Event Review

A celebration of all things olive welcomed visitors to Central California’s Paso Robles on Saturday, August 22nd for the Sixth Annual Olive Festival. On a rare, cool summer’s day, Downtown City Park was filled with the hungry, thirsty and just plain curious who tasted and shopped their way through over 125 booths, most representing locally-made food and crafts.

In a day filled with activities, including recipe and cooking competitions, music, dancers, the Kid’s Zone, and an olive oil tasting seminar taught by this writer, the festival provided entertainment for the entire family. And with many of the downtown businesses offering discounts at their stores, the entire city of Paso Robles seemed vibrant with the festival spirit.

Most of the 36 oil and olive booths featured the efforts of local growers from San Luis Obispo County. Both the California Olive Oil Council and The Olive Center of UC Davis were festival sponsors and distributed flyers with information for both producers and consumers. Four nurseries, including Sierra Gold and Novavine, were on hand to answer questions about growing practices and olive varietals. Table olives, flavored oils, vinegar (some produced from local wines), and olive-themed crafts were also available; among my favorites were the hand-carved olive wood plaques and utensils made by Nick Canigiula of Tuscali Olive Oil.

The busiest spot was retailer We Olive’s booth which offered free samples of olive oil ice cream with an optional topping of balsamic vinegar. Though this may not be your usual dessert, it was cool and refreshing, and devoured by young and old alike. We Olive, a festival sponsor, also hosted cookbook author Fran Gage, who signed copies of her recently released book, The New American Olive Oil, for attendees.

In addition to olives and oil, festival goers enjoyed foods from a handful of vendors, including crispy taquitoes sold to raise funds for the local Cinco de Mayo Scholarship Committee. Nearby restaurants and cafés provided plenty of additional dining options, and I can highly recommend both Panolivo and Artisan where I enjoyed breakfast and dinner respectively.

The area surrounding Paso Robles is well-known by wine connoisseurs who were not disappointed with the festival’s viniferous offerings. For a fee of $15, which included a commemorative wine glass, you could select tastings from 16 local purveyors, including the award-winning Eberle and Peachy Canyon Wineries.

Saturday’s festival was preceded by a Friday evening Social Mixer at the Paso Robles Inn attended by many of the Festival’s sponsors and vendors. Featuring local wines and appetizers prepared by the Inn’s chef (I especially enjoyed the endive filled with Hook’s Paradise blue cheese and candied walnuts, drizzled with fig balsamic vinegar), the highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards from the festival’s First Annual Olive Oil Competition as follows:

Spanish-Style Olive Oil

We’ve been reporting throughout the growing season about prospects for the harvest this year. While a new crop is almost upon us, some of the most important work is yet to be done. Remembering a few key steps during harvest time will help ensure a great result.

1. TAKE AN INVENTORY

By mid-October (earlier if you are south of Santa Barbara County), it is time to walk the orchard. Depending on your desired taste profile, a visual inventory is usually your best guide to determine the harvest schedule. Keep in mind that you can easily have a 2-3 week ripeness cushion without affecting the flavor outcome. Just be mindful of getting the fruit off the trees before any expected hard freeze.

2. SCHEDULE THE MILL

Next, if you aren’t planning to process the olives yourself, call your miller. Be prepared to tell them when you expect to harvest and how much. Olive presses and mills are not usually run like 9-5 operations. Booking a reservation well ahead ensures that you will have a slot that fits your schedule and the miller’s. If you plan to participate in a “community press” day, make sure to contact your local organization for details.

3. LINE UP HARVEST HELP

Now that you have a milling appointment, arrange for help if you intend to hand-harvest. Booking a crew during the season can be difficult, if not planned in advance. If you don’t have ready access to a large group of friends, your miller or other local growers may be good sources for information on crews.

4. CHECK YOUR SUPPLIES

Double-check that your equipment is in order. Line up enough harvest baskets, ladders, gloves and picking bins. If you are following organic practices, make sure bins are cleaned and ready according to requirements. And don’t forget to have oil storage containers on hand for milling day, or arrange to purchase them from your miller.

5. LAST MINUTE ORCHARD ISSUES

Two weeks before harvest, revisit the orchard. Check for two things: evidence of olive fly and fruit hydration. If you have any fly infestation, assess the volume and alert your miller. A small percentage is generally acceptable, but don’t assume it without checking. Secondly, don’t over-water just before harvest. There are two good reasons: cost and quality. Economically-speaking, water-ladened fruit is heavier and will increase your milling bill. Quality-wise, the less water the mill has to process out, the better. While you don’t want the fruit to become shriveled and desiccated, be judicious with over-plumping just before the harvest.

6. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Harvest time is finally here. Most importantly, enjoy the process. But while you are basking in the fruits of your labor, remember two key things. Don’t spend too much time or energy on the occasional twig or leaf that finds its way into the harvest bin. If you are paying for the services of a quality mill, the washing and cleaning equipment they employ will generally take care of small amounts of debris. Don’t let harvested fruit sit around too long. Whether the olives are collected into tarps, nets or picking bins, the fruit will start to ferment almost immediately. Most importantly, time your harvest with your milling appointment. The best olive oil is the result of immediate processing. From tree to oil within 24-hours is a sound rule of thumb to remember.

7. GET READY FOR THE NEXT HARVEST

Once the oil is in storage, it’s time to put the orchard to bed for the winter. Perform a yearly visual assessment of the orchard’s health. Remove any fruit left behind by the harvest. If on the ground, olives can become the perfect over-wintering home for fruit flies. Inspect for olive knot, olive leaf spot, and root rot among other orchard problems. Make a plan for any pruning needed before the next spring. There may be steps you can take now to make next year’s crop even better.

Caroline J. Beck is a food and wine writer and a columnist for the Santa Ynez Valley Journal. She divides her time between California and the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan. She began her career in strategic marketing for companies such as Apple Computer and Microsoft and went on to head up entrepreneurial adventures in the entertainment business for Sony. Her most recent past life included an olive ranch and a thriving business in olive oil and specialty foods. She can be reached at carolinejbeck@hotmail.com.

State of the Crop Part II

by Caroline J. Beck - 8/7/2008

Part II: Mid-season Estimates

As the 2008 growing season moves past “fruit set” stage, a mid-year review with California olive growers and industry experts reveals unusual weather events will only marginally impact total production this year. The late April cold snap, an unseasonably early heat wave in May and strong winds in many areas were consistent topics of conversation among growers. And while devastating fires of North Central California dominated the news media for many weeks, their effect on the State’s olive crop was contained to a relatively narrow area.

On the heels of these conditions, earlier reports of a bumper crop are now tempered. Current industry projections point to a healthy year, but not an extraordinary one. California Olive Oil Council Executive Director, Patty Darragh maintained their projection of 750,000 gallons, while acknowledging it is probably not going to be a banner year. “From what I’ve heard, things are still on target for our projections, but there is a concern about Butte County because of the fires,” said Darragh. “Statewide, the number of young trees just coming into maturity and their heavier bearing years should balance things out.”

A conversation with Alan Greene, Vice President Business Development for California Olive Ranch, mirrored Darragh’s assessment. As the largest grower in California dedicated to the production of olive oil, the 700-acre ranch of over 300,000 trees is farmed in a “super high density” pattern. Greene acknowledged that weather events were a factor this year, but not significantly. “The April freeze and hot winds during bloom took their toll, more so for the later-blooming Arbequina than Arbosana or Koroneiki, but I think we will come in better than 80% of potential,” reported Greene. “Our volume pretty much doubles ever year as a factor of new plantings and existing orchards maturing into production. From what we’ve heard, traditional olive varieties got tagged more so than Super High Density. The effects of the weather seem to be variety-specific,” explained Greene.

Adin Hester, President of the California Olive Growers Council, reports that his organization is estimating a production volume of some 65,000 tons for table olives. The same three weather-related issues were cause for a reduction in crop size. “In the spring, a late frost caused some damage to the buds. In late April at the time of full bloom, four days of hot weather with temperatures rising to over 100 degrees undoubtedly caused the heaviest damage,” Hester reported. “Growers who had a strong, healthy spring bloom and were looking forward to a good crop, suddenly went from good to marginal. There is no question that the heat heavily damaged and reduced the potential ’08 crop, as high temperatures cooked the pollen,” he said.

In the areas hardest hit by the June fires, two growers we spoke to really felt the heat. Lewis Johnson, of Butte View Olive Oil Company, reported some loss of trees to fire and damage to fruit set, but concluded things could have been worse. “It’s hard to tell if the heavy smoke has had an effect or not. We had almost a full month of no sunlight. While we only lost about 40 trees in one block, neighboring orchards were hit pretty hard,” said Johnson. Additionally, Johnson had his share of the effects of other weather conditions. “Some blocks were damaged with cold weather and hot North winds really hammered the rest of it, but this is a light-bearing year”, Johnson reported. In the adjacent Yuba County, Steve Dambeck of Apollo Olive Oil reported little evidence that the fires had any direct impact on the upcoming production. “Bloom was extremely profuse this year. While it’s still a little hard to tell, the set looks to be medium. There was a huge amount of smoke. It’s hard to judge the effect when this kind of unusual event occurs,” said Dambeck.

Charles Crohare of Olivina in Livermore reported that his good fortune this year has been tied to the location of his 70-acre orchard. “Luckily, we were free of both the frost and the fire. We are not at the base of the valley, up at an elevation not affected as much by the temperature swings,” said Crohare. “We are optimistically projecting a 10% reduction from last year, but this is our light bearing year, so it is to be expected,” he said.

Yvonne Hall of Terra Savia in Mendocino county points to early frost as a bigger fear in their operations. Their nursery in Hopland was hard hit by the cold snap. Because they also offer oil milling services, Terra Savia is getting ad hoc reports from their own customers that it may be a lighter year. “This year’s huge blooms can be deceiving. Until you get the stuff in the bins, you can’t really judge. We service growers in the Anderson valley that worry every year about frost before harvest, not usually frost before fruit set,” said Hall.

Further down the coast, Joshua Yaguda of Pasolivo in Paso Robles, reported the most optimistic outlook. “For whatever reason, we seem to be on an alternate cycle from most folks we’ve talked to. This year, we expect a real bumper crop and although we experienced serious winds during late bloom, we already had fruit set that has held on,” said Yaguda.

“Partly because of very heavy pruning last year, the trees have a lot of energy and seem to be excited to be back in business,” Yaguda reported. He also remarked on a new bee keeping program at the farm that may be a factor. “Last year, we invited a local bee keeping company to set up in the orchard. The increased pollination activity may be one of the reasons we’re seeing such a heavy fruit set. It’s hard to quantify because we are coming back from heavy trimming, but we’re optimistic that it played a positive role,” explained Yaguda.

A smaller producer in the same Paso Robles area, Hank Anderson, of Valhalla Olive Orchard, shared Yaguda’s optimistic outlook. He expects their Arbequina variety to bear very heavy this year, but reported that the hotter temperatures in early spring required diligent watering to move from heavy bloom to solid fruit set.

In the Santa Ynez valley, Gus Sousoures of Olive Hill Farm produces olive oil made exclusively with Lucca olives. Sousoures reported that while he agrees with the impact of weather-related factors, his choice to plant the Lucca varietal has as much to do with the consistent volume he experiences as anything. “Although we had similar conditions: early frost, short hot spell in late bloom, Lucca tends to be a more consistent producer. It doesn’t bear heavy and light. And while this year’s fruit set is less than we expected because of the heavy bloom, all in all, it looks good,” said Sousoures.

The mid-year report provides further evidence that making projections in this business is never a sure thing. But Lewis Johnson of Butte View Olive Oil Company probably said it best. “You get what Mother Nature gives you. And go from there, said Johnson.