Picking olives in November

We have new extra virgin oils to offer you for 2010. Our harvest began on November 23 and was concluded on December 6. It might have been better to wait a bit longer for the final harvest, but a winter storm was coming in on December 7. There was fairly heavy rain on the 7th and cold temperatures that night. We awoke on December 8 to see snow on Chief Peak which is 5,000 feet straight above us.

These new 2010 oils were sent to the Baker Laboratory in Paso Robles for analysis. This year, our signature oil is a blend of Frantoio and Leccino olives. The level of free acidity in this oil is 0.06%; this is extremely low. The peroxide value is 6 meq/kg,
also very low.

The Ladera oil has Columella olives on Coratina rootstock. Here, the free acidity is also 0.06%. All of the test results were well below the limits, indicating clearly an extra virgin oil.

Golden extra-virgin olive oil straight from the press

On January 28, we had the pleasure of hosting Spill Films of Culver City, California. They were preparing a television commercial which partly takes place in a mature olive grove. They spent the entire day filming harvest scenes, also showing our olive tree nursery and the background of our unique location at the base of Los Padres National Forest.

Also in January, we conducted the first class in “Gourmet Olive Oil Tasting and More”. This was presented through Ventura College Community Education. Another class will be conducted on Saturday, April 3 and a third one will be held in June. The objective is to give participants a clear understanding of extra virgin olive oil.

Ron Asquith
(805) 701-3825