Durant Olive Oil: What an Oregon Mill Actually Bottles
Durant olive oil comes from a hillside in the Dundee Hills that the same family has farmed for more than fifty years, and for most of that time the crop was wine grapes rather than olives. If you have tasted it, there is a fair chance it was at the tasting bar at Red Ridge Farms outside Dayton, Oregon, poured from one of the single-varietal bottles or from the Estate Blend. This review looks at what Durant Olive Mill actually is, what its labels commit to and what they quietly leave open, why growing oil olives in Oregon is an unusual thing to attempt at all, and where a family that has milled every autumn since 2008 is straightforwardly ahead of us.
For our own oil, see our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil.
The Short Answer
- Durant Olive Mill is the olive oil arm of Durant at Red Ridge Farms in Dayton, Oregon, an estate better known for Durant Vineyards. The mill was founded in 2008 and sits beside the family's olive grove.
- Durant states on its own website that it is the first and, to date, the only commercial olive mill in Oregon, and that it is home to the only Olioteca in the Pacific Northwest.
- The grove runs to roughly fifteen acres. Each autumn the mill runs fruit from that grove alongside fruit the company describes as "carefully sourced" from growers in Northern California.
- Only the Estate Blend is described on Durant's site as made from olives grown at the Dayton farm. The single-varietal bottles carry "Milled & Bottled in Dayton, OR" rather than a statement of where the fruit was grown.
- The competition record is long and real. Durant's own product page lists a New York International Olive Oil Competition gold for its Frantoio every year from 2017 to 2026.
- Oregon sits at the northern edge of where olives will grow. A hard winter in 2008 killed a large part of Durant's young orchard, which is how Californian fruit entered the story in the first place.
- Sidr & Stone takes the opposite bargain: one family-owned grove near Marrakech, one small harvest a season, and no blending across origins.
Who Durant Is, and What the Family Actually Owns
Durant at Red Ridge Farms describes five generations of farming in the Willamette Valley, beginning with English walnuts, hazelnuts, Italian prunes and cherries. In the early 1970s the Durants were among the first families in Oregon to plant wine grapes in the Dundee Hills, which is the achievement the name is still best known for. Olive oil came much later, and it came out of curiosity rather than commerce.
The company's own timeline credits Ken and Penny Durant with the idea after travelling in Europe, and the first olive trees went into the ground in the mid-2000s. The dates on Durant's own pages are not perfectly consistent here, giving both 2004 and 2005 for the first planting, which is worth noting simply because so much else about the operation is specific. The mill itself is not in doubt: it was founded in 2008, built around an Italian press.
Paul Durant is the miller. Durant's Estate Blend listing credits the oil as "milled, blended, and bottled by Master Miller K. Paul Durant", and he told Oregon Public Broadcasting in November 2025 that the Italian company they bought the press from was so keen for it to succeed that it sent over a lifelong miller, Duccio Morosa de la Rocca, to teach the family how to run it. That detail tells you something useful about the scale of the thing. This is a farm that learned to mill, not a brand that commissioned an oil.
The Durant Range, Bottle by Bottle
The core range is four single-varietal or single-style extra virgin oils plus an Estate Blend, all in small bottles rather than litre tins. Durant also makes a set of fused and flavoured oils, and its Farm Shop pours several of them at a complimentary tasting bar, which is a genuinely useful way to buy oil: you taste before you commit.
The cultivars are a deliberate mix of Spanish, Italian and Greek stock. Arbequina is the Spanish workhorse of modern olive growing. Frantoio is the Tuscan backbone. Koroneiki is the small, late-picked Greek olive that tends to deliver the most pungency. The Estate Blend for the 2025/26 season is described by Durant as a blend of Leccino, Arbequina, Koroneiki and Picual.
| Durant oil | Cultivar | What the label states | Character Durant describes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbequina | Arbequina (Spanish) | Milled & bottled in Dayton, OR | Cut grass and clove, buttery, raw almond and white pepper |
| Frantoio | Frantoio (Italian) | Milled & bottled in Dayton, OR | Celery leaf, chicory and radicchio, robust peppery finish |
| Koroneiki | Koroneiki (Greek) | Milled & bottled in Dayton, OR | Late-milled, the most pungent of the varietal bottlings |
| Tuscan | Tuscan-style blend | Milled & bottled in Dayton, OR | Blended in the Italian idiom |
| Estate Blend | Leccino, Arbequina, Koroneiki, Picual | Only olives grown at the Dayton farm | Artichoke, raw almond, arugula pungency |
Read that table's third column twice. It is the most informative thing on the whole range.
Oregon Is a Marginal Olive Climate, and That Matters
Oregon is at the northern edge of where olives can be grown commercially, and nobody involved pretends otherwise. Oregon Public Broadcasting put it plainly in its November 2025 report on the state's olive sector: the industry is fledgling, the cold has killed plenty of trees, and Heather Stoven, a horticulturalist with the Oregon State University extension service, tells prospective growers they have to be comfortable with risk before they plant anything.
Durant has lived that. Paul Durant told OPB that a few thousand trees went in during 2005 and did well, a small mill followed, and then "in 2008, we had a horrific winter and lost a bunch of trees". His last hard freeze, he said, was 2013. Twelve clean years is encouraging; it is not the same as a Mediterranean guarantee. An olive tree also takes six or seven years to establish before it earns its keep, so a freeze does not cost you a season, it costs you most of a decade.
The experimentation is real and rather charming. Durant has rolled reflective silver sheeting between rows to bounce light back up into the canopy and mimic a longer, hotter summer. Oregon State University's extension service has been running its Olea project since 2017, trialling something in the order of 116 varieties at its research centre in Aurora to work out what actually survives. Durant is not the only Oregon grower either: River Ranch Olive Orchard at Glide grows Arbequina and Arbosana on the North Umpqua.
What all of this means for a buyer is simple. Yield in Oregon is small, uncertain, and hostage to a single cold snap. Any Oregon mill that wants to run every year, keep a tasting bar stocked and hold shelf space has to solve that problem somehow.
What "Milled and Bottled in Dayton" Does and Does Not Tell You
Durant solved it the sensible way, and says so. Its Durant Olive Mill page reads: "Each fall, we harvest and mill olives from our own grove alongside carefully sourced fruit from exceptional growers in Northern California." Paul Durant told OPB the same thing about the aftermath of the 2008 freeze, saying they brought olives up from California for the mill while they worked out which trees would survive.
That is disclosure, not concealment, and it deserves credit. But it does change what the front label means. "Milled & Bottled in Dayton, OR" is a processing statement. It tells you where the fruit was crushed and where the bottle was filled. It does not tell you where the tree was rooted. Only the Estate Blend carries the growing claim, and it carries it explicitly: milled in autumn 2025 "using only olives grown at our farm in Dayton, Oregon".
| Phrase on the bottle | What it commits to | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Milled & bottled in Dayton, OR | The crushing and bottling happened at Durant's own mill in Oregon | Which orchard, and which state, the olives were grown in |
| Only olives grown at our farm in Dayton, Oregon | Single-origin fruit from the estate grove | The exact pick dates and the tonnage behind the blend |
| Named cultivar on the front (Arbequina, Frantoio, Koroneiki) | The varietal identity of the fruit | Whether that varietal was Oregon-grown or bought in |
| Competition medal year | A panel judged a submitted sample in that year's competition | Whether the bottle in your hand is from that lot |
None of this makes Durant's oil worse. It makes it a different kind of purchase from a single-estate olive oil, where the whole promise is that one grove's fruit went into one pressing. If you specifically want Oregon-grown oil in the bottle, the Estate Blend is the one that says so on the label. If you are happy with a Californian-grown, Oregon-milled oil, the varietal bottles are exactly that, and Northern California is a serious growing region in its own right, as our guide to California olive oil sets out; we have also reviewed the Lodi grower Corto in similar terms. For a fuller walkthrough of what to check before you buy any bottle, see our guide to buying olive oil well.
What the Awards Do and Do Not Prove
Durant's award record is one of the strongest published by any American producer of its size, and we are not going to be coy about it. Durant's own Frantoio page lists a New York International Olive Oil Competition gold in every year from 2017 through to 2026. The Arbequina page lists golds in 2016, 2017, 2023, 2025 and 2026 with a silver in 2024. The Estate Blend lists golds in 2024 and 2026, silvers in 2022 and 2025, a 2024 Good Food Award win and a Japan Olive Oil Prize entry in 2023.
A competition gold is a real signal. It means a trained sensory panel tasted a submitted sample and found it free of defects and positively characterful, which is more than most supermarket oils could survive. Sustained over a decade, as the Frantoio record is, it also says the milling is consistent rather than lucky.
What a medal cannot do is travel with the bottle. It certifies a lot submitted in a particular spring, not the bottle on the shelf in front of you eighteen months later. Durant does not publish a harvest date or a polyphenol figure on its public product pages, so the two numbers that would let you judge freshness and robustness for yourself are not there to check. That is normal practice across the category. It is still the gap.
The Objections Worth Taking Seriously
The first objection is that bringing in Californian fruit is a cheat. It is not, and it would be unfair to frame it that way. Durant discloses it on its own mill page, and in a climate where one February can take out a decade of growth, a mill that refused to buy fruit would simply stop existing. The fair criticism is narrower: the varietal front labels say where the oil was milled, not where the olives grew, and a reasonable buyer reading "Dayton, OR" could easily assume the second.
The second objection is that the award record settles the question, so origin is a detail. It does not quite. Awards speak to the sensory quality of a submitted sample; origin and harvest date speak to what is in your kitchen. They are different pieces of information and one does not substitute for the other.
The third objection is the obvious one about us. We sell olive oil, so why trust our reading of a competitor? Because the material facts here come from Durant's own website and from a public broadcaster's reporting, and because we have set out below the several places where Durant is plainly ahead of Sidr & Stone. If we were not willing to write those, this review would not be worth reading.
Where Durant Is Genuinely Ahead of Us
Durant owns and runs its own mill and has milled every autumn since 2008. We do not own a mill, and our first harvest is estimated to ship from November 2026. That is not a small difference, and pretending otherwise would be silly.
Durant also publishes a decade of independently judged competition results, holds Food Alliance certification for the farm and is Kosher certified. Food Alliance is a third-party sustainability certification with continual auditing, and it is a real credential that we do not hold. And you can drive to Dayton, taste five oils at the bar for nothing, and buy the one you liked. There is no substitute for that.
| Point of comparison | Durant Olive Mill | Sidr & Stone |
|---|---|---|
| Growing origin stated on the bottle | On the Estate Blend only | Single-estate grove near Marrakech, on every bottle |
| Milling | Own mill, every season since 2008 | Cold-pressed within hours of harvest; we do not own the mill |
| Blending across origins | Own grove plus Northern Californian fruit | No blending across origins |
| Competition record | Extensive, published by year | None yet; first harvest |
| Third-party farm certification | Food Alliance certified; Kosher certified | Organically grown, not certified; halal certified |
| Taste before you buy | Yes, at the Farm Shop tasting bar | No; direct online only |
Why Sidr & Stone
Our answer to the origin question is to remove it as a question. Everything in a Sidr & Stone bottle comes from one grove, in one season, and we say where and when.
- Single-estate — one family-owned grove on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — no irrigation; the trees take what the season gives them.
- Organically grown — no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.
- Single harvest — one small pressing a year, picked only when the fruit is ready, sometimes weeks later than neighbouring farms.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — flavour, aroma and polyphenols preserved.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed, and it may show natural sediment.
- 100% natural — one ingredient, olive oil, and nothing else.
- Dark glass with a gold label — protective packaging against light.
- Halal certified.
- 10% of profits to charity, across every Sidr & Stone product.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you Sidr & Stone is the best olive oil — that would be the very kind of claim this article has spent two thousand words picking apart. What we will say is that our oil is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and that the evidence of that care is in the taste, the colour and the size of the season's batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Durant olive oil?
Durant olive oil is extra virgin olive oil made by Durant Olive Mill at Durant at Red Ridge Farms in Dayton, Oregon. The mill was founded in 2008 on an estate the Durant family has farmed for over fifty years, and is best known alongside Durant Vineyards.
Is Durant olive oil actually grown in Oregon?
Partly. Durant's own mill page says it mills fruit from its own grove alongside carefully sourced fruit from growers in Northern California. Only the Estate Blend is described as made using only olives grown at the Dayton farm; the varietal bottles state that they were milled and bottled in Dayton.
Which Durant olive oil should I choose?
If Oregon-grown fruit is the point for you, the Estate Blend is the bottle that says so. If you want a robust finishing oil, Durant describes its Frantoio as celery leaf and radicchio with a peppery finish; the Arbequina is the softer, buttery one for lighter dishes.
Has Durant olive oil won awards?
Yes, and a lot of them. Durant's own product pages list New York International Olive Oil Competition golds for the Frantoio in every year from 2017 to 2026, golds and a silver for the Arbequina across 2016 to 2026, and a 2024 Good Food Award for the Estate Blend.
How does Sidr & Stone compare with Durant?
Durant has the mill, the milling experience and the award record; we have a single grove, a single harvest and a stated origin on every bottle. Our oil is cold-pressed within hours of harvest from one rain-fed, organically grown estate near Marrakech, with no blending across origins.
Is Durant olive oil certified organic?
Durant does not present its oils as certified organic. The farm publishes Food Alliance certification, a third-party sustainability standard with ongoing auditing, and Kosher certification. Sidr & Stone's grove is organically grown but likewise holds no formal organic certificate, and we would rather say so than imply one.
Where can I buy Durant olive oil?
Durant sells direct from its own website and from the Farm Shop at Red Ridge Farms in Dayton, Oregon, which pours complimentary tastings, and it runs an olive oil club and subscription. The Olio Nuovo Festival each November is when the unfiltered new oil is poured.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
Durant is an unusually likeable operation, and the honest verdict is a warm one. A wine family on a cool, wet hillside decided to plant olives, lost a large part of the orchard to a single bad winter, kept going, learned to mill from an Italian who came over to show them how, and has now spent a decade collecting gold medals for the results. That is a good story and, unusually, it is also a true one, verifiable from the company's own pages.
The one thing worth carrying to the shelf is the distinction between milling and growing. "Milled & Bottled in Dayton, OR" is a real statement about craft and a silent one about origin. Durant tells you the rest if you read its mill page, which is more than many producers do — but it tells you there, not on the front of the bottle. If Oregon fruit is what you are buying, buy the Estate Blend.
And if what you want instead is one grove, one season and an origin you never have to go looking for, that is the bargain we have chosen to make.
Our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil — single-estate, rain-fed and pressed within hours of harvest — is available to pre-order from the first harvest. Estimated shipping from November 2026. Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Pre-Order Sidr & Stone Organic Marrakech Olive Oil — Limited First Harvest →
Disclaimer: This article describes Durant Olive Mill's published range, sourcing statements and award record at the time of writing; specifications, harvests and brand practices may change, and readers should check current sources. Comparisons are made in good faith and in fair terms. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.