Our Freshly Harvested Olio Nuovo is Ready for Purchase Now

Award Winning
Extra Virgin Olive Oils

Arbequina-Mission Reserve

California Mission

2024

2025

100% Arbequina

Arbequina-Mission Reserve

Welcome to Basque Away

Woman-owned and family operated olive ranch in Creston, just outside Paso Robles, California, in San Luis Obispo County has ideal warm days and cool nights. Our 657 Arbequina, Mission and Picholine olive trees thrive in this Mediterranean climate. Each olive is hand picked and locally cold pressed within hours of coming off the trees into our 100% Estate Grown Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs). We are unabashedly proud of our oils, certified as "the finest quality extra virgin olive oil" and awarded medals year after year by the prestigious California Olive Oil Council (COOC).

We offer FREE olive oils tastings on our patio at the olive farm in Creston, just outside Paso Robles, overlooking the olive grove by appointment. Just email Cynthia at cynthia@basqueaway.com. Just one taste and you will know why we won all those awards. And what a great way to break up all those wine tastings. Bring family and friends.

Our Extraordinary 100% Olive Oils

Our COOC certified EVOO and GOLD Medal Winning 100% Arbequina has a buttery and grassy aroma and front note, reminiscent of lying on a lush green hill, followed by a classic EVOO bite and pepper finish from its very high and healthful polyphenol count of 620.

100% Arbequina 2025 Release

Our COOC certified EVOO and BRONZE Medal Winning Arbequina-Mission Reserve is a blend of all our estate grown olives: 49.9% Arbequina, 49.9% Mission and .2% French Picholine. Each olive contributes to its complex front note: grassy and buttery melded with almond and herbaceous front note, followed by a classic EVOO bite and peppery finish from its very high polyphenol count of 651.

Arbequina-Mission Reserve 2025 Release

This emerald green oil is our most robust with a whopping 722 polyphenol count. It has a grassy, green tea and woody front note, followed by the classic EVOO bite and strong pepper finsih from its very high and healthful anti-inflammatory polyphenol count.

California Mission 2025 Release

We start with our Gold medal, certified EVOO 100% Arbequina and then infuse it with lemon extract oil. So you get the healthful benefits of our 620 very high polyphenol award winning Arbequina with a fun lemon twist. A great jump start to any salad dressing or for dipping and great with seafood, chicken or with lightly sauteed vegetables and sweet potatoes.Try it (or any of our EVOO's) with our No-Salt Seasoning.

Lemon Infused

Described by the COOC as "balanced and robust with green fruit notes" (and I also find a note of creamy cashew), our 2024 Release Arbequina-Mission Reserve is a blend of our Arbequina and Mission olives with a kiss of French Picholine olives. No wonder it won GOLD and BEST in CLASS for Non-Italian Blends from the COOC and Silver Medal from the California Mid-State Fair. This oil is on sale and inventory is running low so order now.

Arbequina-Mission Reserve 2024 Release

Special Limited Time Offer: Basque Away is offering its Olio Nuovo, just harvested in November 2025. Olio Nuovo is not racked or filtered. Instead, it is bottled and shipped shortly after it emerges from the mill. As a result, it is an opaque, beautiful 100% green olive oil with texture and a robust palate. Because some of the sediment is still suspended in the oil, this rustic oil has a super fresh aroma with notes of fresh grass, garden herbs and black pepper from its healthful polyphenols. It is perfect with creamy cheeses, simple (non-tomato based pastas so that the oil really takes center stage), on crostinis, or simply drizzled over fall root vegetables. This oils should be consumed within 6 months because it still has suspended sediment which causes earlier aging so it will only be offered for a limited time while we are waiting for our latest EVOO's to naturally rack over the next few months.

Olio Nuovo

SHOP

Polyphenols

Basque Away specializes in high Polyphenol EVOOs, tested by an independent third party lab. It's the polyphenols that make Extra Virgin Olive Oils and the Mediterranean Diet so healthful with its anti-inflammatory properties. The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, Harvard School of Public Health, John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and list goes on and on have all found that even half a tablespoon of EVOO a day lowers rates of premature death from cardiovascular disease. More recently, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) added reduced risk of dementia related death to the list of benefits. And when such healthful EVOOs also taste great which the blind sensory tasting panel concluded in making their awards to Basque Away year after year, you are in for a healthful treat.

The International Olive Council rates oils with a polyphenol count over 550mg/kg as Very High. Each of Basque Away's EVOO 2025 Releases is "Very High": our 100% Arbequina has a Very High polyphenol count of 620mg/kg; our Arbequina-Mission Reserve has a Very High polyphenol count of 651, and our California Mission has a whopping polyphenol count of 722. Each of our oils has a distinctive fruit or produce front note imparted by the particular estate grown olive varietal, followed by the classic EVOO bite and peppery finish-- all essential hallmarks of true Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Don't be fooled by ads that claim to be high polyphenol or even "30x more" than some undisclosed oil. Basque Away tells you exactly what the polyphenol count is in each of its oils.

Reviews

"Love Basque Away's olive oils on virtually everything, from roast vegetables to tomatoes to meat. The taste is so fresh and grassy and satisfying. My personal favorite is the Arbequina-Mission Reserve as it seems to amplify the best features of both olives."

K from Colchester, Vermont.

"Basque Away's California Mission Olive Oil is a true gem for olive oil lovers seeking both exceptional flavor and health benefits. One of the standout features of this oil is its high polyphenol content (722) which not only enhances its robust, peppery finish but also delivers powerful antioxidants known for the anti-inflammatory properties. If you appreciate high quality olive oil with both rich taste and health benefits, Basque Away's California Mission is a must-try."

M from Fort Charlotte, Fl.

"I ordered 100 custom three-ounce bottles of Basque Away's 100% Arbequina EVOO as party favors for my wedding reception, and it was an absolute hit! It's such a special and unique gift that truly wowed our guests. I also use their 750ml bottles of the 100% Arbequina for everything- it's my go-to olive oil for cooking, drizzling and dressing. Truly exceptional quality, and I can't recommend it enough."

P from Paso Robles

"I've tried a lot of olive oils and its the best I've had. I love that it's micro local and from a female owned small business. It's important that I give my family the best food that I can source and I feel confident I found the best olive oil for our daily use."

E from Paso Robles

"My French mother-in-law is an expert cook and very hard to please... and a very tough food critic as well. She finds the Basque Away olive oils excellent and better than any other Extra Virgin Olive Oils available today."

C, M.D., Del Mar, California

"I'm addicted to Basque Away's Lemon Infused oil, a little red wine vinegar and Basque Away's No Salt Seasoning. The only problem is that I have to hide the French bread from myself or I could eat a whole loaf with this great oil and seasoning."

C from Everett, Washington

""Basque Away EVOO's are as good as they come!!! I've passionately termed these Pure & Authentically produced oils as" "Green Elixir" for the tremendous benefits they render on Health especially Heart health. My personal favorite is the California Mission. Cynthia's hands-on involvement in this small family managed enterprise is truly inspiring and reassuring in terms of Quality. I take pride in having found a reliable Source of EVOO in this Market flushed with sub-standard products!! Cheers in Good Health

L from New Delhi, India

Why Basque? Why Olives?

So when Cynthia retired from being a lawyer in the San Francisco Bay Area for 40 years, it seemed like the perfect fit for a “recovering lawyer”. Basque Away LLC was formed in 2018 and named in honor of Guy’s mother and her proud Basque heritage.

Guy’s mother was born to Basque parents who immigrated from Vizcaya and Navarre to Nevada where they had a sheep ranch. After Guy’s mother had raised nine children, she and her husband moved to Sonoma California where she thrived in her garden growing fruits and her beloved peonies.

One of Cynthia’s fondest childhood memories was sitting with her Cuban father overlooking El Generalife gardens and Alhambra in Spain eating tapas, including olives of course, while sipping fino sherry (but the latter was a secret from her mother!)

Basque Away has been a proud member of the California Olive Oil Council since 2018 and recipient of awards since first entering EVOO competition in 2022. Cynthia went back to school and received her Master Milling certificate from the University of California, Davis Olive Center in 2022, and in 2024 became a member of the California Olive Oil Council's Board of Directors.

Our Farm

That's our family hand harvesting. Farm visits and free olive oil tastings welcome by appointment. So when you need a break from all the Paso Robles great wine tasting, make an appointment and bring your friends for free olive oil tastings on our patio, overlooking the olive orchard. At the farm, we offer additional sized bottles in addition to the 375 ml and 750 ml which we ship. At the farm, you can also purchase 250 ml, 266 ml, and 300 ml sizes. Just email Cynthia at Cynthia@basqueaway.com to make a farm visit appointment or for direct orders. Bring friends

We Care about our Community

Philanthropy

Basque Away donated gallons of its award winning EVOO's to The Terrace Foundation in Santa Barbara in 2024 and in January 2025 so seniors and disabled persons could have the healthful benefits of true extra virgin olive oils. We also donated 10% of our sales during the Wine 4 Paws Event in both 2024 and 2025, to support sheltered dogs and cats at the Woods Humane Society. And we donated EVOO to the Pet Project Foundation for their fund raising auction as we also do at many of the Basque festivals to support their cultural activities.

Join the Club

Join our email list and get our suggested and seasonal EVOO recipes, see our holiday gift baskets and bottles, and learn more about olives, extra virgin olive oils, and the Basque Festivals we will be joyfully attending.