Hoping to unwrap the mystery, if not the mystique, of "artisanal" -- small-scale and traditional -- olive oil production, the UC Small Farm Center at UC Davis will host a public gathering Jan. 12 that will focus on this growing California industry.

The event, which launches the Small Farm Center's new report titled "Outlook for California's Artisanal Olive Oil Producers," will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in UC Davis' Rec Pool Lodge at the intersection of Hutchison Drive and La Rue Road.

"A food writer intrigued by the proliferation of California olive oils recently asked if it is possible to make bad olive oil," said Desmond Jolly, director of the Small Farm Center. "We'll be asking that very question of some of California's leading olive oil experts at this gathering."

Paul Vossen a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Sonoma County and one of California's leading experts on olive cultivation and olive oil production, will be among the speakers. Vossen will discuss how the quality and flavor of olive oil varies depending on the variety of olives used, the fruit's stage at harvest, and processing and storage techniques. He also will describe the olive oil production process and its many variations, as well as the history of the artisanal olive oil industry in California.

Other speakers will include local olive oil producer Mike Madison, discussing his organically farmed Yolo Press oil, and Jamie Johannson of Lodestar Farms in Butte County, who will share his experiences and projections related to artisanal olive oil production in California.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will end with an artisanal olive oil tasting. Among the oils tasted will be five varieties produced from UC Davis trees, including 140-year-old trees from the university's Wolfskill orchard in Winters.

California is experiencing a marked increase in the production of olive oil, averaging a 20 percent growth annually during the past nine years, according to the recently produced Small Farm Center report.

The report features an overall assessment and recommendations, as well as case studies and interviews with a number of growers and other experts in the olive oil business.

More information about the report can be obtained from the UC Davis Small Farm Center at (530) 752-8136.