Olive Oil Producers are Green All the Way

At Kiler Ridge Olive Farm it isn't only the olives that are green; it's a way of life for owners Gregg Bone and Audrey Burnam. Their journey into the world of olives began with a bicycle tour through the Tuscany region of Italy. While exerting the effort it takes to pedal up the steep road grades of that area they took in the expansive views that included olive trees. When Bone, who has an extensive technical and engineering background, was ready for a totally different career, they decided to look for property on the Central Coast of California. Maybe it was luck or was just plain serendipitous, but they found an impressive 60 acres at the top of a hill on the west side of Paso Robles. Here they planted five varieties of Italian olive trees and built an environmentally friendly processing mill and tasting room.

Approaching the hilltop you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the surrounding terrain. It is like standing on top of the world and is hard not to be impressed. There at the pinnacle is the Frantoio, a large straw-bale-based building that Bone and Burnam built. You can tell that it is not made from the usual construction material as you look at the surface of the building and see that it is wavy, not flat. Inside it is a refreshing cool on a hot day and cozy warm on a cold one. The Frantoio is where all the important activity of the olive oil business is conducted. 

The major part of the building holds the massive Pieralisi milling equipment that the couple had imported from Italy. Bone, using his engineering skills, is hard at work creating a machine that will raise the hopper in which the olive crop is loaded and dump it inside into the first processing machine. There are ways to do that now utilizing a forklift but requiring about five individual steps. "I want to cut that down," Bone says, "and get my olives into processing as quickly as possible." 

Speed is somewhat essential in making olive oil. To get the best flavor and be assured of making that coveted extra virgin oil, it is imperative to get the olives into processing within 24 hours. The temperature is also an important element. It is ideal is to mill at no more than 40 degrees centigrade or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Olives, as they sit in the hopper, generate their own heat. 

A tasting tour will have you learning everything you ever wanted to know about olive oil and will most likely change the way you shop for it. Burnham conducts the tours and begins by explaining the types of olive oils. "There is mild, medium and robust," she says. "Greek and Italian olives tend to be more medium and robust. Flavors should be fruity, bitter, and pungent." All three of these flavors should be balanced in each oil. 

An oil called Olio Nuovo is made from olives that are very green in color and the oil is the freshest you will find. The olives are picked and quickly pressed and bottled. Olio Nuovo is not stored in tanks for any time which would allow the particles and sediment to settle. Much of that stays in the oil and that is why it must be consumed in two to three months as these particles would begin to ferment. The term olio nuovo means "new oil" in Italian. It is strong, peppery, and fruity and contains a greater amount of polyphenols which are thought to be helpful in warding off heart disease and cancer. 

Kiler Ridge Olive Farm is a registered organic farm and is in the process of obtaining certification. The facility is totally solar powered making this a completely green business. There is a full commercial kitchen on site and Burnam uses this to whip up appropriate snacks to use in tastings.

"We have about 1500 Italian olive trees now," Burnam says, "and we plan to increase to 2500." The five varieties grown are frantoio, leccino, maurino, pendolino, and coratina. Starting on the first weekend in November, relatives and friends come to the farm and begin hand harvesting the olives. "I'm the farmer in the family," Burnam says, "and I check every day to see when the olives are ready for picking." The ideal time has the fruit just beginning to turn a darker shade, almost black. "But they are still green inside," Burnam comments. 

Right now tasting requires that you call ahead and make an appointment. It is well worth it. You won't want to miss the ultimate olive oil tasting treat that Burnam and Bone offer. "Have you ever had olive oil on ice cream?" Burnam asks. 

You are skeptical. Then she serves up a small cup of vanilla ice cream. She drizzles the extra virgin olive oil over it as if it were a caramel sauce. She adds just a touch of sea salt. You gingerly try some and surprise! Your mouth is full of the most interesting tastes of sweet pungency. You chuckle and are a bit embarrassed for having thought, “I am going to hate this." You go on to consume the whole cup, adding more oil and sea salt as you go. Who would have thought to mix these ingredients?

Future plans call for having barbecues and other cooking delights outside on the spacious patio. Tours of up to 50 people can be handled. You can find Kiler Ridge Olive Oil locally at Pipestone Vineyard and Cregor's Deli in Paso Robles. It is also sold at We Olive in Fresno and Beyond the Olive in Pasadena or you can order it online at www.kilerridge.com. 

(This article was published in the Access San Luis Obispo County Visitor’s Guide Winter 2012 www.slovisitorsguide.com )

Olives, Alpacas, and Fine Art

It wasn’t enough for Art Kishiyama to just grow olive trees and make olive oil, he had to raise Alpacas too. This retired Air Force Colonel, who also had a post-military career with Disney, settled in the eastern area of Paso Robles with his artist wife, Lynne and became a gentleman farmer.

 Kishiyama’s 3,700 olive trees span out across a sloping terrain adjacent to a large pond that sits behind the house where Lynne has her art studio. It is a lovely, serene setting.

 The olive oil, under the label Olio Nuevo, is sold at specialty stores, markets, and wineries throughout the county. Each bottle is delicately hand crafted at his small production center. The oil is Extra Virgin and is certified by the California Olive Oil Council. 

Two distinctive types of oil are produced, Olio Nuevo Estate Arbequina and Olio Nuevo Reserve Blend. Kishiyama uses predominantly green, early harvested Arbequina fruit for the first as he feels it presents a fresh, grassy taste. This oil is a good complement to fish, poultry, cooked vegetables, and meats.

 The Reserve Blend contrasts the Estate Arbequina in that it is harvested late using much riper Arbequina fruit. Estate grown Manzinillo and Mission fruit are blended in and all three produce a fine, smooth, less bitter tasting oil.

 Kishiyama also offers Balsamic of Modena, an aged balsamic made specifically to pair with the olive oils. This balsamic is imported from Modena, Italy.

 But olives aren’t all that is growing at the Kishiyama’s place. Art also raises Alpacas. That part of the property is known as the Alpacas of Cripple Creek. 

Nearby are the holding pens and barn for the Alpacas. These easy to raise animals have grown in popularity in recent years and most are bred for their coats that yield exceptional fiber.

But alpacas have another quality that makes them special, they sing or rather they hum. Spanish conquistadors referred to them as “humming sheep.” They also make other kinds of sounds like a high pitched whining along with noisy inhalations. These help to warn both the herd and other domestic farm animals of danger. This makes sales of the animals for guard duties popular.

 Alpacas are originally from the Andes in South America, primarily from Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Their nearest relatives are vicuna and they share territory with them as well as llamas and guanacos, all of which are camelids. Alpacas are no longer wild and have been domesticated for more than 5000 years.

 Kishiyama raises and breeds for specific colors whereas many people prefer white animals in order to dye the fleece. In the United States it is becoming more popular to obtain fiber from a natural colored animal. Kishiyama’s alpacas come in fawn, beige, gray, white, brown, black, and black-brown. There are 22 natural colors of alpacas but Kishiyama prefers the blacks and grays.

 Because alpacas are herd animals Kishiyama never sells only one to a customer and although he maintains a small male herd, he prefers to select males from other breeders based on the amount of curl in their coat. A bit of curl in the coat aids in spinning the yarn.

 There is no specific time for females to come into heat. Ovulation only occurs after mating and usually a pregnancy will occur with one mating, but to be sure, Kishiyama continues a mating pair until a pregnancy is confirmed. Females give birth in 11 months and usually produce one offspring called a cria.

Many people worry about behavior issues, such as the notion that alpacas and llamas will spit. While they can bring up some nasty greenish stomach contents that they will project at times, this is usually aimed at other members of their herd.

 The nice thing about these animals are their bathroom behaviors. They tend to use a communal dung pile in a specific location rather than spreading it around randomly. This helps to keep enclosures neat and tidy and makes clean-up an easier chore.

 Alpacas don’t necessarily enjoy physical contact. They will tolerate some petting on their bodies, but do not like their abdomen, lower legs and feet being touched.

 All in all alpacas are relatively easy to raise, enjoyable to watch, and produce an excellent fiber that can be spun and made into a yarn for producing soft, silky garments. Since it is not prickly and contains no lanolin, it is good for people with allergies.

 Art keeps busy with olive oil production and tending to the alpacas, while Lynne works away in her spacious studio producing beautiful and delicate paintings, collages, and abstracts done with hand-made papers and an oriental flair. These two have got it made with olives, alpacas, and fine art.