ojai olive oil ranch

The owner spent a great deal of time with us explaining the harvesting and pressing process. The oils we tasted were excellent.

I once bought a Groupon for a tour, oil oil and balsamic vinegar tasting, and ever since have been buying their products! great intimate space, fascinating looking into production and the hard working people that make it happen!

Just a few minutes drive from the town center, this olive ranch with olive oil production facility is an easy and interesting stop for an hour or so. The owner explains the history of olive oil production in California and then shows you the small building of equipment they use to make their products. It's free with several dozen olive oils and vinegars available to taste. My friend and I were inspired to buy a bottle of their olive oil and to try to buy Californian olive oil in the future, as 97% is imported to the US according to the tour. We expected to walk amongst some of the trees but that wasn't part of it. Easy parking. Friendly staff.

A tour of this family-owned olive oil producer was a delight because of the quality of the tour and what we learned about what constitutes fine olive oil. The owner, Alice, met us beneath some old trees and settled us in at picnic tables while she explained the history of the ranch, the eight varieties of olives planted there (2 Spanish, 3 French, 2 Italian and one from trees planted in the late 1800's that were on the property when she and her husband bought it). She then took us into the production room and explained the entire milling process while showing us the equipment and the production line. This was followed by the chance to taste some of the olive oils, a fabulous way to get a comparison of oils of varying acidity, some of the oils they produce that are infused with lemon or herbs, and some specialty vinegars that she imports. I had toured an artisinal olive oil producer in Sicily but Alice's tour was the most enlightening I've had. She was very clear in her explanations and you come away understanding what extra virgin means and how it is different from pomace and why the lovingly produced extra virgin is so delicious and special.

The Ojai Olive Oil Ranch is a wonderful working ranch a few miles east of the town of Ojai. Alice runs the ranch and gives the tours. She does a superb job of explaining everything about olive oil. We followed the easy directions to get out there and were not disappointed. Each of the different types of olive oil had a distinct flavor and Alice explained why this was so. We got a clear understanding of the hard work it takes to make olives into olive oil. We enjoyed our visit very much!

Husband and I looking for something different to do for a couple of hours early August on a Wednesday. . Found the OJAI OLIVE OIL company had tours on Wednesdays, 1pm-4pm (also Saturdays, 10am-3pm ) Free , no reservation required. Tours start when enough people have gathered after the last tour has ended. You can join the group at any point, leave at any time. You can skip the tour and go to the tasting room to taste and shop. Alice, the owner, began outside in front of the building with the tasting room and also where the olives are processed. No walking around involved, Mostly a lecture outside about the ranch and olive tress, followed by going inside to see where the processing is done. Interesting and interactive. Suitable for all ages. Small children can play outside with things on the ground if they get bored, inside the machinery is shiny and complex looking. Husband and I found Alice's info to be fascinating, well worth our time. And the Olive Oils !Won several prizes for Best in Show in New York. It is darn good olive oil. ENJOY

This is a nice, quick tour of a family business that offers unique homemade olive oil and balsamic vinegars. Nice tasting room and it's one of the things you really should do if you're in the Ojai area.

Yes, this place is kind of hidden away, but not as hard to find as people say. Our GPS was right on. Nice grounds and shade while you wait a few minutes for a free tour. We learned a lot about the history and how olive oil is made. They let you taste all you want and there are LOTS of favors of olive oils and balsamic vinegars in the tasting room. There's also face cream, soap and lip balm. We bought several things for ourselves and for gifts. We enjoyed it - Definitely worth a stop!

I learned a lot about olive oil on the tour, but because we arrived after the tour had begun, we had to wait around a while for the next tour to get all of the information. I'd recommend arriving right when they open to be sure you can take a tour from the beginning. There were also a lot of people, which made it hard to maneuver around the tasting room.

At the end of a long dirt road, the Ojai Olive Oil Ranch is a fun, informative, interesting hour. We have tried to get there for years, but they are only open for a couple of hours a couple of times a week, so we kept missing them. This time, we got there! Get a map; you'll never find it without a map. There is a "tour" of the ranch, which is really just a walk through some of the olive trees, along with a peek at the pressing room, where the process of pressing the olives for oil was explained. All in all, very interesting. But the point of going is the tasting room. The owner is a French woman who is very knowledgeable about olive oil and balsamic vinegars. She explained the difference between American and European taste in olive oil and how to use the various kinds of oil in cooking and eating. There is also a wide variety of imported balsamic vinegars which were really fun to taste. There were some cosmetics made with olive oil, creams, soaps and lotions, all for sale in the tasting room. Really really glad we finally ended up getting up there! Really worth the trouble of finding the place and the time.

We enjoyed the nice tour and history of the ranch. Questions were answered readily and we learned quite a lot about the olive trees, the production of olive oil, and what makes a good oil. There is also a very nice little tasting room. Friendly laid-back atmosphere. We took a picnic and sat at the picnic tables under the olive trees.

Visited Ojai Olive Oil Ranch last week while visiting friends in the area. Everyone there was so nice and friendly. The olive oils and balsamic vinegars were set up so that we could taste them all...they were delicious! My favorites were the raspberry and fig vinegars and the Andalucian Olive Oil. They also have olive oil soaps and creams. Check out their website; their shipping prices are very reasonable.

We stopped here this weekend on a day trip to Ojai.This was our first time here and we decided to check out this Olive farm. Boy was it awesome! Not only is this a family owned olive oil ranch but they have amazing tasting olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We had a great free tour by one of the owners explaining how their family got into this business as well as how the olive oil is made. This is a small operation but the product is fantastic. We bought 2 bottles of olive oil, a violet balsamic vinegar as well as a soap. We'll definitely come back here next time we're in Ojai!

A bit difficult to find (you're sure you're on a private drive before you even see one of their signs), but worth the search! Great place to take a tour to learn about EVOO growing & processing...and the laws governing EVOO standards. The tasting room is small, but perfectly arranged to taste olive oils and then balsamic vinegars. I prefer to taste directly (without bread) and they provide the cups for that as well. It is definitely a small, family run facility with wonderful oils & vinegars! Only open to the public Wed and Sat 1-4

We enjoyed a lovely visit to the Ojai Olive Oil Ranch and we are still enjoying the oils and vinegar that we purchased. The Ranch is beautifully situated which makes the drive to the ranch enjoyable. The son of the owner guided us into the orchard and told us about the growing of the trees, the picking, the pressing and bottling. It didn't take very long and would have been OK for most kids. The tasting afterwards was also enjoyable and we appreciated that there was no pressure at all to buy anything. But since we tasted some delicious oils and vinegar, and since we wanted something to remember this delightful visit, we ended up buying more than we anticipated. No regrets - hopefully we'll be back for more!