Santa Barbara’s Liquid Gold

By Leslie Andrea Westbrook

The Greek physician Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, called olive oil “the great therapeutic.” Homer deemed it “liquid gold.” Many scientific studies in the past decade have shown that olive oil, which is high in monounsaturated fat — the “good” fat — may prolong life by combating coronary heart disease and different types of cancer. There have also been claims that it could prevent dementia.

There’s more to olive oil than meets the eye, and the palette. Each olive varietal, be it Tuscan, Sicilian or Spanish, has its own distinct flavor. Some are best as finishing oils, others for cooking. There are peppery-with-a-bite versions, some that taste grassy, others that are delicata.

Ask the experts or use your own tastebuds to learn the differences. California, much like Italy and Spain, is a perfect location for planting and harvesting olives. There are excellent olive oil producers from Ojai to the Santa Ynez Valley to Paso Robles and farther north in Napa too, where you’ll find award-winning Jubaea Estate olive oil. (I’m a fan.)

The moment of harvest is important. Harvesting too early can make for a bitter oil, more mature olives produce a sweeter product. So is how and where oil is stored (cool, dark place is best) as well as its lifespan (always check the production date). It should be used often and generously.

Two super-busy women who are new olive oil producers in the Santa Ynez Valley took a breather to share a bit about their journeys. Here’s a “taste” of what they had to say.

Luretík
Elise Magistro

Olive oil producer Elise Magistro, founder of Luretík, working with landscape designer Puck Erickson of Arcadia Studios, has created a bucolic olive orchard at her family’s private Ballard Canyon property. The original grove of 100 olive trees has blossomed into eight Italian varieties of some 1,000 trees bearing Nocellara del Belice, Cerasuola, Carolea, Cerignola, Cipressino, Coratina, Frantoio, Itrana and Pendolino olives that are milled into award-winning, internationally recognized, certified organic extra-virgin olive oil. Three of her oils received gold medals in international competitions this year, including a rare Double Gold medal as well as Best World Wide Certified Organic at the Athena International Olive Oil Competition in Sparta, Greece.

With great dedication and a desire to compete against the best European olive oils, Magistro, a retired Italian language professora-turned-farmer, has turned her swath of land into a thriving olive grove producing delicate, medium-fruity, and robust olive oils that embody the essence of Italian olive oil craftsmanship. Half Sicilian and half French — hence the name Luretík, which means “from my soil” — Magistro has roots, much like her plantings, in the olio tradition. In fact, it’s in her blood. She also makes a mean olive oil cake.

“When I began I had little other than an appreciation for excellent extra virgin olive oil, having spent much time in Italy over the years,” Magistro said. “That, along with very fond memories of growing up in a home where food took center stage most evenings. My Sicilian grandfather generally cooked, and the cornerstone of his cooking was olive oil — the imported kind we would purchase in large tins at our tiny local Italian market.”

Her grandfather, Michele Angelo Magistro, finished every dish with a flourish of oil, handheld high over the plate.

“I may well have subconsciously tapped into that memory when I decided to start producing olive oil after retiring from teaching,” she said.

Whether Magistro was visiting Sicily or Tuscany, she would inevitably end up in someone’s olive grove, where there was always a “fleeting, but visceral connection to those centuries-old trees, a sense of belonging to a far grander, natural order.”

In 2012, Magistro and her husband purchased a 10-acre parcel high above Alamo Pintado Road overlooking Ballard Canyon.

“At sunset that view was akin to looking down from heaven,” Magistro said. “I’ve always felt that the Santa Ynez Valley chose us. It was never my intention to start a business. I simply wanted to make a high-quality oil that could equal the Italian and Sicilian oils I loved.”

Even today, whenever feeling stressed about the “business side” of making olive oil, she strolls her grove to recapture that feeling and to “convince myself that I made the right choice and that the trees need me as much as I need them.”

Oil + Lavender
Jennifer Wood

Down the road a piece, and open to the public five days a week for tastings and events, sits Oil + Lavender. With a background in design, Jennifer Wood, along with her business partner, Randy Spendlove, head honcho of music for Paramount Pictures, discovered the Los Olivos property (formerly Global Gardens) that she intrinsically felt could be “magical.”

“I knew California was amazing for agriculture, but now I know how fantastic the Central Coast is for many crops, especially olives. California olive oil is in demand worldwide,” Wood said. “We live in Los Olivos which means ‘the olives.’ It seemed natural to produce and sell olive oil, one of the world’s oldest culinary products that’s used in so many types of cooking and cuisine. People are finally starting to realize all the great health benefits, too.”

What she’s created, thanks to her background as an interior designer, is an alluring destination of white and bright interior spaces with crystal chandeliers, and exterior grounds that include small pathways for children to wander, areas for relaxation, and a new lavender garden.

The tasting features flavored olive oils, including truffle and basil as well as a range of balsamic vinegars, all identified on a paper placemat so you can choose your favorites.
Knowing they would be reliant on the weather and environment for olive oil production, the duo partnered with small farms so as not to be solely dependent on the olive trees on the property.
“This is a passion project about food, music, friends, and family,” Wood said. “We love bringing people together. It’s all about community and we knew the location would be perfect for people to gather, relax, and experience the ambience and flavor of the Santa Ynez Valley. Once people come to visit and taste, they become as passionate about the products as we are.”

Luretík: Award-winning olive oils are available via their website and at domecil in Victoria Court, Santa Barbara. Luretík oils are used at Nella Kitchen and Bar in Fess Parker’s Los Olivos Inn and Pico’s in Los Alamos. www.luretik.com

Oil + Lavender: 2450 Alamo Pintado Road, Los Olivos. Open Friday – Monday for tastings and purchases. www.oliveandlavenderfarms.com

Global Gardens Tastings & Provision Shop: Theo Stephen continues her love of extra virgin olive oils and education in her new Santa Ynez space that focuses on California EVOOs. A resident olive oil sommelier (there are fewer than 400 globally) guides onsite tastings ($10). Global Gardens Tastings & Provisions Shop, 10-5 daily, 3570 Madera St, Santa Ynez,. www.globalgardensonline.com

Santa Barbara Olive Oil Co.: Sold at Santa Barbara Farmers Markets www.sbolive.com

Rancho Olivos: Farm stay accommodations available on the 20-acre olive ranch where also roam dogs, cats, chickens, and horses. www.ranchoolivos.com