On A Tank Of Gas: March
From March 2006
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Discovering Liquid Gold Italian Olive Oil and British Beer
By Jessi Martin
Alchemy was once considered to be a lost scientific cause, an art of impossibility; however, in the Sierra foothills, liquid gold is squeezed from olives and brewed from British barley. Along the back-hill roads of Placerville, the Gold Hill Olive Oil Co. and the Jack Russell Brewing Co. keep the fever for gold alive in their tasting rooms.
A winding drive down Highway 49 through ranches, farms and vineyards will bring you to John Tillman’s Gold Hill Olive Oil, 5601 Gold Hill Rd., in Placerville. All of Tillman’s trees at the Gold Hill estate are Italian varietals tolerant of higher elevations and colder climates. They include Frantoio, Leccino, Lucca and San Felice, which make up this year’s blended olive oil.
Gold Hill’s most recent harvest produced 4,470 pounds of olives, creating 125 gallons of cold-pressed oil for the company’s first crush of olives grown exclusively at the Gold Hill estate. Currently, 1,400 young olive trees grow there. Within the next five years, Tillman says he plans to top off his orchard somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 trees.
“It started out as a hobby, and it still is a hobby that turned into a full-time job.” Tillman says. He also works for a family-owned disposal business. “There’s a big push in California for more olive trees for olive oil. Right now Europe has 85 to 90 percent of the olive oil market,” he notes.
In his tasting room visitors can experience just how the different varieties of olives grown at Gold Hill translate into their own unique flavors, such as the Mission blend, which is somewhat fruity, while the Manzanillo has a more intense herbal flavor. Visitors can also indulge in flavored oils such as orange, lemon, basil and jalapeño while enjoying the country ambiance. The tasting is free, and bottles can be purchased in the tasting room starting at $8 each.
Continued...
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