according to the Olive Oil Commission
of California. The OOCC and
olive farmers in the state are determined
to carve out a bigger market
share and become known as a
producer of high-quality olive oil.
And much of that olive oil is being
produced in the Mediterranean
climate of the Sacramento Valley.
‘Crop of the future’
In California, about 400 farmers are
using 41,000 acres to grow olive trees,
according to the California Olive Oil
Council. The 2019 crop produced an
estimated 4 million gallons of olive
oil from that November’s harvest,
according to COOC, which is based
in Berkeley. Spanish settlers planted
the first olive trees to the U.S. in the
1800s, and farmers took branches and
planted their own vineyards around
the state. California’s most popular
olive is now the mission olive.
The Sacramento-based OOCC,
founded in 2013, promotes olive oil
produced in California. “Almost all the
olive oil produced in the United States
is in California,” says Executive Director
Chris Zanobini. “We have the highest
standards in the world,” he claims.
Those standards include chemistry
lab tests to verify the quality of
the oil as well as a sensory test for
the nose (smell) and taste. The commission
works with the California
Department of Food and Agriculture
to take samples of six different olive
oil lots and send them to a laboratory
in New Orleans for the chemical
panel and another panel for the
sensory taste. The results determine
whether the oil is extra virgin or not.
“We believe olives are California’s
crop of the future,” Flynn says. “Because
as the water supply tightens up,
either through state policy or extended
drought periods, we’re seeing a longer,
warmer season — olives are really
well-suited to manage that more than
California farmers, like the Bariani family,
want to become known as producers of
high-quality olive oil.
other crops. … One of our goals in the
next 10 years is to try (to) double the
yields the growers are getting from
their existing trees so that this becomes
a very competitive crop as we
look at competitive water supplies.”
“We all want the California name recognized
for quality. When (customers) taste a good
olive oil, then go back to their supermarket
brands, they can tell the difference.”
Felipe Ternero, owner, Ternero Olive Oil
The UC Davis Olive Center had an
interesting start. Olive trees on campus
were dropping olives on paths, causing
walkers and bicyclists to slip. A landscape
manager suggested picking the
olives and using them. Flynn proposed
the creation of the center, which is part
of the Robert Mondavi Institute for
Wine and Food Science. UC Davis now
harvests 300-500 gallons of olive oil a
July 2020 | comstocksmag.com 31