when you think about visiting the california wine country in napa, you expect beautiful scenery, wineries, great restaurants, galleries and shops and in general, just pursuing the good life. add to your itinerary a personalized tour of california olive oil producing estates. great olive tours is the brainchild of carol ainsworth. Great Olive Tours, Northern California

educated on the subject and very personable, carol ainsworth is your personal tour guide. she took us on a tour with stops at three places which produced excellent olive oil. as a midwesterner and east coast native, i never knew that california produced world-class, award winning olive oils. this was both a pleasure and a revelation. each place we visited was unique and so interesting. we were hosted and educated by professionals directly involved in the process of producing olive oil as well as balsamic and flavored vinegars. we were introduced to the science of the tasting of olive oil, not unlike the tasting of wines. there is a process and a plan to tasting olive oils and of course, tasty treats are involved as well.

each estate had its own character and was noteworthy for a visit aside from its oil production. these are places that stand out and make an impression. they are places you might glimpse on television and wish you could visit. we were treated like important, invited guests at these estates and we left with the feeling we had discovered something special, and we had. that's worth the price of admission. we visited a month ago and we're still talking about carol's tour. if you are fortunate enough to take her tour, you will be enjoying what will become the highlight of your trip to the wine country.