Olive oil Archives - Wine Country Getaways

DaVero wine and olive oil and much more

We recently had an interesting visit at DaVero Farms & Winery. It’s located near Healdsburg, CA, on Westside Road, just about opposite the entrance of the historic Madrona Manor. The owners of DaVero, Ridge Evers & Colleen McGlynn, have made this into one of the most interesting stops along this wine route in the Russian River area. The grapes on the estate property are not the wine grapes you would normally expect to find in this area. At DaVero, it is all about Italian varieties, and in particular the Sagrantino grape. The Sagrantino grape produces a massive wine meant to age for long periods. At DaVero, the Estate Reserve Sagrantino sells for $125. Vermentino and Primitivo are two other popular DaVero wines. On the property, visitors can roam the farm and look at vineyards, olive trees, a vegetable garden, and many fruit trees. There are also chickens and pigs on the farm. Everything at DaVero is biodynamically farmed. We also were intrigued by a tree from which large sacks were hanging. It turns out DaVero also does some micro-beer brewing. The sacks held barley drying for beer making. Besides walk-in tasting at DaVero, there is a private tour of the farm and a seated tasting of wines and olive oils. Check the DaVero Website for the tour experience and to reserve a spot. There is certainly much to see at DaVero!

DaVero wine and olive oil slide show

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Things to do nearby DaVero

Pasolivo – tucked away on Vineyard Drive in Paso Robles

Olive oil fun at Pasolivo

What a very nice activity to mix in with wine tasting in Paso Robles. We spent an entire hour having olive oil fun at Pasolivo. Pasolivo is an olive oil factory located on Vineyard Drive, a lovely wine county backroad. Pasolivo is open daily and is great fun for the entire family. We visited several years ago and on this recent visit there were big changes. As we entered Pasolivo we were greeted by our host. She gave us a concise rundown of how the olive oil tasting works at Pasolivo. The biggest change since our last visit, a spice table and salt table. We placed a small amount of each spice and each salt on a small paper plate. With a bag of cubed French bread, we dabbed the bread with olive oil and then pressed the bread cube on a spice or salt. My, oh my; the spice or salt added so much to the olive oil. It is a great cooking lesson in how spices or salts work and match with various olive oils. We tasted several olive oils from plain to ones with basil, rosemary, lemon, lime, or citrus flavors. We purchased a can of the rosemary olive oil. One of my favorite recipes is oven baked potato fries. I can see my potatoes coated with the rosemary olive oil and then placed in the oven. I can’t wait to try this! Pasolivo, similar to most wineries, has an olive oil club. Twice a year, you receive shipments of various olive oils and other goodies. Check the Pasolivo Website for the Olive Oil Club details and other information. One thing different at Pasolivo from wine tasting rooms is that there’s no fee to participate in the olive oil tasting. You can also purchase the spice, salts and other olive oil related items. If you visit Pasolivo around the lunch hour, think about packing a picnic lunch. There are picnic tables at Pasolivo set among tall oak trees. It is very inviting and peaceful. Pasolivo is located at 8530 Vineyard Drive and is open 11 am to 5 pm daily. Nearby are several wineries. See our winery recommendation on Vineyard Wine Trail. Also, Halter Ranch Vineyards is great stop where Vineyard Drive meets Adelaida Road.