Rancho Azul y Oro ~ Surviving the Dream

You might be thinking, I'd like to use olive oil instead of butter more, but how would I possibly go about converting my recipes?  Voila! You're welcome! Butter to Olive Oil Conversion Chart for Recipes Butter EVOO 1 tsp. ¾ tsp. 2 tsp. 1 ½ tsp. 1 Tbsp. 2 ¼ tsp. ¼ cup 3 Tbsp. 1/3 cup ¼ cup ½ cup ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. 2/3 cup ½ cup ¾ cup ½ cup + 1Tbsp. 1 cup ¾ cup

It is a good day to be at the rancho.  The last of the awards in the olive oil competitions was announced today, and Azul y Oro was awarded a Gold Medal in the California State Fair 2015 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, thus bringing our combined medal total for the 2015 year to three gold medals and four silver medals for both of our olive oils. Our story is not really about the medals, though.  Our story is about believing in one's self and believing in one's product, and that passion for delivering an exceptional product, focus, and perseverance will eventually win the day. Wouldn't it have been better to have won all Gold Medals and Best of Class Awards?  Wouldn't it have been better to have had a larger yield?  Definitely, but we have to leave some excitement, happiness, and goals for other years. One has only to scroll through the blog posts of the last year to read the discouraging, heartbreaking setbacks that occurred in this pursuit of excellence....

The rancho just received the good news that our 2014-15 olive oil has been certified extra virgin.  Besides the stewards of the rancho, possibly only one other person knows how much work went into bringing in a crop from last year -- possibly one of the most difficult growing seasons on record.  One has only to read the blog for the last year to catch a glimpse of discouraging news layered upon angst layered upon challenges from nature layered upon -- one gets the picture.  After a particularly cruel freak hail storm, it was thought the entire crop was destroyed. And yet, we continued on toward our goal, which was seemingly ridiculous to most, because we were focused on achieving extra virgin certification when most people kept commenting that they couldn't see any olives.  We could, though, and persevered on through snakes, construction, battles against other pests, low crop yields, coyote attacks, and finding a mill that would accept us with a low crop yield. ...

It's citrus season at the ranch.  There is something so hopeful about bright, cheery fruit that becomes ripe during the darkest part of the year.  One of the orange trees was picked in December.  Every single piece was truly enjoyed -- by New Year's. So now we turn our attention to the lemons -- so many lemons.  What can one do with lemons?  To start, we'll whip up a batch of limoncello -- but the bulk of the lemon is left over.  What then?  We'll juice what remains and put it in ice cube trays, freeze it, and use it for homemade lemonade during the summer or defrost several of the ice cubes to use for lemon juice when cooking. What can one do with limoncello, though?  How much can one possibly drink?  There is so much more to do with limoncello than mere drinking -- "mere" drinking?  Sorry, I didn't mean that. Anyway, our Pinterest/Recipe page is chock full of amazing recipes, so click away and go create something incredible. ...

As the sun sets on 2014, a year filled with many changes, and we look toward 2015 and many more changes and challenges to come, one cannot but be filled with the optimism that the new year brings. Along with that optimism comes resolutions, lists, and goals.  Our first major goal is to stop straddling two cities and move full-time to the ranch and enjoy a more peaceful, simplified life, while taking time to enjoy all the area has to offer, our new friends, and more time watching sunsets, playing golf and exercising, while perfecting our wine and olive oil. We plan to be bottling our 2015 olive oil soon, as well as our 2013 Zinfandel, followed by our 2012 Petite Sirah. The jury is still out on the 2012 Cab.  We plan to adhere to our racking, SO2, and bottling schedule. 2015's plans also include the purchase of a labeling machine, so we can free up hundreds of hours spent in the barn yearly labeling -- despite the hours of fun that trying to line up a label and bottle on a...

I'll admit it, I cannot have Christmas without eggnog.  This is not, however, store-bought eggnog -- you know, the kind that comes in the cardboard quart container that is so thick one can barely swallow it.  No, the eggnog of which I speak is reminiscent of fluttering angel's wings (like that?), like accumulated snow atop the hills.  It is Christmas. So what (you may ask) is someone aspiring to achieve great heights in winemaking doing making eggnog?  Well, since you asked, I will just say that until eggnog is made, Christmas bells cannot chime, elves cannot get to those Christmas lists, Christmas trees cannot be dressed, and the halls cannot be decked. Yes, yes, like the geeks that we are, eggnog has been thoroughly researched.  I will pass along a link on the history of eggnog:  http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/08/mf.about.eggnog/, and a factoid that a journal from 1796 cites travelers stopping at an inn in Philadelphia mentioning eggnog, "a mixture...

 Our harvest this year was a little like the folk tale about stone soup.  A tired traveler makes small talk with a woman at a farmhouse.  After striking up a convivial conversation, the traveler offers to make stone soup out of virtually nothing but rocks if he was lent a pot.  The stone soup story always ends on a happy note. After bringing in a beautiful crop last autumn, issues beyond our control affected our oil.  The new year brought new blossoms to the trees -- hope springs eternal, and all of that.  Just as soon as that phrase was spoken, one of the only rain storms hit our area and threw in some hail for good measure.  Just in case there were a few blossoms left on the trees, the area suffered hot, dry and sustained high winds for a month or two. Dejected and discouraged, we vowed that we would try again next spring.  We expected nothing from our trees, but as the year wore on and the olives changed from green to black, it became cle...