St. Helena Olive Oil Company

I’ll never forget the tasting that my sister and I worked at Vintage 1870…now V Marketplace in Yountville. It must have been in 1995. It was not the first time that I tried to sell my wares in my hometown. The previous venue was years before…I believe I was around 10 years old when I made my debut in the “gourmet” food industry…I remember being off to a good start in sales with the first tour bus rolling in early but as the day progressed, my sales were offset by the growing number of returns. Apparently I picked our cherry plum tree a tad bit early. Realizing my profits were dwindling rapidly,  I did what any good business person would do…I packed up my “cherries” and rode my pony home as fast as I could. Hard to believe eh, a pony?

As hard to believe is that, in 1995, most people didn’t really know what to do with olive oil and balsamic vinegar! Fast forward to my second venue. My business was in its infancy and I knew I had to sample our product whenever possible. Vintage 1870 was having an event and invited me to sample our oil and vinegar. I was able to work past the ugly memories of the past and accepted the invitation. I decided to offer the balsamic vinegar over fresh raspberries…perfectly ripened I might add…to give people an idea of how vinegar can be used. As the day wore on, people continued to ask if we sold the raspberry vinegar. We would politely explain that it was simply our vinegar over fresh raspberries. I’m not sure at what point nor why I decided it was the right thing to do, but the fated customer asked the question, and before my sister could make a sound I blurted out “Yes we do, but we are backordered. Please sign up on our list and we will let you know as soon as our next batch is done”. My sister looked at me in amazement with her mouth open, and I smiled…right sis…we’re back ordered?! She shook her head and began taking names. By the end of the day we had more names for the “raspberry vinegar” then we did in sales of the Balsamic of Modena! I was excited until my sister reminded me that I didn’t make that product.

I had no mode of communication then so I had to wait until I got home to call my brother Jeff…the real chef. I asked him how we could make a really high quality raspberry vinegar. He helped me play around with the ratio of ingredients and then extrapolated that to a 55 gallon tank production size and voila, in no time, we were releasing our first Berry Balsamic Vinegar. The raspberry balsamic was such a hit that we added other seasonal variations…cherries, strawberries, cranberries, figs, and blueberries. As we grew, I began to source the berries direct from the growers. Our production methods remained the same…only our number of batches grew.

My satisfaction is not only in the history of the product but also in the growers that I meet along the way. We source a lot of our berries from Marquita Farm. Mariquita Farm is a small family farm located near Watsonville, CA. They grow organic specialty vegetables, greens, strawberries, and herbs for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, and San Francisco and for many restaurants in San Francisco. I get in on their berries by ordering and meeting the truck in San Francisco. It is always a fun day and well worth the trip! There is something magical about being handed berries from the hands that farmed them…knowing you will give them the same amount of reverence in your own process.

Our Organic Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar is made with Organic Balsamic from Modena and Fresh Organic Strawberries from Marquita Farms. We didn’t add the vanilla bean to this batch because the strawberries were so sweet. I love the mix of sweet/tart but you can always reduce it at home if you want the sweetness of the strawberries to dominate.

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It Takes One To Know One.

When a Meyer Lemon Marmalade class sells out within a few hours, you have to wonder who the instructor is.  I love Meyer Lemon Marmalade as much as you but come on…a sell out in less then a day online?  Something was up.

Out of curiosity and a bit of irritation that I didn’t make the cut, I decided to find out who this “Dafna Kory” was.  Thanks to google, I easily found her lovely website, INNA Jam and became immersed in her story.  Her site gave me an immediate sense of her being and it was not hard to know that she was a woman at the beginning of a journey that I would like to know more about.  Not one to shy away from impulse, I quickly shot her an email and introduced myself.

Dafna responded immediately and in no time we were chatting on the phone.  Dafna came right through the telephone..or would that be cell phone… her energy, her passion for her products, her tales of growth spurts that were taking her off of her bike and into the kitchen full time.  Needless to say, she was inspiring and her products sounded yummy.

Because we didn’t carry jams in our stores, I decided to order for our Club Members only.  She was making her raspberry jam at the moment so I went with that.  Kaelin and I were headed to the City that week so I decided to pick up the delivery.  Although she was using a small commercial kitchen at that time, the pick up was at her home.  As we drove up the long driveway, it was not hard to distinguish her home…the UPS boxes on the front porch gave her away.  Kaelin and I had a good laugh and talked about “those days”.  I remember when my house was bursting with product and I cleared one room just so I could have a space that wasn’t about St. Helena Olive Oil Co.  You love having it around you but when it’s in your space 24/7, it gets a bit overwhelming.

Dafna greeted us at the door.  Her house was immaculate and there were stacks of raspberry jam waiting for us in her living room.  She was excited to have a large order and as excited to receive the check.  As we loaded the car, Dafna shared her story and that of her products…and what makes good jam….and the growers of her fruit…and the growing out of where she was but not yet able to take that next step…it all sounded too familiar.  Part of me was happy to be past the angst of those days and another part yearned to be back in them….there is an innocence….a true passion that drives you almost to the point of what some would consider lunacy and/or reckless abandon.

As the last box was loaded and I climbed in my car, I had no doubt that Dafna was on her way to creating a thriving business.  She had it all….the passion…..the energy….the commitment to the planet and therefore, her product….the determination….and most critical…..the innocence…the abandon…and yes a little bit of lunacy.

I was a better person after meeting Dafna Kory.  She reminded me to stay a bit reckless and embrace the “little” lunacy that has driven me throughout the years.  Her jams now represent that to me….her energy is present in the finished product which is how I know she will be a name to remember.

Her Jams: Her jams speak for themselves.  They are made in small batches…she was adamant about adding more pots vs. bigger pots to keep the quality.  They are seasonal….she’s making as much jam as possible before we go into the winter months as last year she ran out….the fruit is organic….sourced within 100 miles of her kitchen…she knows the growers….she uses less sugar then most jams…and the taste…..well, I don’t know you but I think you would be hard pressed to make a better jam in your own kitchen.

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Update: Months later Dafna is moving into a larger kitchen….adding more stores to her customer list….not able to deliver much on a bike anymore….still making her own deliveries but I noticed her sister was on the last one….a sure sign that will be handed off in the near future….all signs that are leading to a dream coming true!   Needless to say, I’m proud to be a part of it and excited to be able to offer it to our online community.

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We currently have 5 flavors available online and in our stores: Star Blueberry, Polka Raspberry, Royal Blenheim Apricot, Seascape Strawberry, and Plenty Spicy Jalapeño!

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