Cobram Estate Olive Harvest 2019, aka Poppy’s First Flight!

Poppy took her first flight two weeks ago and I will admit, I WAS SO NERVOUS. One, I was nervous to fly just in general. Two, I had no idea how Poppy would act 37,000 feet in the air. Poppy is a superstar because she was so good! I couldn’t believe it. Or maybe I can because she truly is a gem here on the ground so why wouldn’t she be up in the air? I’m thankful the flight went well because we had a full day of Cobram Estate Olive Oil adventuring to do!

A few things that kept Poppy busy during the flight: tearing apart the inflight magazines, her books, and FOOD. Food was very important because the flight was at 9:15am and she usually has nursed and eaten breakfast by this point. I decided to stop nursing her in the morning this day actually! (Now I only nurse her at night). We were on a time crunch and needed to get out of the house. I was worried that she would be sad but actually she was perfectly fine eating her cereal snack on the way to the airport instead… I’M OK, kinda. I am so proud of her and she’s a lot happier (and less cranky because she wants food instantly after nursing) getting a snack in the morning rather than nursing. During takeoff I had her drink water from her cup with a straw and on the way down she sucked on a puree pack. You can puree your own food but then you’d have to keep it cold. I bought some that are shelf stable until opened. There are so many amazing organic brands out there giving you plenty of options. I brought a handful on the trip to give her when food wasn’t as available. Also, this little narwal snack cup was a huge hit with her. I brought a large ziplock baggie of Kamut Puff Cereal and would refill her snack cup throughout the entire trip. So nice for her to have on the plane, in her carseat, and in the olive groves!

Now onto the good stuff, the Cobram Estate olive oil tasting room! We landed in beautiful Sacramento and went straight to business. While my mom was on Poppy duty (thanks mom!) I was able to see the olives fresh off the truck from the olive groves go straight into the process of becoming Cobram Estate extra virgin olive oil. Now this is art! The way Cobram Estate cares for their olive oil is unreal. Their process runs 24/7 during the olive harvest to ensure that their olive oil is as fresh as it can be. They have machines that ensure only the freshest olives make it into their oil! Tree to table with a quick pit stop at their olive mill. 

I could tell right away that their olive oil team means business. These people LOVE olive oil and care about the entire process. Some are even certified olive oil sommeliers! We got to watch their machines sort the olives, extract into fresh olive oil that we tasted right from the spout. How about that for a fresh taste test?

After learning about their olive oil process (and wearing my new favorite look) we got to learn about the differences in olive oils and the polyphenol levels. (Polyphenols decrease heart disease risk factors by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing blood clotting and improving the health of artery linings.) This is super important: the less processing the better. “Extra virgin” olive oil, which is cold-pressed only once, has the highest polyphenol levels. Two presses (“virgin” olive oil), reduces polyphenol content further, and oil with three extractions contains only about half the value of “virgin” olive oil. Highly refined or “light” olive oils, which use heat or chemicals in the refining process, have significantly lower polyphenol levels. Cobram Estate ONLY bottles extra virgin olive oil. Think of extra virgin olive oil as fresh olive juice. The quicker you use the oil the better the oil is for you. Cobram Estate recommends using their oil within four weeks after opening to ensure the best taste and benefits. I used some the other day in a paleo olive oil chocolate chip cookie recipe. Extra virgin olive oil and dark chocolate, DOUBLE THE YUM. 

From the tasting room we went to their olive fields and I felt like I was in a fairy tale. There were rolling hills beyond the eye could see of olives waiting to become Cobram Estate extra virgin olive oil. We got to ride the harvester, a large machine that picks the olives, and eat the most wonderful dinner featuring all the ways to use Cobram Estate EVOO right in the middle of all the action. We ended the evening with an olive oil carrot cake with an olive oil frosting. Never too much olive oil if you ask me!

Day two we were in Napa and had the morning to ourselves. We did a little exploring and found the best park across from our hotel. This was such a special trip to have my mom and Poppy with me! We’ve never spent this much time together just the three of us. I know my mom and I will cherish this trip forever. We’ll have to show Poppy all the photos and videos so she can remember too!

After lunch I made my way to the Rutherford House for the big cook off! We were paired with local chefs to create a special dish using Cobram Estates EVOO. We were surrounded by wilderness and rows of grape vines that truly set the tone for an epic evening. I was paired with Jodie and her brother Sam and we made the BEST citrus olive oil cake topped with charred pear. Cobram Estate EVOO is perfect for every recipe, their extra virgin olive oil is great for roasting, drizzling, grilling, baking, frying, dipping, sauté-ing, making salad dressings, and dessert! There really is no wrong way to use their olive oil.