Discover the Tuscan Olive Trees Growing in California

Doc

Marin County’s McEvoy Ranch is like no other ranch in California. Since the early 90s, its farmers have been growing olives that actually got their start in Italy. The ranch's original owner had a deep love for Italian olive oil and so was determined to make the same flavors available right on her own property that she had trees imported from Tuscany. The young trees were incubated on her property for a number of years and flourished once planted in the terrain that many know only for its wine grapes. McEvoy Ranch is located in the Petaluma Gap, a microclimate known for varied soil and unique wind patterns. While the region is commonly associated with wine production, it also provides the perfect conditions needed for growing olives.

For one Atlas Obscura reader, olive oil has taken on a deeper meaning throughout her travels. On this road trip, Bobbi Frankel returns to the place where she first purchased the olive trees that she now uses to produce her own olive oil.