Alex and his wife Lorena Giallonardo took over the 7-hectare organic orchard in Earnscleugh Road in mid-2025, with the site boasting 4,000 trees producing cherries, nectarines, apricots, peaches, and apples.

Their decision to enter the horticulture industry came after weighing up the costs and benefits of building a new factory to house their Patagonia chocolates, ice cream, and coffee operations in one single location.

The couple are building a new 1,500 m² factory on the orchard site which will include a factory shop, and are excited about the opportunity to use "seconds" from the orchard in the production of their premium chocolates and ice cream.

"One example of that is our beautiful gold-medal winning cherry bonbons", Alex says.

"The cherries are soaked for 72 hours in Central Otago Pinot Noir, coated in dark chocolate and then filled with a rich ganache."

"We've been making them for a really long time, but this is the first time that we're able to use our own cherries to do that. We’re also now making an apricot sorbet and a cherry gelato with fruit that came from the orchard."

"This fits in with our company’s zero waste policy, meaning we don't throw anything away when there’s actually nothing wrong with the fruit."

However, Alex admits he didn't arrive in Earnscleugh as an expert orchardist.

"After we completed the purchase I thought.. Well we’ve got an orchard. But I don't know much about it. I don't know anything about it, actually."

He decided his best move was to go and study at Otago Polytechnic's Cromwell campus, signing up for the New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production (Level 4) (Fruit Production).

Senior lecturer Rachel Petrie says the extensive programme covers a wide range of horticulture skills.

"That includes everything from orchard pruning and canopy management, soil science, and plant biology, through to machinery safety, irrigation and weed management, and sustainable pest and disease control."

Alex relished the challenge despite the added workload and insists the course was the best thing
 he could have done.

"It just opened my mind and gave me a lot of knowledge. It was absolutely amazing for me", he says.

He was able to put his classroom lessons into practice immediately, switching out the programme's usual nursery day each week to work in his own practical environment on the orchard.

"I'm managing a lot of things, like the spraying and some of the pruning. I’ve just finished pruning 2,000 apricot and nectarines by myself."

"The course gave me tools that will help with the experience of running the orchard. It'll allow me to understand it better in the future, and to help improve the yield and maximise the amount of fruit we produce."

"I just cannot believe that a lot of the people running orchards and vineyards in Central Otago haven’t done this course," Alex says.

Otago Polytechnic's Horticulture team were delighted to have new orchardist Alex on campus, and say his enthusiasm was infectious for staff and students.

"Watching Alex’s knowledge grow was impressive", says Rachel.

"He was genuinely surprised by how much there was to learn. Each new topic opened his eyes, and once he began applying the knowledge on his own organic property, his confidence and understanding expanded quickly."

Alex was keen to celebrate with his classmates on their final day on campus in December 2025, cooking up a big paella and providing some Patagonia ice cream for everyone to enjoy, as he reflected on his successful return to learning.

"Knowledge is the best insurance policy you can buy", says Alex.

"So I think it was a great investment in time and money. There's no question about that."