Olio del Le Colline di Santa Cruz

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Recent News Articles and Publicity about Olio del Le Colline

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Saveur May/June 2001 by Kathleen Brennan

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Bruce Golino's trees are doing fine

In 1994, with a friend, Bruce Golino, an agricultural harvester living in Santa Cruz county, came up with the not so novel idea of making his own olive oil. Each planted 100 Tuscan trees in two different locations. Within months the friend's trees were dead, but Golino's trees thrived and in 1997 yielded 15 gallons of pungent, fruity oil. "I'm from a family of plant lovers," explains Golino, "so it was second nature to me to take care of the trees."

Golino's success with his project coincided with an explosion in demand among Californians in the mid-1990s for olive trees. Golino noticed, though, that most people - nurseries included - seemed interested only in the classic Tuscan varietals and the ubiquitous Manzanilla and Mission olives introduced to California by the Spanish. Although, partial to Tuscan oils himself, Golino knew that many other noteworthy varietals existed.

Smelling both a challenge and an opportunity, he formed the Santa Cruz Olive Tree & Oil Company with Steve Remde, a farm-produce marketer, in 1999. After just two years, the enterprise is the state's largest propagator of olive trees, stocking more than 100,000 trees and 50 varietals. Golino still makes oil and recently began selling it under the name Le Colline but spends most of his time learning about, and sourcing, different varietals, such as the grassy, sharply flavored Provencal Aglandau, which is well suited to Napa's climate; the mild Spanish Arbequina, best for the Central Valley; and the full-bodied Greek Koroneiki, ideal for the coast and parts of Southern California. "My goal is to help customers find the right trees for their location and the kind of oil they want to make."