Margaret River olive oil The good oil, straight from the grove
The Margaret River region's olive oil producers include Eagle Bay Olives, Providore at Metricup, Olio Bello at Cowaramup and Vasse Virgin in Margaret River, with Whirlwind Farm further south at Karridale. Olio Bello and Providore both run tastings, and Eagle Bay's family grove, planted in 1998, has a farm shop and donkeys. Here's what to bring home, and what extra virgin actually means.
- Stops
- 4Eagle Bay down to Margaret River
- Tastings
- 2 stopsOlio Bello and Providore
- Where it starts
- 1998Eagle Bay's grove went in and Olio Bello picked its first olives
- Hours
- Check firstFarm hours change. Look each one up before you drive
Keep the oil at its best
Olive oil doesn't get better with age. Heat, light and air are what wear it out, and a bottle on a sunny windowsill beside the stove is getting all three at once.
Keep it in a cool, dark cupboard with the cap on tight, well away from the oven. Dark glass and tins keep the light out. And buy a size you'll finish while it still tastes the way it did at the grove. The big tin only makes sense if you cook with it every day.
Four stops, grove to grove
From the top of the Cape Naturaliste peninsula south to Margaret River. Scroll down and the line drives it with you.
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STOP 1
Eagle Bay Olives
Start near the top of the Cape Naturaliste peninsula, on Cape Naturaliste Road between Dunsborough and Yallingup. In 1998 the first owner planted more than 1,200 olive trees here, and the grove is still family-owned and family-run.
Seven varieties grow in the grove, and they're handled the way a winemaker handles grapes. Each is picked when it suits the style of oil the family wants. They taste the oils, and only then decide whether to blend or bottle a variety on its own. Fresh Fruity is one they bottle alone: handpicked Leccino, which the maker calls delicate, fruity and buttery. That's an oil for bread and salads, not the frying pan.
The farm shop has garden seating by the orchard, and there are donkeys, which the family counts as part of the visit. Hours change, so check before you go.
Planted1998, more than 1,200 treesVarietiesSeven, blended or bottled aloneOn siteFarm shop, garden seating, donkeysBring home
Eagle Bay Olives bottles Fresh Fruity in everything from a 100 ml bottle to a 5-litre tin. Add a jar of the dukkah and some bread, and the nibbles are sorted.
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STOP 2
Providore
Head south to Tom Cullity Drive at Metricup. Providore is the shopfront for a larger property that also trades as Mount of Olives. Its olive grove is about 600 metres from the tasting centre. The olives are cold-pressed for oil or packed into jars, with chilli and lemon or with garlic and rosemary.
It's bigger and busier than the other stops, and set up for visitors, with a shop and complimentary olive oil tastings. The shelves go well past olives: coffee, drinking chocolate, and jams made by hand in small batches on site. Nobody in the car goes without. Check hours before you go.
GroveAbout 600 m from the tasting centreTastingsComplimentary, in the tasting centreAlsoJams, coffee, drinking chocolateBring home
The chilli and lemon olives from Providore come from that grove 600 metres away. Put a bowl out before dinner and let them do the talking.
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STOP 3
Olio Bello
Near Margaret River, on Armstrong Road at Cowaramup, Olio Bello harvested its first olives in 1998. The farm says it has since won more than 179 medals across 27 harvests, at national and local awards. It also says it's the only WA grower to have taken the national Grower of the Year award.
This is the place to find out what a single olive variety tastes like. Arbequina, Leccino and Koroneiki are each bottled on their own. Arbequina is the mild one: the maker calls it soft, fruity and delicately creamy. Once a year there's Liquid Gold, the farm's Olio Nuovo, fresh-pressed from the new season's olives and gone when it's gone.
There's a tasting room, farm shop and cafe. The property grows macadamias, Italian stone pines and citrus alongside the olives, with patches left to native wildflowers. The farm acknowledges the Wadandi (Saltwater) people as the Traditional Custodians of the land it's on. Check hours before you go.
First olivesHarvested in 1998On siteTasting room, farm shop, cafeTasteArbequina, Leccino, Koroneiki, one at a timeBring home
The Arbequina from Olio Bello won silver at the 2024 WA Olive Awards. Pour it where you can taste it: over sliced tomatoes, or across a bowl of soup at the table.
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STOP 4
Vasse Virgin
Vasse Virgin came to olive oil by way of the soap dish. Louis and Edwina Scherini started out in their own kitchen, making cold-process soap on an extra virgin olive oil base. By 2006 they had a shop in Margaret River selling it, trading then as The Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory.
The food came with the new name in 2009. Working with a specialist chef, the business built a pantry range of estate-grown Western Australian olives, extra virgin oils, balsamic vinegars and fruit vinaigrettes. Its store in the Margaret River township carries the food alongside the soap and skincare. Check hours before you go.
StartedOlive oil soap, in a home kitchenFood rangeSince 2009, with a specialist chefIn townA store in the Margaret River townshipBring home
The basil-pressed oil from Vasse Virgin goes through the press with the leaves, so it tastes green and herby from the start. Tomatoes, warm pasta, done. Add a bar of the olive oil soap: it's where the business began, and it can't leak in your bag.
Olive oil questions
Who are the olive oil producers in the Margaret River region?
From the top of the Cape Naturaliste peninsula south to Karridale:
- Eagle Bay Olives, Eagle Bay: a family-run grove planted in 1998, with seven varieties and a farm shop on Cape Naturaliste Road
- Providore, Metricup: presses oil from its own grove, about 600 metres from its tasting centre, where olive oil tastings are complimentary
- Olio Bello, Cowaramup: harvested its first olives in 1998 and bottles Arbequina, Leccino and Koroneiki as single varieties, with a tasting room on the farm
- Vasse Virgin, Margaret River: started with olive oil soap and added a pantry range of extra virgin oils in 2009; its store is in the township
- Whirlwind Farm, Karridale: an olive grove south of Margaret River making extra virgin olive oil and table olives
Olio Bello, Eagle Bay Olives and Vasse Virgin also list their oils on their own websites, so you can reorder once you're home.
Where can I buy Margaret River olive oil?
At the groves, or from the makers' websites once you're home. Eagle Bay Olives has a farm shop on Cape Naturaliste Road, and Providore presses oil from its own grove at Metricup. Olio Bello has a farm shop and tasting room at Cowaramup, and Vasse Virgin has a store in the Margaret River township. Further south, Whirlwind Farm at Karridale makes extra virgin olive oil and table olives too.
Where can I do an olive oil tasting in Margaret River?
Olio Bello has a tasting room on its farm at Cowaramup, and Providore offers complimentary olive oil tastings at its tasting centre in Metricup. Check hours before you go.
What does extra virgin mean?
The Australian Standard for olive oils (AS 5264-2011) sets out what counts as extra virgin. The Australian Olive Association says the Standard defines it unambiguously, sets testing methods for quality and authenticity, and requires label claims such as "cold pressed" and "first extraction" to be backed up.
What's the best olive oil to bring home?
The one that suits how you cook. For drizzling, try a single variety: Olio Bello's Arbequina is the mild one, and Eagle Bay's Fresh Fruity is made from Leccino olives. For tomatoes and pasta, Vasse Virgin's basil-pressed oil. If it's a gift, add a jar of Eagle Bay's dukkah or Providore's chilli and lemon olives.
Does olive oil travel?
Yes, if it's sealed and kept cool. Wrap the bottles well, keep them out of a hot car, and if you're flying, check your airline's rules on liquids before you pack oil in your cabin bag. Our guide to taking olive oil and honey on a plane sets out the airport rules. Or skip the luggage: Olio Bello, Eagle Bay Olives and Vasse Virgin all list their oils on their own websites.