate style

2014 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Delicate and Bronze: Medium

2015 Won Silver at the SA OLIVE awards for our Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil Style: Medium

The olive grove, planted on western slopes, comprises 2000 trees of oil and fruit varietals. Their unique position at 300 meters above sea level imparts a specific rich, tangy taste to the olives and a distinctive peppery aftertaste to the extra virgin olive oil.