The SB Post

Olive Harvesting With Global Gardens

Global Gardens, our region's premier olive oil producer, is in the midst of their tenth annual harvest. I had the good fortune of witnessing the harvest in action yesterday and enjoying a four-course lunch prepared with their specialty olive oils and vinegars. Owner and olive goddess Theo Stephen invited us to join her for a tour of her organic olive groves on Rancho La Cuna in Los Alamos, the source of her estate extra virgin olive oils. All of the Global Gardens olives are hand-harvested and pressed the next day on a Certified Organic Italian stone olive mill, which gives the resulting oils a very pure, natural quality.

Olive trees line the meandering entry road leading up to the ranch, and several different varietals are planted on the sloping hillsides that grant vistas of the Purisima Mountains and neighboring agricultural lands dotted with vineyards. (Side note: Rancho La Cuna is currently owned by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat winery fame, and vineyards that contribute to his Clendenen Family Wines are grown on the property as well.) It was a clear warm day, a welcome change after the recent cool spell. Theo reported that this year's weather patterns benefitted her olive harvest, which will far surpass the prior yield. We started the property walk just outside of the main house, where a small collection of Kalamata trees grow alongside Mission varietals. We were each given a large mason jar to fill with olives picked from the sunbathed silvery-green trees. The olives were ripe and ready, parting easily. Our very own hand-picked batches will be transformed into edible olives after following the instructions Theo gave us to brine them ourselves at home. After our mini harvest project was complete, we took to the hills to explore the main orchards planted with Farga, Manzanilla, Koroneiki and Ascolano varieties. The distinctive terroir of these Los Alamos groves lends Mediterranean herbal notes to the olives grown here, and a sensitive palate can detect the salty influence of the marine layer that makes an almost daily appearance in the area.

After the informative walking tour, we sat down at a dining table overlooking the dramatic valley views. The Global Gardens gourmet team prepared a feast using recipes created by Theo for her forthcoming Olive Oil & Vinegar For Life cookbook (publishing October 2011). All of the ingredients were sourced locally, including tangerines grown on the ranch and Theo's own organic elephant garlic which is used in many of their food products. The recipes reflect Theo's passion for healthy cuisine centered around quality ingredients and showcase some unexpected uses of oils, for example the e.v.o.o. chocolate sauce that went with the Tangerine Dream desert. My favorite dish was the Olive Avocado Salad presented with Global Gardens Meyer Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Simply delicious, and something I can easily replicate at home.

Theo is a wealth of information about cooking with oils and vinegars, making salad dressings and DIY tips for home-made infusions. Global Gardens has a destination store and tasting room in downtown Los Olivos, where Theo is often found conducting tastings herself. In addition to their olive oils and vinegars, Global Gardens also makes a full range of gourmet food products like tapenades, mustards, spice blends and appetizer spreads. Fans of the line can sign up for the Global Gardens Oil & Gourmet Food Club to receive seasonal shipments of the latest releases. I'm addicted to their Los Alamos Signature Estate Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is a blend of Farga, Koroneiki, Manzanilla and Mission varietals. At $30 a bottle and with such an impeccable and delicate fruity flavor, this isn't an oil for cooking. As Theo instructs, it's for finishing. Plenty of the olive oils in her collection are appropriate for cooking, such as the Estate Organic Mission Extra Virgin Olive Oil which retails for $22 and makes an excellent substitute for butter in any recipe. The shop is well worth a visit to taste ($3 fee) your way through their collection of award-winning culinary oils and fruit-infused vinegars.