Meet Our Team
Why we do this (a letter from Patrick and the trees)
I didn’t set out to make olive oil, I set out to stay connected. To the land, to my dad, to the slow kind of work that builds something beyond you. The trees were just the ones who answered back.
We planted the orchard in 2005, not knowing we were continuing a 6-generation legacy of olive growers in California. Not knowing we’d discover an ancestor who crossed the Oregon Trail and planted olive trees that still stand in Davis, CA. Not knowing we’d build a mill from scratch or be one of the first regenerative organic certified orchards in the state.
But we did.
Because we love this place. Because we love the craft. Because we want to leave something better behind.
Every farm is a collection of souls. Trees, soil, animals, and people, each carrying part of the story, each keeping the rhythm steady when the days are hot and the work runs long. What you taste in our bottles is the labor and laughter of a small crew who make this place hum.
Meet our team
Claire
Claire is the compass of our operation, my wife, and my anchor. She manages wholesale and online orders, keeps production flowing, and somehow still manages to make everyone feel like family. Claire likes music by bearded men who talk about feelings, classic American muscle (GM over Ford forever though) and all 15 glorious seasons of Supernatural.
Meet Ron
Ron has been part of this land as long as I can remember. He built our first mill building and office in 2015, and later the Quonset hut when we needed more space to grow. These days he handles everything from tending sheep to bringing some of my crazy project ideas to life. Ron - looks like he rides a Harley, rides a Harley.
Ron likes some good ole fashioned rock and roll and always has a joke to drop on you.
Meet Pat
Pat joined us a few seasons back and quickly became indispensable. He helps manage the sheep, prepares our biological preparations and mineral sprays, and oversees production roasting. Outside the farm, he plays guitar in a band called Granny Nix, enjoys long rides on the bike, and spending time with cats.
Meet Rupert
Rupert is our chief morale officer and an integral part of our team. He likes scritches, food, naps, food, walkies, chasing rabbits behind the orchard, food, treats, cuddling, and when you give him food.
Meet Kronk
Kronk is our llama, who came to us a couple of years ago to look after our sheep. While the sheep are an integral part of our orchard management, they are gentle creatures, and would otherwise be a temptation to the many coyotes that live around our orchard. Enter Kronk - he is tall and imposing, capable of looking over (figuratively and otherwise) our flock. He is also silly and can be often found rolling on his back, playing tag with the sheep, and enjoying his private stash of alfalfa.
And last, my dad.
He planted the orchard in 2005, back when most new olive projects were chasing high density plantings and mechanical harvesters. He went the other direction. He chose Frantoio trees: old world, traditional spacing, slow to bear, and impossible to mechanize, because he believed flavor mattered more than yield, longevity more than convenience.
The mill, the brand, the relationships we still lean on today all started with his hands and his stubborn conviction that a farm could be both enduring and alive. Every bottle we make still grows from that original act of faith.
