UC Davis’ Olive Center is already producing olive oil. Now the center is adding a new product: olives. Sicilian-style table olives, to be specific, according to Dan Flynn, the Olive Center’s executive director.

The olives will be available for sampling, and purchase, on Picnic Day and the day before. Flynn said all proceeds will go to the Olive Center in support of the continuing partnership between UC Davis and the state’s table olive and olive oil producers.

The center’s olive oil comes from the university’s own olive trees. Not so for the table olives, which are being donated by two olive businesses in Orland, Glenn County:

• West Coast Products, a producer of specialty olive products and brine-cured olives since 1937, donated Sevillano olives, cured in brine for nine months.

• Penna Gourmet Olives, in business for more than 30 years, donated its services in marinating and bottling the olives.

The UC Davis-branded olives are available in three varieties: Sicilian Spiced, Gourmet Garlic and Lemon Citrus. All three come in 10-ounce jars for $7 each.

The olives will debut during a preview event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 17 at the entrance to the campus bookstore in the Memorial Union.

Then, on Picnic Day, April 18, the Olive Center will set up two tables: one in front of the bookstore and one in the Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (home of the Olive Center).

Besides offering olive samples, the Olive Center also will be providing samples of its Centennial Blend extra virgin olive oil. The product in 500-milliliter bottles will be sold for $19, a 35 percent discount, in celebration of Picnic Day.

After Picnic Day, look for UC Davis table olives and Centennial Blend olive oil at the bookstore — while supplies last.

More information: olivecenter.ucdavis.edu

Backyard edible gardening seminars

Registration is still open for May 23's edible gardening  seminar: All About Fruits, Nuts and Berries, with Chuck Ingles, a Sacramento County farm adviser, and Ed Laivo of the Dave Wilson Nursery. The seminar is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the RMI's Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater and in the Good Life Garden. The cost is $35 with a box lunch, $25 without. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412

An April 25 seminar, Growing a Successful Vegetable Garden, is sold out.

More RMI-Good Life Garden events

• An Evening to Savor Port—With Professor Roger Boulton, who holds the Stephen Sinclair Scott Chair in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, and Sacramento grocer and wine merchant Darrell Corti. 6 p.m. May 2, Sensory Theater, $125. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• A Very Special Mothers Day Brunch—With Suzanne Ashworth, owner of West Sacramento’s Del Rio Botanical Farm. 11 a.m. May 10, Good Life Garden, $65. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• Cheese Loves Beer: Mastering the Marriage—With Charles Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences; Moshe Rosenberg, a food science professor and Cooperative Extension specialist in dairy science and technology; and Clare M. Hasler, a nutritionist and RMI executive director. Co-sponsored by Slow Food Yolo. 1-4 p.m. May 16, Sensory Theater, $75 per person. Register with Kim Bannister, (530) 754-6349 or kbannister@ucdavis.edu.

• Locavore Feast—Featuring food from the greater Sacramento region, and the farmers and food artisans behind the food, who will discuss their products during dinner. This event is all about "eating locally, healthfully and zestfully," a celebration of the locavore movement, which encourages people to fill their larders locally—by maintaining backyard gardens, and by patronizing farmers markets, bakers, butchers, cheesemakers, wineries, etc. Advocates say fresh, locally grown food is tastier and healthier, and it need not be transported far, thereby saving fuel and limiting environmental impacts. 6 p.m. June 20, Good Life Garden. $125 per person. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• Good Life Garden Grape Stomp—Roll up your pant legs, take off your socks and start stomping in a vat of squishy, fragrant grapes. The juice will go to the university’s pilot winery, where Chik Brenneman of the Department of Viticulture and Enology will guide the conversion of juice to wine. When it is ready, the stompers will gather for a family-style dinner. Aug. 29, time to be announced, UC Davis Winery, $100 per person. Benefitting UC Davis' viticulture and enology programs. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• Cheeses of the World—One-day seminar blending the science, history and romance of cheese production, and exploring cheeses from various countries, proper storage, serving practices and more. Program includes cheese tasting, of course, plus a box lunch featuring local ingredients. $170 per person. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 17, Sensory Theater. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• A Swanky Evening of Caviar and Artisan Vodka—Discussion, and caviar and vodka tastings. With Peter Struffenegger of Sacramento's Sterling Caviar. Nov. 14, time and location to be announced. $95. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

• An Evening of Beer and Spicy Foods—With Charles Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences. This program will explore the relationship between beer and spicy foods. An international array of lagers and ales will be accompanied by vibrant dishes from Mexico, India, Thailand, China and Vietnam, for group tastings and discussion. $95. Dec. 5, time and location to be announced. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.

More from the Olive Center

• Raising the Bar on Olive Oil Quality: Views from Down Under—An advanced sensory course for growers, processors, chefs, marketers and consumers. Presented by the UC Davis Olive Center, UC Cooperative Extension and Santa Rosa Junior College. With Richard Gawel, Australian Olive Association taste panel leader; Margaret Edwards, New Zealand olive oil producer; Paul Vossen, UC farm adviser and olive oil consultant; Alexandra Kicenik-Devarenne, California olive oil consultant and educator; and Dan Flynn, executive director, UC Davis Olive Center. 8 a.m.-4:40 p.m. May 20, Dutton Pavillon, Shone Farm, 6225 Eastside Rd, Forestville, $285. More information: olivecenter.ucdavis.edu, or contact Nicole Sturzenberger, ndsturzenberger@ucdavis.edu. Register at brownpapertickets.com/producer/13474.

• Beyond Extra Virgin: An International Conference on Excellence in Olive Oil, from Agriculture and Sensory Evaluation to the Culinary Arts—Presented by the UC Davis Olive Center in collaboration with UC Davis’ California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, the Culinary Institute of America, and others. June 21-23, UC Davis and Napa Valley. Registration and more information: olivecenter.ucdavis.edu.

Tasting events

• April 17—Vintage Aggies Spring Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, presented by the Cal Aggie Alumni Association's Vintage Aggies Wine Club. Alumni, friends and family are welcome to attend. 6:30 p.m., Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center. $10 for CAAA members, $15 for nonmembers. Sign up online, www.alumni.ucdavis.edu (click on "Events"), or e-mail Jennifer Thayer, jsthayer@ucdavis.edu.

• May 6—Wednesday Night Wine Flight: Summertime Wines, “patio sippers” such as pinot gris and Viognier. This first-Wednesday-of-the-month event (with a different theme every month) is presented by the Gunrock Pub and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Vintage Aggies Wine Club. $10; no reservations needed. 5-6:30 p.m., Gunrock Pub, Silo, on the Davis campus.

East Quad Farmers Market

10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday through June 3. It is a project of Health Education and Promotion, a unit of Student Health Services, and other campus and community organizations.