The farm-to-fork movement has sparked great interest among American consumers about the origins of the food they eat, and olive oil is trending to the top of the awareness scale. Retail outlets dispensing dozens of varieties from shiny, stainless steel tanks have popped up all over the state, along with tasting bars where servers describe flavor profiles and laud the health benefits of one of humankind’s oldest foodstuffs.
But, until now, consumers were missing a big part of the picture: a behind-the-scenes visit to the farm!
Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with production in Australia (where the brand is a top seller) as well as in California, wants to change that. The company plans to open its orchards and processing mill near Woodland (midway between Sacramento and Davis) to groups looking for an off-site activity with outdoor, educational and team-building components.
The idea, says Adam Englehardt, president of U.S. operations for Cobram, is to provide a “farmer for a day” experience that follows the production of olive oil from harvesting the fruit to packaging the product. “People can visit the grove and watch the fruit being harvested,” he says. “Seeing the olives go from tree to being milled is an aha! moment. It underscores the point that what we’re making here is really a fruit juice, and that fresh olives are the only way you can produce a fresh olive oil.”
