FANCY some wicked pickled egg plant, sticky figs or salt-dried olives?

The delicacies are among the range of value-added farm produce at Rutherglen's unforgettably named The Wicked Virgin.

    AT A GLANCE
  • Who: John and Laurel Nowacki
  • What: olive grove and vineyard
  • Why: diversification
  • Where: Rutherglen

The 20-hectare farm at the edge of town was once a bustling gold mine but now supports an olive grove, vineyard and cellar door.

Owners John and Laurel Nowacki also operate an olive press, catering for small-lot growers in the northeast and Riverina.

The couple add value to their 8ha olive grove by producing extra virgin olive oil, table olives and tapenade under The Wicked Virgin label.

"A friend suggested the name in those days wicked meant very good," Laurel said.

"If it was named now, it would be The Fully Sick Virgin, but that doesn't have the same ring to it."

With the help of a local winemaker, John and Laurel turn out shiraz, trebbiano and fortifieds under Calico Town wines.

The label is a link with Rutherglen's past as a gold-mining settlement when buildings were of calico or canvas.

The Nowackis' farm was once part of the Lilliput gold mine and was mined until the 1960s. One of the last poppet heads in the northeast sits on the property.

John and Laurel originally moved to Rutherglen from Warrnambool to take over the Victoria Hotel.

After 10 years the couple decided to make Rutherglen their permanent home, with a vision of producing wine and olive oil from their own patch of dirt.

"John was always interested in wine and Rutherglen has the perfect climate for both grape and olive growing," Laurel said.

In 1996 they bought the 20ha grazing block and dubbed it "Layback Manor". "This was supposed to be our yacht," Laurel joked.

Mining relics were strewn across the block, and it had a century-old house and a shearing shed.

"The shearing shed wasn't doing a good job at holding up the roof so we gutted it," Laurel said.

"John and friends built the cellar door from mud poured on site. We recycled materials out of the shearing shed, including timber for the trusswork."

The sloping red clay loam block and 575mm rainfall were ideal for grapes and olives. The ground was deep-ripped for the vines and trees     .

"I was working as a teacher so we planted after school and at weekends with the help of family and friends," Laurel said.

They planted 4ha of shiraz and durif vines, and 8ha of corregiola, kalamata, jumbo kalamata, paragon, UC13A6 and manzanillo olives.

"We wanted a mix of table and oil varieties which we could value-add," Laurel said.

"In 2001, we pulled off the fruit to (encourage) wood on the olive trees, and 2002 was our first harvest," Laurel said. "The trees were planted 4m apart at a row width of 6-8m to allow for mechanical harvesting."

Harvest usually begins for the table olives in the first week of May.

"The summer rain has been great for the olives but shocking for the grapes this year," Laurel said. "We had to drop over two-thirds of fruit this year in the vineyard - it was cruel.

"The grapes were all hand-harvested from late February."

John and Laurel were taking their olives to a press at Violet Town. In 2005 a health scare forced the press owner to sell his equipment and the Nowackis jumped at the opportunity.

"Other processors were doing large quantities but not many were doing smaller parcels," John said. "They could do 5-10 tonnes at a time but some growers only had 500kg to two tonnes. Small growers had nowhere to go.

"At the time, our young trees were producing six tonnes of fruit."

These days John accepts minimum parcels of 300kg.

As members of the Olive Producers of North East Victoria, John and Laurel help organise the Golden Olive Awards each year.

Laurel, chief steward, said entries last year numbered almost 100 for oil and up to 40 for table olives.

"We are now in our 13th year and receive entries from all over Australia," she said.

Entries close in June and oil samples are sent to Wagga Wagga for testing, and table olives to Western Australia for judging. Winners are announced at the awards in September.

The first olives to arrive for processing at The Wicked Virgin this year were delivered in late April from Darlington Point in the Riverina.

"They weren't overly coloured - it was well balanced oil that didn't blow your head off," John said.

John said fruit loads were enormous, with branches splitting under the strain. He said growers were expecting a surplus of olive oil.

"We had expected the market to grow with the trees, but the drought restricted volumes," he said.

"We have gone from six tonnes in 2005 to 20 tonnes this year and we have to find a place for that oil.

"The domestic market is still growing, yet the boutique oil market is close to saturation point."

John described this year's wine grape harvest as "frustrating and disappointing".

"It had the potential of being the biggest vintage on record but ended up as the smallest at just 1000 litres of juice," he said.

"We hand-selected fruit and dumped 90 per cent of the crop.

"During the drought, the lack of water meant the vines didn't grow well enough and hold fruit."

John and Laurel will be among more than 60 food and wine producers taking part in the Beechworth Harvest Celebration on May 13-15.

From her commercial kitchen, Laurel turns out an array of pickled cherries, eggplant, sticky figs, salt-dried olives, tapenade, chutneys and jams. She also makes pure olive oil soap for sensitive skin.

"We attend three farmers' markets - Rutherglen, Beechworth and Yarrawonga - each month," Laurel said. "We have grown to love the farmers' markets.

"People are more interested in their food - they want fresh, regional produce with a small carbon footprint and low food miles."

The Beechworth Harvest Festival, from May 13-15, will feature a weekend producers' picnic with more than 60 wine and food producers.