When Jack Dougherty took a good look at the neglected acreage of his newly purchased Wimberley ranch in 1996, he saw potential. He saw a throwback to his childhood spent in California’s Santa Clara Valley orchards and an uncanny likeness to the vistas he’d recently enjoyed on a trip through northern Italy. For Jack, that added up to one thing: olives.

Already deemed a failure crop for Texas, olives were thriving in California’s arid climates as they had on Italy’s sunny hills for centuries. If the Texas Hill Country had proven it could rival the sunshine state in producing quality vineyards, why not olive orchards? So, armed with intense perseverance and the idea of a traditional Roman farm, Jack rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

The first 800 trees were planted in 1998, and by 2001 they were producing a quality crop unlike any other in Texas. This was not without a little trial and error. That first spring, Jack lost nearly half of his Mediterranean crop to the blue norther’, a swiftly moving cold snap that, in the spring and fall, nearly instantly makes our temperatures drop a good twenty or thirty degrees. He now knew why olives were little more than an urban legend in Texas with only a few trees scattered in the southern part of the state. It was a lesson learned the hard way.

“We are the first commercially producing olive orchard in Texas,” says Dougherty. After that first setback, the ranch has been growing olives, to the owner’s delight. There are now many other orchards starting up in Texas, but Dougherty is proud to say that Bella Vista Ranch is the only producer of fresh pressed, extra virgin olive oil in the Texas Hill Country.

Last December they finished their seventh harvest in a row and are reaching record output on many of their trees. Today, with over sixteen different tree varieties, the orchard’s twelve years of collected data and hard-won wisdom have given it a unique spot on the agricultural map.

The Bella Vista Ranch offers entertaining and educational tours of their orchards and facilities. Their retail store and tasting room allows customers to experience a formal olive oil tasting, as well as enjoy Bella Vista Cellars’ wines, rich balsamic vinegars, preserves and other gourmet treats.

Dougherty believes a taste of ‘fresh’ pressed oil versus the kind one finds on a supermarket shelf is worth the trip alone. The fresh oil’s “peppery, grassy taste” can be attributed to the naturally occurring capsaicin, the same component found in chili peppers. Additionally, fresh olive oil packs a greater nutrient-rich punch.It hasn’t had to spend long hours in shipping, or sitting on a shelf where exposure to light and oxygen can diminish nutrients and effect flavor, eventually turning the oil rancid.

“Olive trees don’t ramp up to their full capabilities until 20 years or so,” Dougherty assures, confident that the best the ranch has to offer is yet to come. With a life and fruit-producing expectancy of 3,000 to 4,000 years, chances are this ranch will be changing the face of Texas agriculture for generations.

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