Olives Ripening
November is always a special time for me. The air turns colder. Our California skies start to turn gray. And best of all, the olives darken from light green to dark purple, which means harvest time is at last here!
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we grow Leccino variety olives for olive oil. Leccino is a fantastic Tuscan variety, which normally produces a fruity olive oil. But in the creek-side land of Capay Valley, our Leccino deviates from the traditional path. Our Leccino olives blossom into a big, bold extra-virgin olive oil. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you love flavor, you’ll love our super robust, gold medal-winning olive oil.
You may wonder why it’s hard to find Leccino oil in the stores. The answer is at once simple and complex. California’s olive oil industry is in its infancy. As a consequence, as a nation, we import more than 99% of our olive oil from overseas. That’s hard to believe when you consider that we have ample land suitable for olives and some of the best farmers in the world. It’s just that the Europeans have been growing olives for thousands of years. And for most Americans, olive oil is still a somewhat mysterious product. We know extra virgin is supposed to be good for you, but we don’t know much beyond that.
I liken it to the days when wine was still new to most Americans. People could distinguish between a red and a white, but mention a cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay or heaven forbid, a pinot grigio, and the American consumer’s eyes would glaze over. People just didn’t know that there were so many flavors and such quality differences available. The same is true for olive oil.
I’m bullish on California olive oil. I think it’s a high quality product (much better than 99% of that imported stuff on the shelf) that will crash into the food world’s consciousness, just as California wine did forty years ago. The market will change from the choice between extra light olive oil and extra virgin olive oil to a wide selection of varietal extra virgin olive oils. You want a special, delicate olive oil for tender salad greens, homemade mayonnaise, or a yummy semolina cake? Try a Sevillano! Or are you more in the mood for something bolder, a robust oil that you can drizzle on a grilled, bone-in steak or swirl into garlic mashed potatoes? Try our super-robust Leccino or McEvoy’s Estate-Bottled Tuscan-blend. Whatever you do, there’s a flavor and taste for you that will bring out the very best in your cooking.
Stay tuned for more about California olive oil. There are so many interesting and exciting things to learn. And best of all, if you are like me, you’ll develop a passion for olive oil that is both fun and mouth-watering!
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