Award Winning
Extra Virgin Olive Oils
Arbequina-Mission Reserve
California Mission





2024
2023


100% Arbequina
100% Arbequina
Arbequina-Mission Reserve
California Mission
Arbequina-Mission Reserve
Welcome to Basque Away
Our family owned 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. We are unabashedly proud of our oils, certified as "the finest quality extra virgin olive oil" and awarded THREE GOLD MEDALS and TWO BEST IN CLASS in 2024 by the prestigious California Olive Oil Council (COOC). And each of our EVOO's medaled at the California Mid-State Fair in 2024.
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 text 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 EVOO
(EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL)




California Mission-2025 JUST RELEASED
Our 2025 Newly Released Estate Grown California Mission is an exquisite emerald green and extremely robust with a healthful very high polyphenol count of 722. (The International Olive Council Method rates oils with a polyphenol count greater than 550 mg/kg "very high"). It has a grassy front note with hints of green tea, tomato leaf and even woodiness, followed by a distinctive bitter bite and a lasting pepper finish. Because only less than 65 liters were produced, we did not and will not be submitting this oil for COOC certification this year. Limited inventory.
100% Arbequina- 2025 JUST RELEASED
Our 2025 Newly Released Estate Grown Arbequina is certified by COOC as the highest quality extra virgin olive oil. It has a buttery and grassy front note. Close your eyes and sniff and you will feel like you are on a lush green hill. As with all true EVOO's, it is followed by a bite and then ends with a zesty pepper finish, the latter two notes from its very high and polyphenol count of 620. Let this healthful EVOO provide the "pepper" to your salad dressings or dish.
Arbequina-Mission Reserve- 2025 JUST RELEASED
Our 2025 Newly Released Estate Grown Release is certified by the COOC as the highest quality extra virgin olive oil. It is a lovely blend of 49.9% of our Arbequina with 49.9% of our California Mission and a .2% kiss of French Picholine. It has front notes of butter and grass from its Arbequina contributor and almond and herbaceous hints from its Mission and Picholine contributors. While its "very high" polyphenol count of 651 is higher than our 100% Arbequina, this blend feels softer and rounder than the Arbequina alone, making it a very versatile and healthful EVOO. If your recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of butter, use 3/4 tablespoon of this EVOO..
100% Arbequina-2024 Release
Described by the COOC as "balanced with notes of green apples and herbaceous", our 100% Arbequina, released in 2024, won not only a GOLD MEDAL but also BEST IN CLASS SPANISH SINGLE VARIETAL of all the COOC EVOO's competing in California and medaled at the California Mid-State Fair. This beautiful Spanish olive produces an elegant oil with the classic EVOO bite and peppery finish from its high and healthful polyphenol count of 492. Best By Date: Sept, 2025 so plenty of time to savor.

Arbequina-Mission Reserve-2024 Release
Described by the COOC as "balanced and robust with green fruit notes" (and I also pick up a creamy cashew note), our Arbequina-Mission Reserve, released in 2024, blends our estate grown 49.4% Arbequina, 49.4% Cal. Mission with. a .2% French kiss of our Picholine olives. No wonder it won both a GOLD MEDAL and BEST IN CLASS for NON-ITALIAN BLENDS from the COOC and medaled at the Cal. Mid-State Fair. It has the classic EVOO bite and peppery finish from its very high polyphenol count of 632, perfect for roasting poultry, beef or lamb, drizzling over root vegetables, perfect with simple pastas, and super when sauteing those winter dishes and stews to warm the soul. Or just grab some bread and dip it. Best Buy Date: Sept. 2025 so plenty of time to savor.
Lemon Infused

We infuse our award winning 100% Arbequina EVOO with lemon extract oil for a citrus hint ideal with seafood, salad dressing, vegetables or anything else where you want a lemon twist. We love it on sweet potatoes. No infused oil can (or should) be certified as extra virgin olive oil as it is no longer 100% olive oil, but this infused oil has the benefit of our 100% Arbequina's high polyphenol count. Best By Date of September 2025 so you have plenty of time to savor.
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 2024 and will do so again in April 2025, to support sheltered dogs and cats at the Woods Humane Society. We also 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 including promotion of youth Basque dancing.
Events
We are honored to have already participated in so many events in 2024: The Fresno Basque Festival, the Paso Robles Annual Olive and Lavender Festival, the Los Banos Basque Picnic, the Bakersfield NABO Basque Festival, the San Francisco Basque Festival, the Winnemucca Basque Festival, the Reno Basque Festival, the Southern California Basque Festival, the Chino Basque Festival, the Rocklin Basque Festival and the Madonna Inn Holiday Fair. We are lining up fairs starting in April 2025 so stay tuned.

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.