When you’re out tasting wine all day, there comes a point where you just want a cocktail and a snack. The Round Pond Estate Olive Mill is one of the best experiences in Napa Valley for people to explore food and wine or want a change of pace in wine country.
Round Pond sets itself apart with it’s focus on pairing food and wine. They make some of the best olive oil in California. We’ve visited Round Pond on numerous occasions, but never when the olive mill was running. You can only imagine how excited we were to pull up to see forklifts dumping harvest bins full of olives into the mill. Not only do we love the tasting experience at Round Pond, but we also love to use Round Pond olive oil in our salads!
Round Pond grows Spanish and Italian varietal olives. Each type has varying yields each year. This year the Italian olives had a high yield, and the Spanish were on the low side. Round Pond’s Master Miller, Emilio Alvarez, learned the craft of olive oil milling from Italian millers. Round Pond and Emilio were recently recognized by the California Olive Oil Council for their Spanish varietal olive oil.
Olives come in and are dumped in the hopper, they then go through a belt that separates out the leaves and stems. Next, the olives are washed to ensure that no rocks or other debris get into the mill. Fresh olive oil goes into storage tanks where it is topped with inert gas to keep it fresh until bottling.
If you are visiting Round Pond for an olive oil experience, you’ll see the beautiful main entrance to the estate on the south side of the road but you’ll want to pull in on the north side where the olive mill lives. You’ll get an in-depth explanation of the Round Pond olive oil making process, admire the amazing Italian machinery, learn to taste olive oil and vinegars, and pair the oil with some small bites to inspire you!
Round Pond Estate
888.302.2575
Olive Mill Address:
886 Rutherford Road, Rutherford, CA 94573
Round Pond Olive Oil Experiences
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