Some tasks in life require passion. If a person wants to make olive oil, and is willing to hand-pick "oodles" of olives, there has to be some passion there. As there are thousands of varieties of olives planted worldwide, there are also a myriad of different olive oil flavors and olive oil styles. The same varieties planted in different locations will deliver different nuances in their oils. Differences in growing practices can magnify these nuances even further. Finally, passionate and judicious blending of different olive oils can result in marvelous complexity and a distinctively unique olive oil.
This shared passion has brought a group of us together to form Lodi Olive Oil Company. Robert Pirie, Yvette Jordan, Brian Anderson, and Jeff Brandstad are principals in Colligere Farm Management, a Lodi-based Ag. management company, specializing in wine grapes. For aesthetic reasons, they planted olive trees on the perimeters of some of their vineyards. When the trees were mature enough to harvest the olives, they hand picked them and transported them immediately to a local company for milling. They were stunned by the uniquely rich and fruity blend of olive oil. They shared some with their friends, who flipped over the oil, and consequently shared some with complete strangers, who claimed (they too) were friends.
From a different direction came Leonard Cicerello. Leonard, of the Sicilian faith, had always wanted to make olive oil but could not figure out how to do it. He eventually was able to tour a local olive oil mill. Utterly fascinated by the tour, Leonard also learned that they would custom-mill anybody's olives, even his, if he had any, which he didn't.
This group would not have come together with out a facilitator. Henry Sanguinetti, a nurseryman and horticulturist, had known Robert Pirie for years and had worked with him on numerous orchard projects. Henry knew about the olives planted around the vineyards and admired the natural beauty they lent to their perfectly manicured vineyards. He politely asked Robert if he, his wife Denise, and Leonard could pick a ton of olives and have their own oil made for personal use and business gifts for his former clients. Two years in a row they took home some exquisite olive oil and they were hooked.
In the second year of their gift giving, Leonard, who owns Lodi Wine Brokers and specializes in Lodi wines, gave a bottle to a good wine customer, Darrell Corti, who also happens to be an internationally recognized expert on foods. He liked the oil so much he asked if he could sell some in his specialty grocery store, Corti Bros., in Sacramento, California. They had a few extra cases, and the rest is history, as the olive oil virtually jumped off the shelf.
In the summer of 2004, the Facilitator brought the prospective partners together to discuss a deal. They created secret rituals, (that may or may not include the discrete use of olive oil), in the darkened corner of a local restaurant, sealing their agreement with three drops of "Holy Olive Oil" to pick, deliver, bottle, and create a label worthy of their creation. Eventually, they would even create a marketing plan!
Flashing forward to fall of 2004, Carla Cicerello, Leonard's wife, developed a beautiful, eye-catching label, hand painted in an Italianate style. Armed with an amazing oil and lovely label, Denise and Carla, who both have extensive retail experience and effervescent personalities, spearheaded an aggressive promotional program dedicated to sharing the "Lodi Olive Oil Gospel" all over northern California.
