Introducing the 2016 Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Oil . . .

2016 EVOO

Olive harvest began at sunrise on November 5th, 2016 and was our largest harvest.  In order to be certified EVOO, the olives must be picked, sorted, and milled within 24 hours, and then pass a chemical test and then a sensory evaluation in a blind tasting by an expert panel.  Our goal is to get them in and milled within 12 hours.

Our olive oil passed its chemical test on November 7th, 2016 and is being prepared to be submitted to the tasting panel for evaluation.  In the meantime, our olio nuovo will be released in the next two weeks, and then the balance of the oil will be allowed to rest and the oil will then be filtered and bottled in January.  

This was our largest harvest, and unfortunately, circumstances precluded many family members from participating this year.  Had it not been for the very generous donation of time and effort on the part of our friends, Bing and Karla Seid, we may not have been able to complete this very daunting timeline.  We cannot thank them enough.  We also wish to again thank our amazing crew from Custom Vineyard, who picked over a ton of olives by approximately 1:00 p.m., and also our incredible mill, Kiler Ridge -- Gregg, Audrey and Cain -- who had been running 20 hours a day to get everyone's olives processed.  They do an extraordinary job.  Not only are we grateful for our bounty but to everyone who helped us get the olives harvested, picked, sorted and milled.

We will leave you with a few scenes from harvest.  

Cheers!

The 2016 Pendolino olives

Sorting

Sorting 

And more sorting

The 2016 Arbequina olives