Blog

    A hallmark time at IL Fiorello is when all the extra virgin olive oil is finished and “put to bed” so to speak, and we can have fun making our co-milled oils. Our promise to you is that we will never make infused oils, only co-milled.  Co-milling is when we run beautiful olives […]

  IL Fiorello presents a Pet-Nat made from grapes grown in the Suisun Valley, Malvasia Bianca. Crafted into beautiful effervescent wine by local winemaker, Faith Armstrong-Foster. Faith says, “This Suisun Valley Pét-Nat is floral and fruity, but refreshingly bone-dry. The opening aromatics are like sticking your nose in a fermentation vat, with yeasty brioche notes and […]

  When the final co-milled oil is done, the mill is clean, and the weather turns cold; I know that it is time to bring out the pizzelle maker. Pizzelle are delicious, tiny, very beautiful cookies. Named because they are flat and sweet. Like little lady sweet pizzas. I have been making pizzelles since 1975, […]

  There are always so many questions about milling olives, and making extra virgin olive oil. Here is the simplified synopsis:  good fruit, meaning good olives, makes good oil!   The process Olives are delivered to the mill the same day they are harvested   2. Olives are inspected and photographed and the temperature is documented […]

  An interesting question is when to harvest olives. This seems to be an easy decision. The answer; when they are ripe. But the real answer is actually much more complicated. Before you plant an olive tree, you should understand what kind of olive oil you want to produce and what flavor do you want […]

Yield: approximately 1 to 1½ Gallons 10 large yellow tomatoes, cut into halves 2 cups chopped yellow onions 1 jalapeno, stem removed and chopped 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 Tablespoon salt Juice and zest of 1 orange ½ cup dry sherry or white wine 1 Teaspoon ground cumin 6 cups chicken […]

    It is tomato time, as all you gardeners well know. The gardens are overflowing with beautiful fruit. There are tomato festivals everywhere, and so many different kinds of tomatoes to eat. Red, green, striped, cherry, pear, yellow and even a purple one. The bigger question is, what to do with this bounty? Here are some […]

FOOD PAIRING and TASTE OIL  * WINE  * FOOD At the Visitors Center at IL Fiorello, we present seasonal food pairings with our extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegar reductions. We are proud to source most of our food pairings directly from our organic vegetable and herb gardens. Guests always ask what oils, what […]

  Right out of the garden, nothing is better than a fresh radish. My Great Aunt, A Francophile and French teacher, taught me an old French method to serve beautiful fresh radishes. Slice the radish and serve with bread, the best butter and salt. Add a little olive oil of course, and you have the […]