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FeedLocal Olive Oil
Livermore provides the perfect climate for producing top notch olive oil.
Chugrad Mcandrews; Prop stylist: Toni Zernik
Those veggies you’re drizzling with olive oil came fresh from your local farmers market. But what about the oil? If you’re still buying jugs of imported Bertolli, why not ditch them for the fresher stuff grown in our own East Bay?
Livermore’s climate is perfect for growing both wine grapes and olives. The wine gets most of the publicity, but the region attracts national attention for its olive oil, too. Sera Festino, grown and sold at Livermore’s Purple Orchid Inn, and Olivina, produced near Wente, have earned silver and gold medals at the Los Angeles County Fair, the largest international competition.
“Livermore has a long and successful agriculture history,” says Patty Darragh, director of the California Olive Oil Council. “I’m sure it will continue growing and be successful in olive oil production.”
Olivina proves that point with surging demand for its six extra virgin olive oils, now available at Safeway, Nob Hill, specialty shops, wineries, and restaurants. And next year, you’ll be able to taste the oils in Olivina’s new tasting room, which overlooks thousands of flourishing olive trees—including hundreds that are more than a century old.
Olivina is just one of about a dozen Livermore olive oil producers. To meet the others and find out where to snag their bottles, CLICK HERE.
