Taste the bounty of Sonoma County at Gold Ridge Organic Farms

SEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- Located 50 miles northwest of San Francisco, Gold Ridge Organic Farms is home to 70 acres of olives, 16 acres of heirloom apples, and a variety of citrus fruits.

For the Sebastopol-based farm, it's all about bringing the bounty of Sonoma County to the Bay Area and beyond.

"I purchased this land in 2000," expressed Founder-Farmer Brooke Hazen. "I was looking for what to grow on it, and so I was, from the start, very very interested in olives."

Hazen is a strong believer that olive oil is one of the healthiest sources of fat that we can consume.

"Olive oil has the highest percentage of monounsaturated fat and the lowest percentage of saturated and polyunsaturated fat, both of which can be harmful to our cardiovascular system," explained Hazen.

Gold Ridge Organic Farms harvests its olives and crafts small lots of olive oil at the farm's onsite mill.

"Our press, it is a Rapanelli press," described Hazen. "All of the presses that are in California...are from Europe."

The farm also offers custom olive milling and olive oil bottling services for conventional and Certified Organic growers.

"We produce about 4,000 gallons a year of olive oil here organically," said Hazen. "But, I also take in growers that are both organic and sometimes conventional too."

He added, "I like to give people the experience of picking their own olives and actually being able to consume their own olive oil from their own trees."

For more information, visit here.