“An olive tree is surely the richest gift of heaven…”  Thomas Jefferson

Being a huge fan of award winning Willow Creek Olive Oil, I was delighted to spend the day on the olive estate and attend 2017’s #followtheolive.  My talented hubster, J, joined me to film our visit with his gopro. We ended up making a mini weekend of it and stayed the night in the beautiful Nuy Valley. To see our little #followtheolive video, click here.

After being warmly welcomed with coffee and rusks, we hopped onto tractors and took a leisurely drive through the olive groves. It is honestly breathtaking. Willow Creek’s brand manager and olive oil guru, Louise Rabie, shared her extensive knowledge with us about olive oil and the cultivating and harvesting of olives. Her passion for olive oil is inspirational.

Amidst the olive trees, we found the Colossus – a massive olive harvesting machine that looks like it landed from space. It glides through the groves and shakes the olives off the trees. Amazing right?

We then visited the onsite factory where the olives are separated, washed and pressed into super grassy, cough worthy extra virgin olive oil. We tasted it straight from the extractor.

After seeing the whole process, we ventured back to the beautiful Tuscan inspired onsite reception/bistro area. They even have a little shop where one can purchase Willow Creek products. A very tempting place to be.

Louise took us through an extra virgin olive oil tasting before we sat down and enjoyed a hearty and comforting lunch. Dukkah crusted lamb shank and lemon syrup cake with kumquat preserve. And lots of wine from vineyards in the Nuy Valley area.

All in all, an enlightening day out. Thanks for having us and a huge thank you for our little olive tree. This was very special to us as I love the symbolism of an olive tree.  Longevity, Peace and Prosperity.

See some pics below and remember to check out our video, here.