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In this booming olive oil industry, Yolo County is ground zero.
Last month, a group of sixty people from all over the United States came to Yolo County on a Slow Journey, a sort of field trip for adults who had come to Slow Food Nation, held in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. The event drew crowds of more than 60,000, according to the event’s website (www.slowfoodnation.org), and some of the crowd elected to journey out into the greater Bay Area to see and experience first hand California’s food revolution.
The visitors to Yolo were lured by a tour of the not-yet open Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, and a sensory evaluation of olive oil led by Paul Vossen, renowned olive oil expert and University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor in Sonoma County. People packed every available seat in the conference room. In front of each of them were 5 dark blue, cup-shaped glasses each with a different olive oil. Paul Vossen led them in a professional evaluation of the oils, all from California, which has over 200 plus olive oils and grows over 80 varietals, including UCD’s own Wolfskill Olive Oil, a unique blend of Mission and over 50 varieties that have been grafted onto the 150 year old trees at the Wolfskill Historic Ranch.
Vossen explained the past, present, and future of olive oil in California and the numbers are astonishing. California has 14,000 acres planted to olive trees for olive oil, whereas in 2004 there were only 6,000 acres. In 2009, there will be more than 20,000 acres. “In a five-year span the number of olive trees has more than tripled,” Dan Flynn, Executive Director of the UC Davis Olive Center told us. “The olive oil producers in California have learned how to increase their efficiency and the demand for flavorful California olive oil has increased rapidly.” That demand has a long way to go however. In the USA, we consume .7 liters of olive oil per capita, according to Vossen, whereas in Greece, they consumer 26.1 liters per capita. Demand can only increase in the USA.
In this booming olive oil industry, Yolo County is ground zero with the new UC Davis Olive Center at RMI, the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Add to that an increasing number of olive acreage and producers, and the host to Yolo County Fair’s California only olive oil competition. In addition, the USDA Germplasm facility at Wolfskill has a world collection of olive trees, more than 180 different varieties, available to researchers and breeders. The UC Davis Olive Center is the only such center in North America, with others being located at universities in Italy and Spain. The UC Davis Olive Center will educate and serve as a resource to olive growers, researchers, and producers from around California and throughout the world, just as so many other aspects of the University of California at Davis does. The center will feature, among other things, a state-of-the-art Alfa Laval steel blade mill, made in Italy, capable of processing 700 pounds of olives per hour, according to Flynn. That’s about 10-15 gallons of oil per hour, a modest size mill. It will be installed within the next month and is planned to be in use by olive harvest time, according to Flynn.
Yolo County, which has about 15 producers, (11 are listed under olive oil here). Many of them are new, some producing for the first time in the past several years, yet many of them one medals at the Yolo County Fair’s all-California olive oil competition, held for the third year in February, 2008. For example, Yolo Press of Winters took Best in Show Organic Olive Oil, Copperhill Olive Oil Company of Woodland received a Gold Medal for its Arbequina intermediate intensity oil, and UC Davis received a Gold Medal for its Manzanillo Blend, intermediate intensity. Rita Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Yolo County Fair, says that the number of entrants this year, 106, doubled over those in 2007, 50-52. She credited Fair Board Members Ernie Roncoroni and Patti Bogle, Chairpersons for the competition, with starting the competition. Paul Vossen is in charge of the judging and works with a team of judges assembled from throughout the state. This year, Laurie Schuler Flynn and Amy DelBondio of Hillstone Olive Oil volunteered their time to create a display of the all the entrants which appeared at the Yolo County Fair in August. “We’re excited about the future of the competition,” Moore said, “we want to keep it growing and host an educational event for the public next year so everyone can learn what good olive oil is.”
The well-known Los Angeles County Fair International Olive Oil competition, where oils from Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand, and Australia are entered, is the only competition larger than that of Yolo’s in the state. We are proud to say that several Yolo County oils won awards at the 2008 LA competition, including Hillstone Olive Oil which received a Best of Class, Gold Medal Domestic/Sacramento Valley Blends Robust and a Gold Medal Domestic/Arbequina Robust much to the delight of producers Schuler Flynn and DelBondio.
One might say that the olive oil industry is one of the oldest in the area, with the 150-year old plantings at Wolfskill Ranch, planted by John Wolfskill, still being used to produce oil. As part of the University of California Davis’ Centennial Celebration, the Wolfskill Ranch, which houses both the USDA Germplasm facility and the University of California Davis Department of Plant Science research center will be the site of a festive, three-course lunch for 300 people, with long tables set along the allee of olives that leads to the heart of the property. The meal will be prefaced by a tour of the property, led by Vito Polito, Professor of Plant Science UC Davis and long-time steward of the Wolfskill Ranch, and a tasting of olive oils from ten of Yolo and Solano County producers (see sidebar), an aperitif featuring local white and rose wine, and appetizers.
Co-sponsored by the UC Davis Olive Center, the Yolo County Agricultural Marketing Initiative and Slow Food Yolo, the event, which is by pre-purchased ticket only, includes a 500 ml bottle of a specially released Centennial Blend Olive Oil (a $29 value.) “Last year’s event was so memorable that we were demanded to hold it again,” Dan Flynn said. “It’s perfect because it is the same weekend as the kick off the UC Davis 18-month celebration of its centennial, and the same weekend as the opening of the RMI. The event will also include a blessing of the trees, last year performed by Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento, and this year by a local priest. This tradition, long practiced in Italy, marks another way in which the culture of olive oil feels right at home in our Mediterranean climate here in Yolo County; it’s also a way you can see and experience first hand the growing food, wine and agriculture of Yolo County – just like those intrepid visitors from across the nation did as a part of Slow Food Nation.
-Ann M. Evans and Georgeanne Brennan, Yolo County Agricultural Marketing Initiative
Black Olive, Walnut, and Dried Tomato Tapenade
This is a rich, earthy spread, but also a healthy one. The amount of oil you will need to puree the mixture to a spreadable consistency will depend upon how much oil is in the olives and the tomatoes.
The Ingredients:
1/3 cup oil cured black olives, pitted
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of the tomato oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Putting It Together:
Coarsely chop the olives and place them in a blender or food processor with the walnuts, dried tomato, tomato oil and fresh thyme. Blend or process until the mixture in well-mixed. Slowly add olive oil, pureeing or processing until the mixture reaches the desired consistency for spreading. Makes about 1 cup
October Local Food and Farm Events
For more information see www.davisvisitor.com or www.slowfoodyolo.com
October 4 - Hoes Down Harvest Festival, Capay Valley, Info: (800) 791-2110, www.hoesdown.org; tickets sold at the door or in advance for this on-farm, family friendly day which benefits sustainable agriculture. Yolo County wine tasting in the evening, sponsored by Slow Food Yolo, 6-7 PM. $20 entry fee; additional $15 for the wine tasting.
October 11 – Centennial Olive Harvest Celebration, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets and more information: www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu (click on events) or www.slowfoodyolo. Tickets also available at the Davis Food Co-op and Steady Eddy’s in Winters. $90. Slow Food Members; $100 general public. Tickets sold only in advance.
October 18 - Putah Creek Winery – Fall Wine Tasting 2-6 PM For more information: 916-747-2131. $5.
October 18 – Rominger West Winery – Annual Open House, 12 noon – 5 pm. Entry is free. For more information www.romingerwest.com.
October 26 – Taste of Capay 2:00 – 6:00 PM at Taber Ranch, a benefit dinner and auction for Capay Valley Vision including a delicious local dinner and award winning wines at the beautiful Taber Ranch. For more information: www.capayvalleyvision.org or 787-3353. $55 per person.
Olive Oil Producers at the Wolfskill Event
Apollo Olive Oil
Copper Hill Olive Oil and Coon Creek Olive Oil
Frate Sol Olive Oil
Hillstone Olive Oil
Jovia Groves Olive Oil
Katz and Company
Rumsey Farms
Tabor Ranch Olive Oil
UC Davis Olive Oil
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