I've had the chance to join the group of hobbyists in the tasting of pomegranate at Wolfskill Nursery in Winters, California. The facility is located about 18 miles west of Davis, which truns through some back roads. The facility is maintained by USDA, and they have about 6,000 pomegranate accessions. They brought 21 samples plus one (Saveh) from an Iranian fellow. It will be the last tasting event to be offered by the USDA to the public. Funding has not increased for some time, and it is costing the facility to hold the event, and it is not their primary work. So there will be no more tasting after that one. I am fortunate to participate in that last pomegranate tasting event sponsored by the Wolfskill Nursery.

My aim was to identify potential cultivars for making wine from pomegranates. My daughter helped me evaluate which pomegranates are good for fresh eating. Here’s my initial report. The color rating ranged from 1 (pearl white) to 10 (dark maroon red). Fruit size are approximate and based on the fruits displayed next to the tasting bowl, small means 3” diameter and smaller, medium is greater than 3” but less than 4”, and large is 4” and bigger. Enjoy my initial unedited results:

Sorry for the poor format, but you can easily separate them by replacing the , with tab in notepad and then copy and paste in Excel and you would have a nice table.

Accession , Name , Color Rating , Fruit Size , Seed Size , Acidity , Sweetness , Fresh Eating , Wine Making
DPUN0014 , Mola Nepes , 7.5 , Medium , Tiny , Medium , Medium , Good , Very Good
DPUN0015 , Parfianka , 7.5 , Large , Small , Mild , Medium , Good , Good
DPUN0035 , Vina , 3.0 , Small , Tiny , Mild , Medium , Very Good , Fair
DPUN0056 , Purple Heart , 7.0 , Large , Large , >Mild , Medium , Good , Good
DPUN0059 , Sakerdze , 8.0 , Medium , Large , Medium , Medium , Good , Very Good
DPUN0060 , Al-sirin-nar , 6.5 , Large , Large , >Mild , Medium , Very Good , Good
DPUN0067 , Nikitski ranni , 6.5 , Large , Small , Mild , Medium , Very Good , Good
DPUN0081 , Wonderful , 7.0 , Large , Large , Mild , <Medium , Good , Fair
DPUN0082 , Sin Pepe , 3.5 , Small , Tiny , <Mild>Mild , <Medium>Mild , Very Good , Poor
DPUN0151 , Sirenevyi , 7.5 , ? , Small , Mild , >Mild , Very Good , Fair
DPUN0167 , Ink , 8.5 , Large , Large , Mild , Medium , Good , >Good
- , Saveh , 8.0 , Large , Small , Mild , Medium , Very Good , Fair

Joe, in reading your above posting, I quickly noticed the name "Wolfskill". William Wolfskill was an early citrus pioneer who arrived in California in 1841 while the state was still a Mexican possession. He traveled from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles with the Workman-Rowland covered waggon party. At one point Mr. Wolfskill's groves contained two thirds of the entire state's citrus trees. In fact the Wolfskill groves were the people who sent the very first train load of citrus to the eastern markets from California. I wonder if this is a relative of the pioneer. Could you inquire? Much thanks.

Most probably a relative. The land was donated as an endowment to the government, and hence, the USDA used it for germplasm.

Here's a very interesting archive from history:
http://www.sacbee.com/agriculture/story/405321.html


The fruit of Yolo County olive trees owned by UC Davis and planted nearly 150 years ago by one of Northern California's early pioneers is finding new customers.

John R. Wolfskill, who worked for $100 a year when he came to California in the 1830s, planted the trees in 1861. He could hardly have anticipated Wolfskill olive oil selling along with sweat shirts in the University of California, Davis bookstore.

But Wolfskill olive oil -- delicate, buttery with a hint of artichoke flavor -- is a hit. Wolfskill oil, $13 for about 8.5 ounces, sells out in a matter of a few weeks.

"It is our most popular olive oil, partly because of the history of the Wolfskill ranch," said UC Davis Olive Oil Manager Dan Flynn.

University and federal government researchers have used the 107-acre Wolfskill ranch for decades. In the 1940s, a research assistant grafted nearly 100 imported olive varieties to Wolfskill's Mission olive tree rootstock, creating what has been described as the most extensive olive collection in North America.

Shoots from Italy, Portugal, Egypt, South Africa, France, Morocco, Syria, Australia, Algeria, Greece and Spain were grafted onto Wolfskill trees.

So today, a bottle of Wolfskill olive oil is derived from the fruit from Mission trees and dozens of other international varieties grafted in 1946.

Sixty-year-old wood and metal tags hang from the trees, identifying varieties, such as Rubra and Meski. Some trees stand 35 feet tall with deeply furrowed trunks.

In 2006, Wolfskill olive oil received a gold medal from the Los Angeles County Fair, the largest olive oil competition in North America.

Wolfskill oil is not the only one bottled from trees that grow on the UC Davis campus.

Sal Genito, director of buildings and grounds at UC Davis, was summoned several years ago to an accident on the bike path that parallels Russell Boulevard on the north edge of campus.

In addition to the toppled bike rider, Genito noted the smell of something familiar: mashed olives that had fallen from trees bordering the bike path.

Flynn did a feasibility study and found it was cheaper to pick the fruit and make oil than settle slip-and-fall lawsuits, regularly sweep the fruit from sidewalks or spray to trees to stop fruiting.

A safety hazard became a teaching and fundraising tool using the fruit of about 1,000 olive trees on the campus proper, plus an additional 200 at the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard.

"First production in 2005 was about 80 gallons," said Flynn. "People loved it and it sold out right away. This year, maybe we can ramp it up to 600 gallons."

Wolfskill's daughter, Frances Wolfskill Wilson, who donated the land to the University of California in the 1930s, would probably be pleased.

In her will, she requested that trees at Wolfskill not be felled, but instead be maintained as a memorial to her parents and as a symbol of peace.

"I would hope that she would be proud," said Vito Polito, professor of plant sciences at UC Davis.

Polito said two major research efforts exist on the property, relating to improvement and development of genetic resources -- the gene pool -- for tree crops.

The Wolfskill olive trees line property lines and also the asphalt road that once led up to the 30-room Wolfskill mansion.

According to Flynn, Wolfskill, a native of Kentucky, arrived in Los Angeles in 1838. For a while, he labored in his brother William's vineyards and orchards.

Working for $100 a year, Wolfskill figured he might fare better with his own land. The Wolfskill Ranch near Winters was founded in 1841 thanks to a land grant from the Mexican government.

Flynn said Wolfskill made a big impact as a horticulturist. The Daily Alta California, after a visit to the Wolfskill ranch in 1861, reported:

"This is the oldest and most fruitful orchard in the county. ... Besides having all the best varieties of the more common kinds of fruit, he has in full bearing orange, nutmeg, Italian chestnut, pomegranate, fig, apricot, English walnut and olive trees. The immense income of the thousands of trees which this orchard contains is almost beyond belief."

In the late 1880s, the dean of the UC College of Agriculture observed Wolfskill olive trees provided "cuttings to start olive orchards all over the state."

Wolfskill died in 1897 at the age of 92.

UC Davis Olive Oil, along with Slow Food Yolo and the Yolo Agricultural Marketing Initiative, will celebrate the upcoming olive harvest with a walking tour and lunch under the Wolfskill trees on Oct. 13.

Joe yes, John R. Wolfskill, the olive grower is the brother of William Wolfskill, who was the orange grower in Los Angeles. When John was working for $100 per year he was working in the orange groves for his brother William.
I copied the following from your article: ..... "According to Flynn, Wolfskill, a native of Kentucky, arrived in Los Angeles in 1838. For a while, he labored in his brother William's vineyards and orchards."......... I am very glad you posted the Wolfskill olive article.

BTW, the only other olive tree that I have ever seen with trunks as large (actually larger) than the Wolfskill trees, were the olive trees growing in the Garden of Gethsemani at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in Israel. The Gethsemani trees are much older. Again thanks for the history, I really appreciate it. I am going to do a lot more research into this family.