Healdsburg Olive Growers Dominate Sonoma County Harvest Fair Awards

Just released results of The Professional Olive Oil Competition at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair show a large number of Healdsburg growers as winners.

The competition,a section of the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Professional Food Competition, took place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in June.

All entries were required to use olives grown in California and be custom blended by a Sonoma County processor, or made with olives grown in Sonoma County, as designated on the label.

Certified olive oil tasters judged the entries, including Julie Menge of Sacramento, Fran Gage of San Francisco, Franco Dunn of Healdsburg, Sandy Sonnenfelt of Oakland, Louie Gonzales of Oakland, and Sue Langstaff of Fairfield.

The olive oil entries are divided into categories, and further divided into classes under those categories. The three categories are: Sonoma County Grown Olive Oil, California Grown Olive Oil and California Grown Flavored.

There are three class distinctions in the Sonoma County Grown and California Grown categories: Class 1, delicate (light fruitiness intensity); Class 2, medium (medium fruitiness intensity); and Class 3, robust (intense fruitiness). The California Grown Flavored category has three flavor class distinctions: citrus, herb and "any other" flavor.

Best of Show
Winning the 2012 Best of Show Olive Oil is Three Orchards Blend by Dry Creek Olive Company of Healdsburg, Calif. The company describes their superb, winning oil as "a smooth, buttery oil with a flavor profile that includes herbs, ripe banana and a hint of artichoke." Three Orchards Blend also won Double Gold in the Lot-1 Delicate class under the California Grown Olive Oil category.

Dry Creek Olive Company garnered a total of 10 medals this year (including Best of Show), making them the most winning entrant of 2012.

Double Gold winners of 2012 are as follows:

Sonoma County Grown Olive Oil
Lot 2 - Medium
Koroneiki, Arbequina & Arbosana by S.R.J.C. Shone Farm, Forestville, Calif.

Lot 3 - Robust
Marino by Benzinger Family Winery, Glen Ellen, Calif.

California Grown Olive Oil
Lot 1 - Delicate
Three Orchards Blend by Dry Creek Olive Company, Healdsburg, Calif.
California Mission by Dry Creek Olive Company, Healdsburg, Calif.
Extra Virgin Ascolano & Manzanillo by B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company, Glen Ellen, Calif.

Lot 2 - Medium
Arbequina Capay Valley by Capay Gold Olive Oil, LLC, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Hacienda Blend by Dry Creek Olive Company, Healdsburg, Calif.

California Grown Flavored
Lot 1 - Citrus - state flavor
Blood Orange by B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company, Glen Ellen, Calif.
Meyer Lemon by B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company, Glen Ellen, Calif.
Meyer Lemon by Dry Creek Olive Company, Healdsburg, Calif.

Lot 3 - Any other - state flavor
Napa Smoked by The Smoked Olive, LLC, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Santa Fe Smoked by The Smoked Olive, LLC, Santa Rosa, Calif.

For a complete report of the Professional Olive Oil Competition winners, please visit www.harvestfair.org/docs/2012_Olive%20Oil_Pro_Food_Winners.pdf.

The Grand Tasting
The public will have the opportunity to taste the winning olive oils at the second annual Grand Tasting event on Friday, October 5, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds (Grace Pavilion). All Best of Show and Gold medal-winning olive oils, wines and food will be available for unlimited tastes with ticket purchase. Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $60 in advance and $70 at the door. Also, tickets can be purchased in blocks of 10 for $50 each. All Grand Tasting tickets include admission to the fair on Friday.

The rest of the Professional Food Competition will be conducted throughout August and September when appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and small plates, bread and morning pastries, cakes and pastries, delicatessen and sauces, dairy products, desserts, gift packs or baskets, vegan foods and vinegar will be judged. All winning foods will be available for tasting at the Grand Tasting event.

About the Sonoma County Harvest Fair
The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 5-7. It's a three-day celebration of the bountiful Sonoma County and Wine Country lifestyle with chef demonstrations, delicious cuisine, wine tasting and sales (all three days), wine seminars, an art exhibition and sale, ongoing jazz performances, the World Championship Grape Stomp (more than a dozen qualifying stomps), microbrew tasting (Saturday only), and farm and harvest agricultural activities for children and adults.

Sonoma County Harvest Fair Professional Food Competition winners will be serving two-ounce tastings Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7 at the Harvest Fair Wine Pavilion. Also, wineries will be pouring tastes of their winning wines, so attendees can make their own food and wine pairings. Tickets for the wine tastings are $15 for a glass and four taste tickets. Fairgoers will also receive one food taste per ticket. Additional tastes can be purchased at a cost of $10 for four tickets.

Another option is to purchase a Wine Passport for $40, which includes: fair admission, glass, six taste tickets, and a coupon good for $10 towards a purchase at the Harvest Fair's Marketplace.

All wine tasting events at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair require ticketholders to be 21 years of age or older. Proof of age will be required.

For more information about the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Professional Food Competition or the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, please visit www.harvestfair.org. Facebook users can find the latest information and become a fan at www.facebook.com/sonomacountyharvestfair.