Freshly squeezed: Coachella Valley residents take part in Sunnylands olive harvest

Waking up early might feel like a chore sometimes, but when given an opportunity to pick olives on the historic Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, community members were eager to start the day.

Sunnylands opened its doors to more than 150 visitors Tuesday morning to take part in an olive harvest and see how the stone fruit is milled into oil. It was the first time in four years, and the fourth time overall, that the harvest took place since the property began producing olive oil in 2014.

"Olive trees aren't always consistent, and then sometimes the high winds and the rains can drop too many olives and we don't have enough to harvest," explained Danielle Sombati, deputy director of the Sunnylands Center and Gardens. Even with heavy rainfall and gusty winds from Tropical Storm Hilary in August, "this year we did have a great crop."

More than 680 olive trees, which grow manzanilla and mission olives, stand on the property, and about 35 were used for the harvest. Machines were used to shake out the trees, while community members were given a few hours to sort through the crops by hand.

Before they made it onto the 200-acre estate grounds, Ross Johnston, community program specialist, gave guests a quick and easy spiel about picking olives. Keep the green and black olives, which have a grassy and buttery flavor, respectively, and steer clear of the shriveled, raisin-looking ones, he said.

Once on the grassy grounds, several groups of people were huddled under olive trees trying to find the best crops to put in their buckets.

Jane Whitfield and Sal Abbate, of Rancho Mirage, were among those who decided to come out for the harvest, a first for both of them. They visit Sunnylands frequently and participate in a number of its community events.

"It's great to have free things to do, meet others and stay active," Whitfield said while inspecting the olives. "It's hard to find opportunities like this."

Abbate acted as "quality control" for the duo, checking frequently to see if there were any leaves or branches attached to their picked olives. This Desert Sun reporter observed a fairly clean batch in their bucket.

The event also had some sentimental value for Whitfield, who said she grew up going to a family member's olive grove in Northern California. She was most looking forward to trying the fresh Sunnylands batch because "there's nothing like homemade olive oil."

Steve and Lyann Lamb, from Alberta, Canada, were also taking part in the activity. Lyann described the activity as "quite nice, not stressful, but not for the old," as it required a lot of bending and squatting. Steve, who was "dragged" into it, was a good sport, and even admitted it was "good to do once."

Some were able to make new friends during the harvest. Indio resident Shirley Wise moved from group to group to sort out olives, and each time she'd start chatting with people, including students who work on the grounds. The activity was "therapeutic" for her, and it made her want to buy fresh oil as soon as possible.

Even this Desert Sun reporter joined a group and started chatting with them about her love of olive oil but aversion to eating olives. She also unintentionally (possibly intentionally) started a tennis vs. pickleball war with Rancho Mirage residents Jovino Ribeiro and Steve Vigne, but they were able to make up by the end of the harvest.

As community members were picking olives throughout the morning, many gained a greater appreciation and respect for farmworkers and the tireless hours they put into similar work day in and out. "They do it every day, while my back is hurting after just 30 minutes," Ribeiro said.

Afterward, visitors finally got to see the fruits of their labor. Thom Curry from the Temecula Olive Oil Company showed them the oil making process using a mill, which cleans up the olives, crushes them to form a paste, squeezes the juices out, and separates the oil and water. They were even able to taste the fresh product, which Curry said has a peppery taste. That's his favorite part of each harvest.

"When everyone comes to lunch and they get a little cup of olive oil and they take that first sip, you see it in their eyes," Curry said. "They're amazed that it tastes the way it does."

Community members might have to wait at least another year or two until the next Sunnylands olive harvest, but its olive oil is available for purchase at the giftshop.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley residents take part in Sunnylands olive harvest