Our Olives
If you travel to the South of France you not only see endless vineyards, but also a lot of olive trees. We liked the idea of carrying the feel of the region beyond vines, so we've decided to try our hand at growing French olive varietals. A number of olive orchards are popping up in California's wine regions, most planted to premium olive varietals. Very few are planted using French varietals, with the nod going to Italian. To create some diversity we are planting nine varietals, as follows: Aglandau, Salonenque, Cayon, Grosanne, Calletiere, Picholine, Tanche, (a departure) Frantoio, and Boutillan. Frantoio, is a popular Italian clone, and interestingly, is becoming quite popular in Provencal blends.
The anchor, initially, will be Frantoio, and eventually, Aglandau. The choice of Frantoio as the lead was not intentional. Just before picking up our trees we learned that the clones of both Aglandau and Solonenque tested negative, meaning they were not, in fact, the clones they were supposed to be.
We hope to plant both Aglandau and Salonenque in the next couple of years as these varietals become available. Currently we've planted 8 acres to olives and could possibly double that over the next few years.