Napa Valley Olive Growers Association

Posted on April 4, 2011 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

A journey through the birthplace of the olive

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
A journey through the birthplace of the olive

A few weeks ago, I was traveling throughout Greece and Turkey with a friend and we stumbled upon several amazing olive orchards.  Seeing these olive orchards made me wonder how ancient Greeks cultivated their olive crops and how orchards looked back then.  Not only did we see olive orchards on amazing plots of land, but we saw olive oil saturating every village and island we traveled to.  With every meal, we were served olive oil on the side and in every grocery store we walked into, there was an entire aisle dedicated to olive oil.  As I walked down each aisle, I was in awe as I saw all of the different extra virgin olive oils offered ranging in size from one, which we may refer to as a “normal” size, up to aluminum containers holding several gallons of oil.  These beautifully packaged bottles and containers can not only be seen in grocery stores, but they are recycled throughout the villages and cities as flower planters, decorations or even used to stop boats/cars from rolling/sliding.  Seeing the integration of olive oil into every day society gave me a preview of what our society will hopefully be one day.  People all around take pride in their olive oil.  At one restaurant, I asked a man which type of olive oil he was serving (and I asked which varieties of olives were used in the blend) and he responded with a 20 minute lecture about the olive oil and how Greeks makes the “absolute best” olive oil in the world.  While I agreed with the fact that Greece’s history of olive oil supersedes California’s, I secretly reminded myself that the olive oils I have tasted out of the Napa Valley have been far superior in taste and color.  With every generation, olive oil growing and pressing techniques improve and although Greece and Turkey may have a few years on us “Napa Valley growers,” I believe we have caught up to their techniques (if not surpassed them).

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Posted on December 8, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

2010 Olive Harvest

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week Gleason Olive Oil Hagafen East Side Olive Oil Jaeger Family EVOO Long Meadow Ranch Napa Valley Olive Growers info

Hello everyone!  We’re midway through harvesting season and check out what some of our growers are saying about it:
Rela Gleason of Gleason Olive Oil:
This year our harvest was prolific.  In fact we had such a huge crop that we are going to leave some trees unpicked.  This is a wonderful “gift” after last year when [...]

Posted on November 1, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Olive Oil and Skincare

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
Olive Oil and Skincare

As people begin to notice the harsh chemicals that the cosmetic and bath industry use in their products, they will hopefully shift to olive oil skin care after seeing the benefits that oil provides.  For 1,000s of years, people have been using olive oil as a natural way to keep themselves healthy.  Many people understand [...]

Posted on October 17, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Health Benefits of Olive Oil

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
Health Benefits of Olive Oil

For thousands of years, it has been believed that olive oil has a wide array of health benefits.  While the benefits of olive oil have been most clearly notable with heart disease, various other remedies from olive oil have been used for patients to help cancer, diabetes, pain, blood pressure, bone health, arthritis, gallstones, colds, [...]

Posted on October 4, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

The Vocabulary of an Olive Oil Label

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
The Vocabulary of an Olive Oil Label

A lot of claims are made on olive oil labels. What do these various terms mean and how important are they?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: As long as the product has not been adulterated with seed or nut oils it is customarily labeled as “extra virgin olive oil” in this country. The other side of this [...]

Posted on September 21, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Guidelines for Tasting Olive Oil

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
Guidelines for Tasting Olive Oil

When tasting olive oil, it is best to taste the oil mid-morning, when the pallot is fully open.  Prior to tasting the oil, it is best to not eat anything or have any foreign flavors in your mouth before tasting (no smoking, toothpaste, gum, candy, lipstick, coffee, etc.) and its best to keep foreign smells [...]

Posted on August 30, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Positive and Negative Attributes of Olive Oils

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
Positive and Negative Attributes of Olive Oils

When tasting an olive oil, particularly an Extra Virgin Olive Oil, there are many different positive and negative attributes that can be associated with the oil.  The International Olive Oil Council did an organoleptic assessment of Olive Oil and came up with several attributes:
Common Negative Attributes:
-Fusty:  Characterisitc flavor of oil obtained from olives stored in [...]

Posted on August 19, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Early vs. Late Harvest

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week
Early vs. Late Harvest

Each year, the olive harvesting season ranges from mid November to late December.  The producer chooses their harvest date depending on the olive varieties they are growing, and the flavor and the amount of oil desired.
Early harvest olive oils tend to be fairly green in color, causing bitterness in the oil.  The bitterness in the [...]

French Olives
by napavalleyolivegrowers on August 3, 2010
Italian Olives
by napavalleyolivegrowers on July 26, 2010
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Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This extra virgin olive oil comes from an historic property located in a remote area on the eastern slopes of the Napa Valley. In 1992, Bonnie Storm armed with a dream of producing great olive oil, purchased this 130-year-old cattle and dairy ranch. This area, known as Pope [...]

Harris Estate Rutherford

Harris Estate Organic Olive Oil

Harris Ranch Napa Valley’s handcrafted olive oil, wildflower honey, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes all stem from the rich terroir that has nourished wild blackberries, wild mushrooms, walnut trees, and fig trees for over a century. Gingy and Jody worked diligently to rekindle a dormant grove of old Mission olive trees thought [...]

*Weekly Blog Posts Article of the Week Gleason Olive Oil Hagafen East Side Olive Oil Jaeger Family EVOO Long Meadow Ranch Napa Valley Olive Growers info

2010 Olive Harvest

Hello everyone!  We’re midway through harvesting season and check out what some of our growers are saying about it:
Rela Gleason of Gleason Olive Oil:
This year our harvest was prolific.  In fact we had such a huge crop that we are going to leave some trees unpicked.  This is a wonderful “gift” after last year when [...]

Oliodessa Olive Oil

Oliodessa Olive Oil

Marvin Martin’s passion for olive oil began in 1981, while attending the University of California at Davis.  While at Davis, he worked as a chef at a grocery store called Corti brothers, which specialized in importing olive oil, and became intrigued by all of the oils he was working with.  After graduating, Martin worked at [...]

Round Pond Olive Oil

Round Pond Olive Oil

Round Pond began importing and planting its carefully selected olive trees in 1998. Today, their olive orchards span 12 acres, for a total of 2,200 trees, some over 100 years old. These estate-grown olive trees produce rich and fragrant extra virgin olive oils. Offering an array of flavors, from the Tuscan-style [...]

St. Helena Olive Oil Co.

St. Helena Olive Oil Co.

Epstein Estate
Harvested from Manzanillo and Mission olives grown in the western hills of Napa, this olive oil is sensational.  The early harvest and production of this olive oil makes it fruity, with a nice peppery finish.
Hornberger
This olives grown at the Hornberger Estate on West Zinfandel Lane are blended together to produce a mere [...]

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