Visit to the McEvoy Ranch
Last year I was too late to reserve my slot in one of the coveted McEvoy Ranch olive orchard tours and tastings. Disappointed, I made a note in my calendar to check their website at the beginning of April when booking dates for the short tour season commence so not to miss out again. My vigilance paid off and I had my pick of dates! So, with the tour confirmed, I headed to the hills of West Petaluma to see the sights.
The 550 acres of rolling hills that Mrs. McEvoy bought to spend time with her grandchildren is nothing short of spectacular. Originally a dairy farm, the ranch has been reincarnated into an organic olive orchard, producing olive oil in the traditional Tuscan style. And in addition to 80 acres of olive trees, there are several acres of organic fruit trees and vegetable gardens.
However, it wasn’t always this way. Several challenges had to be overcome along the way.
The story goes that in 1990 upon learning the land she had fallen in love with was zoned for agriculture the County asked Mrs. McEvoy what kind of agriculture she intended for the property. She immediately ruled out animals and told them that she was going to have olive trees. When they told her it wouldn’t work she decided to give it a try anyway. She wasn’t discouraged by the fact that she didn’t know the first thing about olive trees or making olive oil so she set off to Italy to learn as much from the experts as possible.
Well, her learning paid off and with her indefatigable spirit and perseverance, she created what is now the largest producer of estate-grown olive oil in the nation.
Tours are almost over for this year so I encourage you to make a note in your calendar to check and see what’s available next April so you can experience the Ranch for yourself. You’ll be glad that you made the trip!
Leave a Reply