1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:02,966
♪♪

2
00:00:10,466 --> 00:00:12,733
[Ciriaco Chavez] So, we're in 
the heart of Yolo County,

3
00:00:12,733 --> 00:00:14,433
uh, in the Sacramento Valley.

4
00:00:14,866 --> 00:00:17,100
Beautiful area, one of 
the premier locations

5
00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:18,233
to plant olives.

6
00:00:18,233 --> 00:00:21,033
We're actually in the Dunnigan 
Hills in Yolo County.

7
00:00:21,033 --> 00:00:24,566
Um, so, it's characterized 
by these nice rolling hills.

8
00:00:24,566 --> 00:00:26,933
Fantastic location 
for growing olives.

9
00:00:27,733 --> 00:00:30,866
Olives are one of the oldest 
cultivated tree crops

10
00:00:30,866 --> 00:00:32,566
known to humankind.

11
00:00:32,566 --> 00:00:36,300
Researchers believe the origins 
of these beautiful trees

12
00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:39,400
could date back as far 
as 8,000 years,

13
00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,500
beginning in the 
Eastern Mediterranean.

14
00:00:41,700 --> 00:00:45,000
To this day, the olive branch is 
a symbol of peace.

15
00:00:45,700 --> 00:00:49,433
This day is action packed 
with a high-tech harvest

16
00:00:49,433 --> 00:00:52,600
running 24 hours 
a day for two months.

17
00:00:53,466 --> 00:00:54,966
[Rob Stewart] They're so 
lush and packed.

18
00:00:54,966 --> 00:00:56,200
[Ciriaco] Yeah, they're 
beautiful. Yeah, yeah,

19
00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,366
It's... it's... it's a really 
fantastic year so far...

20
00:00:58,766 --> 00:01:02,733
Ciriaco Chavez oversees 
the harvest and is the VP of

21
00:01:02,733 --> 00:01:06,733
Agriculture at Cobram Estate 
based in Woodland, California.

22
00:01:07,133 --> 00:01:10,766
He says California olives rival 
the best in the world.

23
00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:13,833
[Ciriaco] At Cobram Estate, 
we're pioneering in California,

24
00:01:13,833 --> 00:01:16,333
the high density planting system 
which is sort of the spacing

25
00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:17,200
that you see here.

26
00:01:17,633 --> 00:01:18,933
Trees further spaced out.

27
00:01:19,233 --> 00:01:21,833
It allows us to plant 
any variety we want to plant.

28
00:01:22,233 --> 00:01:26,800
These varieties, Picual, 
Coratina, Mission olives,

29
00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,966
which is another unique variety, 
um, that's unique to California.

30
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:31,633
We're bringing it 
back to life really.

31
00:01:31,633 --> 00:01:34,233
It's a variety that was 
originally planted in California

32
00:01:34,233 --> 00:01:36,400
hundreds of years ago, 
the mission variety,

33
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,833
which is the only uniquely 
Californian variety.

34
00:01:38,833 --> 00:01:41,133
We won the world's 
healthiest olive oil

35
00:01:41,366 --> 00:01:43,066
with Mission variety olives.

36
00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,466
Cobram Estate has a 
quarter million trees

37
00:01:55,466 --> 00:01:58,833
on thousands of acres of land 
in the Sacramento Valley.

38
00:01:58,833 --> 00:02:00,700
Every single olive tree

39
00:02:00,700 --> 00:02:04,866
will pass through the giant 
mouth of the Colossus XL,

40
00:02:04,866 --> 00:02:07,866
a million-dollar machine 
and the only one of its kind

41
00:02:07,866 --> 00:02:09,200
in North America.

42
00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:14,066
The machine has 750 picking rods 
that rotate and spin,

43
00:02:14,066 --> 00:02:16,933
which causes the olives 
to fall on conveyors

44
00:02:16,933 --> 00:02:18,800
and into a harvest trailer.

45
00:02:19,033 --> 00:02:21,166
The speed of each 
row is calculated

46
00:02:21,166 --> 00:02:24,766
based on the number of olives 
per tree, stripping the branches

47
00:02:24,766 --> 00:02:27,866
of more than 90% 
of the ripe green fruit.

48
00:02:28,266 --> 00:02:31,600
After the field harvest, 
it's a race against the clock.

49
00:02:31,866 --> 00:02:35,666
The dangers for extra virgin 
olive oil are time and heat.

50
00:02:35,966 --> 00:02:39,233
The faster these olives are off 
to the processing plant

51
00:02:39,233 --> 00:02:41,700
and into the mill 
just minutes from the field,

52
00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:45,133
the higher the quality of 
extra virgin olive oil.

53
00:02:45,133 --> 00:02:46,333
The transformation

54
00:02:46,333 --> 00:02:50,666
from fruit to oil must happen 
within four to six hours.

55
00:02:51,733 --> 00:02:55,866
Leandro Rivetti is co-CEO 
and Chief Oil Maker.

56
00:02:56,633 --> 00:02:57,966
[Leandro] The... the olives 
that are picked

57
00:02:57,966 --> 00:02:59,766
directly from the tree 
with our harvesters

58
00:02:59,766 --> 00:03:02,400
get delivered to this mill. 
The fruit arrives.

59
00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:03,500
We just remove the leaves.

60
00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:05,700
We blow the leaves away, 
clean the fruit,

61
00:03:06,066 --> 00:03:07,466
and then the fruit is crushed

62
00:03:07,466 --> 00:03:10,033
and turned into tapenade, 
like an olive paste,

63
00:03:10,033 --> 00:03:11,933
within a stainless-steel 
hammer crusher.

64
00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,333
That olive paste is then mixed 
very gently and slowly

65
00:03:15,333 --> 00:03:16,433
for about an hour.

66
00:03:16,733 --> 00:03:20,133
And that process that we call 
the malaxation process, um,

67
00:03:20,133 --> 00:03:22,866
allows the little droplets of 
oil that were present in the

68
00:03:22,866 --> 00:03:27,400
flesh of a fruit to merge 
and to form a larger oil phase

69
00:03:27,666 --> 00:03:29,266
that then will make 
the separation

70
00:03:29,266 --> 00:03:31,333
through a centrifuge much, 
much easier.

71
00:03:31,333 --> 00:03:34,200
So that's it. You know, 
that's the entire process.

72
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,566
There's no chemicals, there's no 
heat that- nothing added to it.

73
00:03:38,266 --> 00:03:40,633
The extra virgin 
olive oil is stored

74
00:03:40,633 --> 00:03:44,100
inside these stainless-steel 
temperature-controlled tanks,

75
00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:45,866
locking in the freshness

76
00:03:45,866 --> 00:03:49,433
and the flavor until it's 
bottled, shipped and sold.

77
00:03:49,700 --> 00:03:53,366
Each of these tanks holds 
one million dollars' worth

78
00:03:53,366 --> 00:03:54,866
of extra virgin olive oil,

79
00:03:55,133 --> 00:03:57,500
among the healthiest 
cooking oils available.

80
00:03:58,066 --> 00:04:00,300
[Leandro] Probably, when it 
comes down to the prevention

81
00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:03,433
and... and the- let's call it 
treatment or management

82
00:04:03,433 --> 00:04:07,100
of chronic disease like, um, 
diabetes or cardiovascular

83
00:04:07,100 --> 00:04:10,200
disease, or even cognitive 
disease like Alzheimer's,

84
00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,766
there's no other food 
that comes even close

85
00:04:13,966 --> 00:04:16,066
to extra virgin olive oil 
in terms of the amount

86
00:04:16,066 --> 00:04:21,066
of medical evidence to support 
its use and... and its relevance

87
00:04:21,066 --> 00:04:23,100
within the context 
of the Mediterranean diet.

88
00:04:23,566 --> 00:04:26,333
Normally, a doctor 
will refer to olive oil

89
00:04:26,333 --> 00:04:27,733
from the health perspective,

90
00:04:27,733 --> 00:04:29,633
they are really talking 
about extra virgin olive oil.

91
00:04:29,633 --> 00:04:32,433
And when chefs talk about the 
fantastic flavors of olive oil,

92
00:04:32,433 --> 00:04:34,466
they actually are really talking 
about extra virgin olive oil.

93
00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:37,533
Just in time to tempt 
your taste buds,

94
00:04:37,533 --> 00:04:40,866
pizza is coming out 
of this wood fire oven.

95
00:04:40,866 --> 00:04:43,333
The recipe calls for 
a heavy drizzle

96
00:04:43,333 --> 00:04:45,500
of fresh extra virgin olive oil.

97
00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:46,900
It's a savory delight

98
00:04:46,900 --> 00:04:49,133
and another version 
of California gold.

99
00:04:49,533 --> 00:04:51,766
[Ciriaco] It's an important 
industry to be a part of.

100
00:04:51,766 --> 00:04:54,200
It's an important industry 
because it's feeding America.

101
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:55,933
I'm really proud to say 
that I am

102
00:04:55,933 --> 00:04:59,333
working in an area, in a farm, 
especially in California,

103
00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:03,233
where we produce such a 
breadth of crops, from nuts

104
00:05:03,233 --> 00:05:06,166
to melons, to artichokes 
to extra virgin olive oil.

105
00:05:06,566 --> 00:05:09,066
We're producing these 
extremely high-quality products

106
00:05:09,066 --> 00:05:10,966
and feeding America.

107
00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:16,766
♪♪

108
00:05:16,766 --> 00:05:18,866
Let's give you some 
olive knowledge.

109
00:05:18,866 --> 00:05:21,866
All olives start out green 
and then turn black or dark

110
00:05:21,866 --> 00:05:23,333
purple as they ripen.

111
00:05:23,333 --> 00:05:25,600
And olive trees have long lives.

112
00:05:25,833 --> 00:05:28,300
Olive trees have been known 
to live hundreds of years.

113
00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:30,866
If you're thinking 
of making your own olive oil,

114
00:05:30,866 --> 00:05:33,833
you'll need to press around 
11 pounds of olives to make

115
00:05:33,833 --> 00:05:35,566
just one quart of olive oil.