8 Napa Wineries That Make Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive trees photo credit Brandon McGanty
Napa Valley is world-famous for its wine, but what some may not know is that it’s also home to another sought-after liquid asset: olive oil. The same sunny, Mediterranean climate that makes the region ideal for growing wine grapes also provides just the right conditions for cultivating olive trees.
While olive groves have long dotted the Napa landscape — some orchards planted in the 1800s are still in production — the local olive oil industry saw a resurgence in the 1990s due to the popularity of the Mediterranean Diet. Today, several Napa Valley wineries produce extra virgin olive oils that rival the finest in California. Not surprisingly many of the wineries producing olive oil have a broad culinary focus and offer tastings of olive oil, food, and wine, all components of the Mediterranean Diet and just as importantly, the wine-country lifestyle.
Bouchaine olive groves photo credit Brandon McGanty
Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operating winery in Carneros producing over 20 wines but is best known for its estate chardonnay and pinot noir. With 3,000 Tuscan olive trees, Bouchaine also boasts the largest olive grove in Napa Valley. The grove is set in the rolling hills of Carneros, at the southern end of the Napa, where cool conditions result in a fruity, delicate estate-grown extra virgin oil with a peppery finish.
1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa, 707-252-9065, bouchaine.com
Olives in hand photo credit Castello di Amorosa
Famous for the 14th century Tuscan-style castle, perhaps unsurprisingly Castello di Amoroso produces Italian-style wines. The winery’s Morning Dew Ranch Olio Nuovo hails from olives harvested at Castello di Amoroso’s Morning Dew Ranch estate property in the Anderson Valley. There, mature trees grow on a sloped hillside next to the winery’s Pinot Noir vines. Olives are harvested by hand and cold-pressed to create a smooth, buttery oil designed for drizzling and dipping. Best enjoyed young, the olio nuovo is released 2 weeks after pressing.
4045 St Helena Hwy, Calistoga, 707-967-6272, castellodiamorosa.com
Clif Family Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and salad
Clif Family is almost as well known for its culinary offerings as it is for its Napa Valley wines. Their estate vineyards are located on Howell Mountain and in Oak Knoll and they focus on small-production organic wines. Co-founders Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford started making olive oil 20 years ago as a family project, then expanded production as the olive grove grew to include 400 trees. A blend of Arbequina, Manzanillo, Sevillano, Koroneiki, and Mission varieties, the winery’s certified organic EVOO is blended from handpicked olives grown on the Clif Family farm on the northeastern slope of Howell Mountain. The oil is known for its balance, subtle fruity flavors, and peppery notes.
709 Main St., St. Helena, 707-968-0625, cliffamily.com
Darioush Olive Oil Lunch
Darioush is an estate located in Napa Valley AVA with a second vineyard in the Mount Veeder AVA. Darioush works with olive growers in California’s Yolo and Placer counties to produce extra virgin olive oils, especially for its Sensory Sessions: An Olive Oil Experience offering. Guided by an olive oil expert, guests compare several styles of extra virgin olive oil and learn to assess their quality and flavor. The session includes a tasting of Darioush single-vineyard and small-lot signature wines paired with small bites — and a lesson in pairing olive oil with food and wine.
4240 Silverado Trail, Napa, 707-257-2345, darioush.com
Don Ernesto's photo credit Hagafen
Along with kosher wines, Hagafen Cellars produces olive oil from 100 trees that grow on the winery’s Napa estate. The fruit is hand-harvested each November, then cold-pressed to create Don Ernesto's Estate Olive Oil — branded for the nickname that vineyard workers gave to Hagafen founder Ernie Weir.
4160 Silverado Trail, Napa, 707-252-0781, hagafen.com
Pieralisi olive oil mill photo credit Long Meadow Ranch
Long Meadow Ranch has 16 acres of vineyards in the Mayacamas Mountains and produces estate-grown cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese and cabernet franc (they also have Rutherford and Anderson Valley estates). Dating back to the 1870s, the winery’s Prato Lungo (that’s Italian for “Long Meadow”) olive groves are the oldest in Napa Valley. They were abandoned for years, hidden by dense forest, until winery founder Ted Hall and his son Chris discovered them on the ranch in the 1990s. They cultivated 8 acres of trees, then propagated them to grow new ones. Chris Hall went on to plant additional groves to Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, and Moraiolo. Long Meadow’s olive oil lineup includes the Prato Lungo Organic Extra Virgin, with its low acidity and silky texture; and Limonato Organic Olive Oil, pressed with estate-grown Meyer lemons and Bearss limes all produced using their "micro" Pieralisi mill at their Mountain Estate just minutes away from their groves.
738 Main St., St. Helena, 707-963-4555, longmeadowranch.com
Pestoni olive harvest
Pestoni has been farming the same estate vineyards for over 100 years and producing wines since 1892. Pestoni winemaker Bob Pepi brought olive tree seedlings back from Tuscany a quarter century ago, and today, 180 trees are divided between the winery’s Howell Mountain estate and a vineyard property in nearby Lake County. Pestoni made its first olive oil around 2009, then followed up with bottlings in 2020 and 2023. The latest bottling of Pestoni Family Estate Howell Mountain Extra Virgin Olive Oil –a mix of Frantoio, Leccino, Coratina, and Pendolino varieties — is full of freshness, with peppery notes.
1673 St Helena Hwy, St Helena, 707-963-0544, pestonifamily.com
Round Pond olive oils photo credit Briana Marie Photography
Owned and operated by the second generation of the MacDonnell family, Round Pond Estate is most well known for their cabernet sauvignon and is home to 2,200 olive trees covering 12 acres, including 5 Italian and 3 Spanish varieties. The fruit is hand-harvested and immediately pressed to create several extra virgin olive oils and flavored oils, including Spanish Varietal Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Chili Infused Olive Oil, Blood Orange Olive Oil, and lots more. Round Pond’s estate olive mill includes both a traditional stone mill made from 1-ton granite boulders and a contemporary Hammermill. The winery offers a guided tasting of fresh oils, exploring cultivation, harvest, and artisan olive oil production methods.
875 Rutherford Road, Rutherford, 707-302-2575, roundpond.com