Estate-Grown · Certified Organic · Cold-Pressed
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Certified organic extra virgin olive oil from McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma, California. We farm 50 acres of organic olive trees, mill the olives at the ranch, and date every bottle by harvest.
Our organic extra virgin olive oil starts in the olive groves. We grow seven Italian varieties, including Frantoio, Leccino and Coratina, on the ranch's rolling hills in Petaluma, and harvest them each fall when the fruit is at its peak. The olives go to the mill on site within hours of picking, and every bottle carries its harvest date.
That close control is what you taste: fresh green aromas of cut grass and artichoke, a soft, nutty richness and a late peppery finish. Our signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil won Gold at the 2026 California State Fair Olive Oil Competition.
Organic olive oil is made from organic olives, grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer. Our olive oil is certified organic by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), which inspects how the olive trees are farmed and how the olive oil is handled, from the grove through the mill and into every bottle. Look for "Organic" in the product name: our Cooking Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a few of our other olive oils are not certified organic.
The differences between organic and conventional olive oil come down to how the olives grow. Organically grown olive trees rely on natural methods instead of synthetic chemicals to keep the soil and the trees healthy.
Organic tells you how the olives were farmed. Extra virgin tells you the quality of the olive oil itself. You want both. The extra virgin grade, set by the International Olive Council (IOC), requires olive oil that is unrefined, extracted using only mechanical methods with no heat or solvent, under 0.8% free acidity, and free of flavor defects in a taster panel. Each of our harvests is lab and panel tested to confirm the grade.
Organic extra virgin olive oil from a single grower also gives you a clear answer to where your olive oil comes from. Many supermarket olive oils blend olive oil from several countries, and the label rarely tells you which (how to spot fake olive oil).
You will see "cold pressed" and "first cold pressed" on many olive oil labels. The terms come from the days of the hydraulic press, when olive paste was pressed between mats. Modern mills like ours don't press the olives at all. We crush the olives into a paste and use a centrifuge to separate the olive oil, with no heat added. Every extra virgin olive oil is made without heat, so "cold" adds nothing, and "pressed" no longer describes the process.
When you compare organic olive oil brands, check four things on the label:
- A harvest date. Olive oil is best used within about 24 months of harvest. A "best by" date alone doesn't tell you how old the olive oil is.
- An organic certifier. A named certifier such as CCOF shows who checked the farm.
- A grower you can name. California olive oil from a single ranch is easier to trace than a blend of imported olive oils (California versus Italian olive oil).
- Dark glass or a tin. Light breaks down olive oil, which is why our Stripes olive oil comes in a tin.
Drizzle our organic extra virgin olive oil over salads, soups and grilled vegetables, whisk it into a dressing, or pour a little into a dish as a dip for warm bread. It also works for everyday cooking and sautéing: high-quality extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of about 375 to 410°F, so it handles medium-high heat (more on frying with extra virgin olive oil).
Store the olive oil in a cool, dark place, away from the stove, and use within 6 to 8 weeks of opening for the best flavor.
Is all McEvoy Ranch olive oil organic?
No. Most of our olive oils are certified organic, and each one has "Organic" in its name. You can browse every bottle, including our Agrumato Method olive oils, in our full California olive oil collection.
When is your olive harvest?
We harvest and mill in November and December. The first olive oil of the season is our Organic Olio Nuovo, with strong green notes and a pungent finish. It is only available for a short time each year.
What is the Limited Edition olive oil?
A single-varietal organic extra virgin olive oil made only from Moraiolo olives. It is lighter and more delicate than our signature blend, for dishes where subtlety matters.