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California olive oil

Gondola operator Javier Alanis looks on as the machine is used to lower olives that were just harvested into a collecting bin at California Olive Ranch in Artois. The bin can hold up to 33,000 pounds of olives. The olives are pressed into extra virgin olive oil at a facility at the ranch that is 1,700 acres with 675 olive trees per acre.

Gondola operator Javier Alanis looks on as the machine is used to lower olives that were just harvested into a collecting bin at California Olive Ranch in Artois. The bin can hold up to 33,000 pounds of olives. The olives are pressed into extra virgin olive oil at a facility at the ranch that is 1,700 acres with 675 olive trees per acre.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Nestled in a corner of the Sacramento Valley better known for rice, almonds and walnuts, densely packed rows of manicured olive trees stretch toward the horizon. This 1,700-acre spread is the domain of California Olive Ranch, an upstart company with big ambitions.

California olive oil

An over-the-row harvester travels over the top of olive trees at California Olive Ranch in Artois. The harvester shakes the fruit off without damaging the trees. The fruit lands in cushioned buckets at the bottom of the harvester and travels across on a conveyor belt, landing into a gondola pulled by a tractor, driving parallel one row away.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

California olive oil

Fresh-picked olives make their way onto a conveyor belt, landing into a gondola pulled by a tractor at California Olive Ranch in Artois.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

California olive oil

A tractor pulls a gondola that is used in the harvesting process at California Olive Ranch in Artois.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

California olive oil

Adam Englehardt, vice president of orchard operations, examines 1-liter bottles of extra virgin olive oil on the bottling line at California Olive Ranch in Artois. California Olive Ranch makes five extra virgin olive oils, ranging from mild to robust.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

California olive oil

Adam Englehardt, vice president of orchard operations, displays arbosana olives, a Spanish varietal grown at California Olive Ranch in Artois.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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