Market Watch: Olive oil, from the hills of Topanga

In the last two decades, there's been a tremendous surge in production of artisanal olive oil in California as consumers have developed an appreciation for the freshness, high quality and distinctive flavors that good locally produced oil can provide. This boom has carried over into farmers markets, where there has been a rush of new vendors, although many of them are not certified producers who are required to grow what they sell. Of the olive growers who are, one of the most intriguingly local is Joyce Lukon of Robinson Road Olive Ranch, who harvested her small crop last Sunday from a hillside next to her home in Topanga.

By David Karp

December 16, 2011