An Italian Staple Complementing the Italian grapes at the vineyards are Italian olive trees. As a beginning, 76 trees were planted on hillsides deemed too steep for farming grapes. Additional such acreage exists for possible future plantings.

The varietals chosen were the three most popular for Italian olive oil: Frantoio, Leccino, and Pendolino, in a ratio of 50%, 35%,and 15%. Frantoio is a fruity classic Tuscan variety that produces a flavorful, sharp oil. It is self pollinating. Leccino produces a rich, bueryoil. It requires a pollinator, in our case Pendolino. The oils pressed from these olives will be blended, as is a common practice in Italy.

The trees were planted in 2003. A first crop is not expected until 2006, although the young trees already are producing some fruit.

Olive oil will be a natural compliment to the Italian wines coming from this property. Everyone knows that Italian wines are especially food friendly, and the same is true for good virgin Italian olive oil. Italian olive oil is also increasingly becoming the oil of choice for both cooking and dipping. And in addition to a beautiful taste, both wine and olive oil have health benefits. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration recently confirmed that olive oil can be advertised as good for reducing the risk of coronary disease, citing the value of it being a mono-unsaturated fat. You can read more about the health benefits of olive oil here.