Antique Olive Mill from Greece
That’s right the growers at Red Ridge Farms have successfully grown the Spanish Arbequina olives in the rich soul of the Red Hills of Dundee, Oregon (famous for its fabulous vineyards). Although Spain’s climate is warmer than Oregon, the warming climate trend has made it possible for the trees to thrive there. Hardy down to 10 degrees , the majority of the trees made it through last winter, which was uncharacteristically cold for the area. The trees are only a year old and don’t mature to full harvest until about year 7. Even so, Red Ridge Farms harvested a ton of olives from their 11,000 trees last year. The used their harvest along with Arbequinas imported from California (where they have been successfully growing for several years) to jump start their milling operation, the only of it’s kind in the state. This will ensure they have any kinks out of the system before their trees mature.
Olives need to be harvested and milled straight away. That was easy for the olives they harvested on site, but the several tons of California olives had to be driven overnight to yield the best oil possible. Red Ridge Farm’s first pressing was quite successful. They pressed the Oregon and California Arbequinas separately, so their are two varieties. As it turns out the Oregon Arbequina oil has more antioxidants and a flavor closer to that of the olive fruit. The California Arbequina oil is delicious and smooth with a more buttery feeling on the tongue. Both are delicious and it is not yet clear why the Oregon olives yielded higher levels of antioxidants. It could be the shorter growing season, the soil, the proximity to the mills (no trucking and shorter time to milling and shorter time to milling), but my guess is that they benefit from the love and passion with which they are obviously raised.
Shinny New Olive Press from Italy
The Oregon Olive Mill at Red Ridge Farms is beautiful and well worth visiting. You will see a huge, antique stone mill imported from Greece, an impressive contrast to their shiny new mill imported from Italy. Sample their fabulous oils and stock up on your favorites. While you are in the area check out then many fabulous vineyards. The mill is not far from Domaine Serene, a damn good winery with prices to prove it. Make sure you also stop by Bergstrom for quite possibly the best wines in Oregon. Yum!
