Olio Nuovo Festival celebrates Oregon's finest olive oil

As you’re traveling the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, the landscape evokes a certain Italian flair. The beautiful rolling hills. Rows upon rows of vineyards. Villas where the wine is flowing. Cordial people and their pleasant brand of hospitality.

Stopping in for a visit to Durant at Red Ridge Farms during November, those similarities only grow. Throughout the month, the property buzzes with activity for the Olio Nuovo Festival, a showcase of the year’s first olives and the fresh, vibrant flavors of newly pressed olive oil made at Oregon’s only commercial olive mill.

You might be thinking, olives? In the rainy, Pacific Northwest climate, far from the Tuscan sun? For the Durant family, the extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) in every bottle is the fruit of a long process and an appetite for innovation. But as you might imagine, the story is rooted in grapes.

In 1973, Ken and Penny Durant joined a group of wine industry pioneers, planting pinot noir on the slopes of their Dundee Hills estate. For the next three decades, they only sold their grapes to neighboring wineries; it wasn’t until 2004 that they produced their own wine under the Durant Vineyards label. Today, you’ll also find chardonnay, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, and varietals adapted to longer and drier growing seasons — not to mention sheep fields, wooded nature trails, and gardens — on the 135-acre farm.

Returning from an overseas trip in 2008, the Durants brought home a fateful souvenir — the seed of an idea to cultivate olive trees in their own backyard. Being among the first to plant olives in Oregon was a challenge, but with time, the family found which varieties best suited our climate (those that have proven successful on the estate are sold in the nursery, giving other Oregonians the opportunity to plant a trusted olive tree at home, without the trial and error).

The 16th annual Olio Nuovo Festival is a free event, with a complimentary olive oil tasting bar where you can sample the full line of Durant olive oils and vinegars. You won’t want to miss the flavored oils, like basil, garlic, jalapeño, and orange — these are co-milled, so the ingredients are pressed directly with the olives in the mill. Guests are invited to experiment with blending to create their own favorite combinations.

Durant also gives complimentary tours of its olive mill, although it’s not guaranteed that the machine will be running at all hours. But when it is, people can learn about the process and see it in action. Over in the food and wine pavilion, local chefs and artisans will be serving Italian-inspired dishes and seasonal specialities for purchase, and the gift boxes can help get your holiday shopping done early.

For a more immersive experience, there are ticketed, reservation-required events. Making a return this year, Feast Olio is an indulgent seven-course Italian luncheon from the Durant’s culinary directors — held on Saturdays — where every dish features Durant olive oil and is paired with estate wines. Oeno & Olio is a lively communal tasting of fresh-pressed oil, Durant wines, and warm bruschetta. It is the only seated and guided tasting experience offered during the festival.

As the festival winds down, the last weekend marks the transition to the holiday season with Santa visiting the farm for photos. The culinary team prepares raw and smoked oysters alongside the debut of the newest vintage of Durant sparkling wines. Thankfully, year-round olive oil (YROO, if you will) is on the cards, thanks to the subscription.

“The olive harvest is one of the most special times of the year here at Durant,” said Ken and Penny’s son, and current owner, Paul Durant. “It’s a chance for us to welcome guests into our world to taste the season’s first oil, enjoy seasonal food and wine, and celebrate the makers, chefs, and small businesses who make this region so vibrant. The Olio Nuovo Festival is as much about community as it is about the olive oil harvest.”