When guests accustomed to supermarket olive oil sample the line of extra virgin oils at 43 Ranch in San Ardo, owner Greg Traynor notes that the reaction is generally one of shock, even disbelief. “A lot of times they’ll say, ‘What have you added?’” he points out with a laugh. “Fresh olive oil has more flavor and complexity than grocery store olive oil.” Extra virgin olive oil—unprocessed liquid that first trickles from the mill—is much like fine wine. Each variety offers a distinct character on the palate that is subject to the whims of a growing season and farming practices. It also has a terminology, with grades and blends and phrases like “cold-pressed” that can be open to interpretation. While olives are more forgiving than grapes when it comes to harvest, the oil produced withers under light and heat. Unlike wine, it does not age well—one of the reasons for the gap between fresh oil and that languishing on a shelf. “It’s confusing,” admits Shaana Rahman, chair of the board for the California Olive Oil Council, who owns a ranch in San Luis Obispo County. People may enjoy something while on an olive oil tasting, but the retail encounter is different. “They buy a bottle of olive oil and it’s in no way, shape or form similar to that experience.” Yet since Americans rediscovered extra virgin olive oil in the late 1980s, demand has skyrocketed. In 1980, the U.S. imported 28,000 tons, largely from Italy and Spain. By 2015, that figure reached 315,000 tons—and the number continues to rise. In 2022, 375,000 tons reached U.S. shores, according to Statista. This demand is spurred perhaps as much by reports of olive oil’s health benefits and the popularity of the Mediterranean diet as by flavor. But it has revived California’s industry. Traynor planted his grove of Italian, Spanish and Greek cultivars 13 years ago. He’s part of a growing group of small producers in Monterey County taking note of the boom and crafting high-quality extra virgin oils. Charlotte Muia and her husband Carl of Frattoria Muia started their orchard not long after buying a house near Carmel Valley village in 1998. “I was going to do wine,” she recalls. “Then I talked to a woman who said, ‘Why don’t you plant olive trees? It’s a tree—what could go wrong?’ Not many people were doing olive oil. We were all learning at the same time.” Reid Norris, who bottles small batches in Carmel Valley under the Modern Times label, purchased land with trees planted around the year 2000. He has a day job, referring to his olive oil as a passion project. “I just got the bug for it,” Norris explains. “The first time I had good olive oil, it’s like your first good coffee—you’re never going back. It’s night and day.” The growth of California’s olive oil industry has been astounding. The year 32 The Best of Monterey Bay ® Haven 2024-2025 Green Is Good Extra virgin olive oil from Monterey County and the rest of the state sets a high standard. By Dave Faries daniel dreifuss
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==