Gourmet gifts

What gourmet foods will you find in this year's California Harvest Gift Boxes from the UC Davis rowing team?

Honey, organic popcorn, almonds, raisins, chocolate, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, dried fruit and garlic — all grown or produced by UC Davis alumni and donated to the rowing team for this annual fundraiser.

For 2009, the team assembled 500 gift boxes (pine wine crates), of which several dozen remained as of late this week.

The price is $36, for the buyer to pick up, or for delivery in Davis or to the UC Davis Medical Center; $50 for shipping anywhere in California; or $60 for shipping anywhere in the United States.

To place an order, contact coach Carissa Adams, (530) 867-1494 or cradams@ucdavis.edu.

Olive Oil: Buy it, market it!

The UC Davis Olive Center is advertising "your last-minute holiday shopping solution": Centennial Blend Olive Oil, perfect for hostess gifts and stocking stuffers.

The Olive Center came out with its first Centennial Blend extra virgin olive oil last year — amd the UC Davis Centennial. Now comes the 2009 bottling; it combines Spanish, Greek and Italian varietals from UC Davis trees and eight California producers.

The producers that donated olive oil for the 2009 Centenial Blend: California Olive Ranch, Glenn and Butte counties; Copper Hill (Yolo County), Corto Olive (San Joaquin County), Katz (Solano County), Lucero (Tehama County), The Olive Oil Source (Santa Barbara County), Pasolivo (San Luis Obispo), Saltonstall Estate (Sonoma County) and Sciabica’s (Stanislaus County).

Their oils and the UC Davis oil make a well balanced blend with a bouquet of green apple with aromatic grassy flavors, and a hint of banana and ripe olives.

Proceeds from Centennial Blend sales benefit the Olive Center, and thus aid in future research and education, enhancing the growth of the California olive industry.

The campus bookstore is selling the oil for $12 (250-mililiter bottle). Online ordering (and shipping) is available.

In other Olive Center news, officials have extended the early registration discount for the Olive Oil Marketing and Language Symposium, scheduled for Jan. 15.

Organizers said the symposium is appropriate for wholesale buyers, olive oil producers, retailers, importers-exporters and food writers.

Experts in marketing, consumer research, sales and marketing, and communications are due to cover such topics as:

• Spreading the Word — Communicating to buyers and consumers about olive oil quality and characteristics.

• The Bottom Line — Scale, efficiencies, and marketing strategies

• Boutique to Big Box — Identifying and selling to your target audience

The workshop is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The early registration fee is $225 (increasing to $275 on Dec. 21, eight days later than previously announced).

Registration and more information, including the presenters. Or contact Nicole Sturzenberger, (530) 754-9301 or ndsturzenberger@ucdavis.edu.

Fireplace Wines

The first Wednesday of the month, Jan. 6, brings the Wednesday Night Wine Flight at the Gunrock Pub. The January topic is Fireplace Wines.

The pub and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association's Vintage Aggies Wine Club sponsor the wine tastings. They are held from 5 to 6:30 p.m.; the cost is $10, and reservations are not needed. The pub is on the south side of the Silo.

The dates and themes for winter's two other Wednesday Night Wine Flights:

• Feb. 3 — Michael-David Winery

• March 3 — Our Enologist Picks!