California drought squeezes olive oil makers

Olive about to be pressed at The Olive Press as seen in Sonoma, California, on Thursday, December 20, 2012. Olive about to be pressed at The Olive Press as seen in Sonoma, California, on Thursday, December 20, 2012. Photo: Craig Lee / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Craig Lee / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close California drought squeezes olive oil makers 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Look for this year’s supply of California extra virgin olive oil to be more precious — but also more credible.

Faced with a continuing drought, not to mention the ravages of the olive fruit fly, this year’s olive harvest is expected to start in a week or so, earlier than usual, and be about a third smaller than last year.

This will also be the first harvest to come under new stricter grading and labeling standards that took effect last month. The new state standards, the most stringent in the world, require manufacturers of 5,000 gallons or more to test every lot of extra virgin olive oil produced in the state to ensure it is not rancid, denatured or flawed.

“The olive oil industry around the world has been surrounded by fraud, adulteration and worse,” says Gregg Kelley, chairman of the American Olive Oil Producers Association and CEO of California Olive Ranch, the largest olive oil producer in the United States. “We want to make California olive oil trustworthy.’’

The new regulations also would eliminate on labels the confusing descriptors of “light” (oil that has been refined with chemicals or additives and is not less caloric) and “pure” (a mixture of virgin and refined olive oils). Both of those must now be labeled as refined olive oils.

The new standards, which cover about 100 growers and a dozen millers in California, are expected to give the state a greater competitive edge. Most of the nearly 85 million gallons of olive oil consumed in the U.S. last year came from European countries, particularly Spain and Italy, according to the International Olive Council in Madrid. California, which primarily produces extra virgin olive oil, pressed 3 million gallons last year.

This year’s production won’t reach that level, mostly because many olive buds froze in December’s cold snap.

“When you have a drought, the air is so dry that you get extreme temperatures like that,” says Jeff Colombini, chairman of the Olive Oil Commission of California, a group of growers and millers who championed the new standards. “The one positive is that olives use the least amount of water of any tree crop in California.”

For the first time, McEvoy Ranch in Marin County is importing organic extra virgin olive oil from Italy under its own label to ensure it has enough to supply its regular grocery store customers this year. The ranch’s 18,000 Tuscan olive trees are expected to have a lighter yield, says farming manager Samantha Dorsey.

Because irrigation ponds weren’t at capacity from rainfall and runoff, McEvoy diverted water normally used on landscaping to its estate olive trees, which had been pruned more severely last winter to lessen their water demands. Moreover, McEvoy, like some other olive ranches, has had to contend with the olive fruit fly, whose larvae feed on the fruit of the trees. Although the ranch has not lost considerable fruit to the pest, Dorsey has had to employ two types of organic insecticide as a precaution.

McEvoy’s estate oils, normally sold in stores throughout the Bay Area, will be available this year only online and at its stores in the Ferry Building Marketplace and San Francisco International Airport.

“This is definitely the most challenging year to date,’’ says Deborah Rogers, McEvoy’s olive oil production manager.

At Seka Hills in the Capay Valley, harvest began nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. Last year, it produced 12,000 gallons of extra virgin oil and hopes to get close to that again this year. But it’s a different story for the 40 smaller growers who contract with Seka Hills to custom-mill their olives.

“A few have already told us they won’t be bringing their olives in because they don’t have enough,” says Jim Etters, director of land management for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the American Indian tribe that owns the land on which Seka Hills’ trees are planted. “If we don’t get the rains this winter, it could be catastrophic, not just for us, but for all growers.”

With California olive oil a bit more precious this year, you’ll want to use it where it counts. The accompanying cake recipe is one way to show it off.

Bay Area freelance writer Carolyn Jung blogs at FoodGal.com and is the author of the “San Francisco Chef’s Table.” E-mail: food@sfchronicle.com

If you grow your own...

On Nov. 9 and 16, home olive growers can have their harvest — from 1 to 499 pounds — processed at McEvoy Ranch’s Community Milling days.

The ranch will combine and mill the olives, while guests enjoy warm drinks and snacks and watch their olives turn into oil. Participants will be given oil commensurate with the amount of olives they bring. For more information and to register for the Community Milling Days, or to learn more about custom private milling options for mid to high volumes, go to www.mcevoyranch.com/olive-milling.