California Olive Oil from The Olivina

The olive groves of The Olivina are nestled in among the hills and wildflowers at the southern end of the Livermore Valley.

Above: Labels from The Olivina circa late 1800's.
Below: A lithograph shows how The Olivina looked in the time of Julius Paul Smith.

In 1881, Julius Paul Smith purchased more than 2000 acres on the south-west portion of Livermore, California noted by the historic Olivina stone gateway. The gate marked the beginning of a tree- Charles F Crohare

lined drive leading towards the creek bed of the Arroyo del Valle. The driveway led to the other side of the arroyo to Julius Paul Smith’s home and winery. Mr. Smith was one of the Smith Brothers who developed a borax mining claim in Nevada into an industry whose product became known, eventually, as the world famous Twenty Mule Team Borax.

Olivina was planted in wine grapes, olives, walnuts till Mr. Smith passed away in 1904 and Mrs. Smith ended the wine operation in 1908. Many of the olive trees that were planted back as early as 1881 are still on the property today producing olive oil, making them over 100 years old.

Charles D. Crohare purchased a large portion of the estate around 1940 that was west of the arroyo and utilized primarily for cattle operation till “The Olivina” of Olivina Ranch was established and later started planting additional olives in March 2001. Charles F. Crohare who has owned and operated Olivina Ranch since 1951 oversees the operation to ensure the highest quality.

The Olivina today

The entrance to Olivina Ranch is located just prior to the Wente Restaurant & Golf Course and Veterans Hospital on Arroyo Road, noted by the stone wall entrance and wrought iron gateway. The Olivina estate is adjacent to Sycamore Grove Park and the Veterans Hospital.

Olive varieties planted on the property consist of Mission (about 3,000 trees including 100 majestic Mission olive trees that are over 100 years old), Arbequina (over 1,500 trees), Lucca (242 trees), Picholine (80 fully aged trees) and Frantoio (about 6,000 trees).

All of the olive oil from Olivina is cold pressed and unfiltered for the highest quality, flavor and aroma.




Olivina LLC is a member of the California Olive Oil Council	2007 Copyright, Olivina LLC Livermore, CA Charles@TheOlivina.com