While most San Benito County winemakers are busy stomping
grapes, Pietra Santa Vineyards
&
amp; Winery has developed a crush on a different type of fruit
not found on any vine.
Hollister –While most San Benito County winemakers are busy stomping grapes, Pietra Santa Vineyards & Winery has developed a crush on a different type of fruit not found on any vine.
With the busy grape crushing season behind them, Deanna Gimelli and her husband Joseph, who own Pietra Santa Vineyards & Winery, are ready for their new fall project. These days it is olives that are piled high in hoppers at their 150-acre winery in the Cienega Valley, whose name means “Holy Stone” in Italian.
While olive oil still makes up only a small part of Pietra Santa’s overall production, the winery has won several accolades for their extra virgin oil, Olivita. Among these is a Liquid Gold award at the Sonoma Oil Festival and another at the LA County Fair. In 2002, Olivita was ranked by Wine Spectator magazine as a No. 1 olive oil, according to Alessio Carli, olive oil maker at Pietra Santa.
In the three years the winery has grown olives, production has increased from 800 bottles in 2002 to 2,300 in 2003. The expected output this year is estimated at 400 gallons. Their extra virgin olive oil is organic and first-press, which means it is processed only once and retains more of an earthy flavor.
The Gimellis got the idea for expanding into olives after they traveled to Tuscany in 1996. There they met with agricultural experts and learned about the proper soil, climate and elevation needed to produce the perfect olive that would not be canned or jarred, but made into oil. They realized that their land in Cienega Valley had almost identical conditions and threw themselves into the venture.
“There is a true passion and love for what we do,” said Deanna Gimelli. “It’s a very healthy product and after confirming the information, we wanted to go to the next level.”
After their fateful trip, the Gimellis imported 5,000 olive trees from Italy and planted a grove in their vineyards. Then, they got busy learning everything there was to know about the fine art of olive oil making.
When olives are picked, they
are destemmed, washed and crushed by a seven ton granite stone press. Then they are moved to the emulsification chamber where they are mixed and moved to another chamber where the solids are separated from water and oil. At the second centrifuge, buttery, almost cream-like oil is extracted and stored in metal barrels.
While olive oil making is common for wineries in Italy and France, it is still a concept that is growing with U.S. wine makers.
“The California olive industry was big in the ’30s and ’40s, but when growers realized consumers could get it cheaper in Europe, it closed off,” said Alessio Carli, who has been with Pietra Santa since 1999.
Prior to working at a Sonoma winery for almost a decade, Carli worked at one of Tuscany’s most famous Chianti estates, Badia a Coltibuono, where he made both wine and olive oil. He moved from Italy to California in 1990.
Currently, Olivita is only sold at Pietra Santa and a 700 mL bottle goes for $50. Pietra Santa’s non-Olivita olive oil is also used by Don Ciccio Restaurant in San Juan Bautista, whose owner Jerry Boone purchases about 360 bottles a year.
“I was looking around for local vendors for as many of my products as I could and kind of stumbled on it,” said Boone. “People are very happy with the product. It’s an excellent touch.”
Karina Ioffee is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566 ext.335 or
ki*****@fr***********.com
