No Sítio da Pedra, a vida fora do escritório pariu um azeite
Todo fim de semana, o casal Paula Pedrão e Fabio Dias pega a estrada em São Paulo rumo a seu sítio na Serra da Mantiqueira. Paula nunca sonhou em empreender. A executiva de 57 anos fez sua carreira em empresas como o Grupo Pão de Açúcar e a JBS, e hoje é diretora de comunicação […] The post No Sítio da Pedra, a vida fora do escritório pariu um azeite appeared first on Brazil Journal .
Paula Pedrão and Fabio Dias, a 57-year-old executive and a 59-year-old director of sustainability, respectively, have found a new passion outside of their corporate careers - cultivating olive groves in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range. The couple's venture, Azeite da Pedra, has already won medals in competitions in Cyprus, Turkey, and Italy.
With a 2,200-tree olive orchard at 1,300 meters altitude in a region dominated by dairy cattle pastures, eucalyptus, vegetables, and rose bushes, the couple began by harvesting the olives themselves during their first season. After going through the decorticator, Paula meticulously hand-collected every fallen olive to minimize losses, as the production is too small to tolerate any waste.
They harvested three tons of olives, enough to make an exclusive 800-bottle edition, sold quickly via WhatsApp to friends and family. The blend is a unique mix of arbequina, grappolo, and koroneiki olives, resulting from the nature's hand-crafted approach rather than a predetermined varietal. The couple's commitment is to produce a high-quality product, rather than financial success.
The operation aims to grow slowly, remain small, and focus on quality. Fabio says, "Who works with a farm learns that each thing has its right time." The first season represented only 10% of the projected production for the mature olive grove, which is expected to show significant growth as the trees reach full production.
The olive grove's planting was relatively simple after the conventional soil preparation, but the couple faced challenges with ants, which they managed with constant care. Despite the challenges, Paula attributes the success to their lack of experience, as they followed the process rigorously. Both enjoy good food and have culinary talents; Paula makes an award-winning pudding and Fabio creates a comforting egg-and-macaroni dish.
Beyond the olives, the couple is excited about experimenting with pét-nat sparkling wine using Vermentino and Chardonnay vines. They plan to begin producing this natural, minimally-processed sparkling wine in the coming year.
Written by urgent.news from Brazil Journal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
