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California
Olive Oil
News© |
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Volume 6 Issue 1 January 2003 |
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| Sonoma Olive Festival | Events | |||||||||
| Olive Oil Retailers | Briefs | |||||||||
| Is Farming becoming a Hobby? | Comments from the Internet | |||||||||
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Sonoma Olive Festival Founder's Dinner This year the Sonoma Olive Festival started off with the Sumptuous Founder's dinner. Celebrity chefs used local olive oil to whip up spinach, olive and feta strudel, grilled New York steak on Herbed Walnut Flatbread with Dried Cranberry-Olive Relish and other olive oil inspired delicacies. The exact pairings were: Grilled NY Steak - The Olive Press
(Sevillano) Blessing of the Olives Sunny skies greeted participants and visitors at the annual blessing of the olive crop at the Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma December 7th. California Olive Oil Council president Albert Katz and Olive Press owner Ed Stolman described the growth and successes of the olive oil industry in California. Gabriella Leonhard related the efforts of the Mission Olive Restoration Project volunteers. Father Aurelio Villa gave the blessing, first describing how olive oil had been used to anoint kings and athletes and to cure the sick. He encouraged the audience to become messengers of peace on this Pearl Harbor day by attaching an olive branch to their doors and living in peace with their family and neighbors. A prayer was offered in Spanish and English. Two Crop Taste Sonoma county wineries offered a taste of the fruit of the vine along with the fruit of the olive tree. Selected COOC olive seal recipients presented their line of oils at each winery. At Il Centro on Sonoma square Viansa olive oil was paired with Viansa wines. Joe Sebastiani of Viansa has added Tuscan varieties to existing trees at the Carneros destination winery and marketplace to now total about 900 trees.
At Shug Winery, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines were available for tasting along with Calolea's Mission-Manzanillo oil. Michael Keller and Monica Smith described their efforts to perfect the oil from their Loma Rica area groves. The Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves hosted Round Pond Olive oil. Owner Roslyn Taubman poured an Italian Premium Blend harvested from the young Italian orchard which consists of Frantoio, Leccino, Coratina, Pendolino, and Maurino trees. Her Spanish variety is directed toward general purpose cooking. A long-time chef with connections in the restaurant industry, she is trying to popularize her reasonably priced oils in distinctive tin containers.
Like many wineries, Benziger Family Winery has landscaped with olive trees. Employee Mike Barbitta has encouraged the family to invest in a total of 500 trees to date and has spearheaded the olive oil project. The eclectic mix of Mission, Manzanillo, Picholine, Frantoio, Coratina and Pendolino olives produced a sophisticated oil, still green from its pressing a few weeks earlier. The smartly packaged oil is currently sold only at the winery. For more information on Sonoma Olive Festival Events, go to Sonoma County Visitors Bureau Olive Oil Retailers Wondering where to buy some of the great California olive oils you see listed on this site? There are some specialty markets which offer a good selection. Corti Brothers in Sacramento and Oakville Grocery with several locations in Northern California carry local olive oils.
There are also a few shops specializing in oil sales. L'Olivier of Sonoma is half a block from the square. French born proprietor Elie Maghames offers an intriguing combination of hand made soaps and local and international olive oils, including his own label. Whatever you want to know about olives can be answered here. Maghames has many oils open for tasting and will inform you about the region each came from and the unique characteristics of each type of olive oil. Maghames makes his rustic soap from olive oil right in the back of the shop every day. Oliviers & Co. is a French firm that specializes in imported olive oils and olive oil soap with several locations in the United States. Is Farming Becoming a Hobby? Is Big or Small Better for Olive Ranchers? While farming is increasingly efficient with greater yields per acre, it contributes less and less proportionally to the GNP, thereby losing the attention of government agencies and the general public. To survive, larger farms are consolidating to benefit from economies of scale and smaller farmers are finding "day jobs" in town to support their farming habit. These trends are affecting the environment and reducing our choice of basic foods. They also generate questions concerning olive farming here in the U.S. Should we support smaller boutique orchards with a variety of cultivars, organic methods and a lower environmental impact, or the large monoculture olive farms which are more efficient and can generate a profit and tax revenues? In a new book " American Agriculture in the Twentieth Century", author Bruce l. Gardner reports that 80% of all U.S. farms in the late 1990s had annual sales of less than $100,000. In this group, typically 90% of their household income came from off-farm sources. For the vast majority of farmers, farming is becoming a hobby, and an expensive one at times.A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports that high school kids in most farming communities are actively discouraged from considering starting their own farms or taking over the family farm. Hours are long, equipment prices are stratospheric and credit is unavailable to new farmers. Instead, agro-tech jobs are available with large farm conglomerates. Large, maximally intensive farms feed the world and are more efficient in many ways than the small farm. When farming becomes big business, it behooves the operation to plant newer varieties with greater yield, disease or herbicide resistance, longer shelf life and a more attractive shape or color. But the perfect looking apple or tomato doesn't always taste the best. While efficient large farms may free up land for nature conservation, the cost may be agricultural waste runoff and pollution of aquifers. In their book "The small farm as natural habitat", Dana L Jackson and Laura L. Jackson argue that small family farms that raise animals in integrated rotational grazing systems with less reliance on corn and soybeans can provide valuable natural habitat. Though small farms are not as efficient and take more land, the land may be in better shape and offer itself as habitat for local plants and animals. Do we as a society want the government to encourage large monoculture farms to maximize output per acre which reduces total acreage in farming and increases agricultural tax and export revenue, or encourage small farms with diverse, possibly heritage crops and lower impact to the environment? In California olive farms oriented toward olive oil have traditionally been boutique operations. Topography and small size limit mechanized pruning and picking. Many owners are retired or have had other incomes, allowing them to experiment with expensive small batch pressing and organic farming methods. Olive orchards have been planted in areas with expensive real estate such as Napa and Sonoma. Appellation has been stressed over yield or price. Emphasis from university farming experts has been on expensive premium oil varieties, specifically Tuscan, instead of fast growing, high yield dwarf clones which can deliver an inexpensive oil and farm profits. California Olive Ranch is one of the first large olive oil orchards planted on the traditional large scale agribusiness model found in Spain and Italy. It remains to be seen whether the public, the COOC and state agricultural officers will embrace and encourage this model, as Australia and Chile have done, or will encourage the small farmer. New Pages: Pesticide.htm - pesticide use documented
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Comments from the Internet: John Asks: I recently saw a California oil for sale at a drug store at a very reduced price with a COOC seal on the neck which was thin paper with single color ink. The other seals I have seen seem to be more substantial. Are there several types of seals? Can the producer make his own "COOC seal" if the oil has been approved? Basically, how do I know what is a legitimate COOC seal? Patty at the COOC answers: The current seal was introduced in 1999...so that is an old old oil. It sounds like someone has dumped an unsold inventory.. No, producers may not make their own seal and they do sign a contractual agreement. Effective 2003, the seal will have a date. We do actively pursue inaccurate labeling/misprepresentation..so I would like to know what producer's oil you saw. Sharon asks:
I'm glad to hear no question is too small because this is a very small
question. Several years ago I purchased a gift tin containing various
herbs and/or spices which could be used to infuse olive oil for
dipping. I've been trying to find something similar on the Internet
to purchase, but am not having any luck. Do you happen to know of a
company which deals with these small olive oil items.
Fred Asks: What has caused local southern california olive producing trees to become diseased ? How common is the problem and can the trees be treated ? The Olive Oil Source replies: The biggest problem is the olive fly which is rampant in Southern California. It affects the fruit but not the foliage of the tree. If your fruit is full of grubs then its the olive fly. If the leaves are discolored or branches are dying, then that is something else. See our olive fly page for more information: Ryan asks: I recently saw an Orsi Olive Oil Can on a display shelf in a North Florida Cracker barrell restaurant. I would like to purchase one and need to know where I can do that. Cracker Barrell would not sell theirs to me. Any information would be greatly appreciated. OOS replies: Ed Orsi is trying to resurrect his family olive oil brand. He has specifically expressed interest in manufacturing the colorful olive oil tins commonly seen years ago. Some Italian producers are starting to sell oil in U.S. supermarkets with scenes of Italy, remeniscent of California fruit crate labels from the 20's and 30's. Events:January 2003 Northwest Food
Manufacturing & Packaging Exposition
January 12-15, 2003
- Seattle, Washington 28th Winter International Fancy Food & Confection Show.
January 19-21 2003
San Francisco Moscone Convention Center California Olive Oil Council - Olive Oil; Assessing Quality & Detecting Defects Winter Fancy Food Show/Moscone Convention Center Monday January 20th 11am to 12:30 Room #304 contact Patty Darragh at the California Olive Oil Council @ 888.718.9830 Sonoma Olive Festival Artisan Olive Oil Tour and Cooking Class January 24, 2003. A behind the scenes look at The Olive Press in Glen Ellen with olive oil tasting then a hands-on cooking class at Ramekins. call 707-933-0450 Sonoma Olive festival "Affaire of the Art" - a gala opening January 31, 2003. special exhibit and artist reception at Olyve's Olive Festival Headquarters, 14 Spain Street, Sonoma Olive Oil Workshop with Peggy Knickerbocker January 31, 2003 11AM at Ramekins, $45 call 707-933-0450 February Taste of the Mediterranean Sonoma Valley Ports of Call February 1-2 2003 A worldwide marketplace under the tent on the Sonoma Plaza showcasing a Mediterranean feast of olive oil and related foods along with wine, art, music and more Logo glass and tasting tickets included with admission $20 California League of Food Processors Expo and Showcase February 3-5 Sacramento Convention Center, CA Sonoma Valley Olive Festival
Taste of the Olive Weekend
February 79,
2003
Olives ala Carte Olio Novello: Chef Demonstration of Tuscan Specialties and Tasting of Newly Pressed Olive Oil Feb 10 in New York: Paolo Villoresi, Editor in Chief The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana & Josephine Iannotti, House Chef Cannellini Bean Salad, Zuppa Frantoiana, Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil & Peperoncino, Bollito Misto with Salsa Verde, Tuscan Olive Oil Cake Guests receive a complimentary bottle of olive oil Business attire, 6:30-8:30pm, $85
Sonoma Valley Olive Festival Il
Mercato Weekend February
2123, 2003 SIMA - The Paris International Agri-business Exhibition February 23-27 Paris-Nord exhibition centre - France - tilling, harvesting and irrigation equipment Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting - February 24, 2003 6:00-8:00 PM Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting at Marty's of Dallas featuring TOOC Executive Director, Trigg Dealey. $20 per ticket. Please call 214-528-5608 for reservations. March Olive fly Information Day, March 2 - location to be announced UC Davis Extension presents Sensory Evaluation of Olive Oil, Fri.-Sat., March 7-8, 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., at UC Davis. Learn to recognize olive oil defects and make objective assessments of olive oil quality. Tastings of commercial olive oils from California and Europe are interspersed with lectures. $375 fee includes two lunches and all tastings. Call (800) 752-0881, email aginfo@unexmail.ucdavis.edu or visit us online at www.extension.ucdavis.edu/agriculture. Texas Olive Oil Council Spring Meeting - March 16, 2003 3:00-5:00 PM at Val Verde Winery in Del Rio, Texas Planting Olive Trees & Olive Oil Appreciation - Saturday March 22, 9:30-4 Santa Rosa Junior College. Presenter: Dennis Black is Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Grower Relations for a grapevine nursery in Santa Rosa, owns his own vineyard in the Russian River Valley, and is a member of the California Olive Oil Council. Santa Rosa Junior College Fee $90 for info call 707-527-4372Table Olive Savantes Qualifier Course, March 24th to 26th Sydney, Australia - Table Olive Savantes is part of the Savantes Professional Development Programmes. International and local experts present a series of professional development programmes that impart knowledge on the production, composition and attributes of table olives, the characteristics exhibited by table olives adjudged as excellent, and the culinary uses of table olives. For more information and bookings visit www.savantes.com/tableolives or contact Salsi on +61 3 9387 9919. UC Davis - Making the Organic Transition, March 25-26 Davis California $295 enroll in section 023AGR104 April Enolitech/SOL/Vinitaly April 10-14, Verona Italy 6th Exhibition Technologies For Viticolture, Oenology And Of Technologies For Olive Growing And Olive Oil Production 9th International Exhibition of olive oil, virgin and extra-virgin olive oils.
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Copyright © June 19, 2007 The Olive Oil Source. All rights reserved. |
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