Bella Vista Ranch

I can't believe only 5 people have reviewed this ranch. I have been back four times now and each time come away with a little more understanding of the narrative that is offered. While I purchased my typical bottles of olive oil - some for myself, some for holiday gifts - I did also indulge in some olive oil based soaps. The olives and oil are fabulous. I am not as great a fan of their wines. They are not awful, just not with the properties I care for, typically. The in-laws found a favorite to take home, though.The tour is still $10 and includes the wine tasting, which is a good deal. Bottles of oil range from $16-$27 each, depending on size. Soap is $6.99 a bar. They also feature balsamic vinegars (not made there) and jars of olives, which are delightful as well.

So, so rude. The olive oil and vinegar are excellent, but the experience was ruined by the lady--the one everyone complains of here. The hours on Sunday are until 4. I get there at 3:25, and she walks past me with her whiny, demanding voice telling me that they close at 3:30. Uh, wanna put that on your website as your updated hours?I went in anyway. The gentleman doing the oil tasting was knowledgeable and helpful. He told the lady to close the gate.You know, what a non-stupid person would do should they slothfully decide to close early since they dont work for a living.My mother was incredibly upset by this lady's rudeness. When you run a service like this, you stay open until you no longer have a good flow of customers. Closing is at 4? Hi, if a bunch of people are coming in at 3:30 thru 4:00, you keep working. Lazy Texas people who inherited their property and think they work hard by paying others to harvest their crop and bottle it. Meritocracy, right? They are the class of people who make this state an impoverished mess. Don't run a customer service business dependent upon people stopping by on a lark like a fascist regime. You don't get to do that. Then again, when you dont have a legitimate concern about how you pay your bills, i guess you can just work until you get bored with the whole work thing. Go sell wholesale if you hate customers. Working for yourself does not mean you get any more freedom. You have are dependent on good will. And you don't have mine.The lady tried to make up for her garbage attitude when i made my purchase. You know what? Have a blessed day, lady. A.BLESSED.DAY.Tl;dr. There are other puveyors of Texas olive oil, particularly in south Texas. Do not waste your wine tasting trip here. If you want to support local, consider others who are hard-working enough to sell their products in Central Market.

My wife and I went to Bella Vista Ranch for a 4th of July tour with lunch, and we found it to be terrific value for the money. There was a nice lunch from a food truck (the name of which eludes me, unfortunately) followed by an interesting talk about the history of olive oil and the origins of the Italian family farm dating back to the second century BCE. The owner explained how he established Bella Vista on the ancient Roman model and described the modifications he has made to make olives grow in Texas. Then we toured the olive orchard and learned about the different varieties of grapes grown on the property. We saw the processing room containing the "frantoio" or olive press as well as the vats where this year's wines are aging. We then tasted several oils as well as four glasses of wine per person. All this for $25 (the regular tour without lunch is only $15).Oils, vinegars, wines and soaps are available for sale. These are pretty expensive (e.g. $18+ for 250ml of their basic Texas Blend oil), but I don't mind paying those prices for high-quality locally produced specialty goods. This is a fascinating day out, which I recommend wholeheartedly.Pro tip: If you're coming from San Antonio, take I-35 instead of US 281 and the back roads. We were expecting a relaxing drive in the country, but construction and traffic made it a stressful trip. Coming back on 35 was a joy by comparison!

Do not judge a book by its cover. Take one look at Jack and the humble grounds here at Bella Vista, and you'd never guess that he has olive friends he emails with back in Italy or that he can tell you all you'd ever want to know about the science and technique behind growing and processing olives.I would highly recommend the tour - while there isn't much walking involved in this tour, my husband and I found it to be highly informative. And with Jack's red-blooded Texan sense of humor, it was a very entertaining education. Be sure to note the times of the tour (Sat @ 10am & 1pm, and Sun @ noon) since it's a group setup. After the tour comes a tasting of several types of olive oil produced on site along with some of their balsamic vinegar offerings. While they also have wine offered, I'd recommend sticking with the olive oil - clearly what they specialize in. If you're only interested in tasting the oils/wines (not the tour), it's probably good to avoid arriving at the tasting room about an hour after each tour start since the tasting room isn't overly large and tends to fill up easily with the folks coming off the tour.

We took the tour here three years ago and had a decent experience. Customer service was nothing special but not bad. The olive oil was excellent. Went back last weekend just to buy a few bottles and there was a group tasting inside. The lady who met us was terse and short with us, and the oil lacked the punch we're accustomed to from fresh oil. It was ironic to listen to the speaker discussing the peppery flavor of the oil when it was completely absent this year. Maybe it's an off year. But one thing was the same: it's not a welcoming place at all. They seem to be put out by visitors. They really don't seem to want kids there at all, even when they are standing still and quietly listening. We've had far better experiences, and far better olive oil, in Dripping Springs at Texas Hill Country Olive Oil. Night and day difference.

Such a great tour. We failed to check the tour time and arrived a little late but they let us join the tour and tasting. It was terrific! The tour and history of olives was really interesting. Definitely try the balsamic and infused oils. The wine tasting was pretty brief compared to the olive portion but great none the less. The wines are dryer, not sweet. I thought they were great. A lot of the other local wineries wines are very sweet, but I really enjoyed these! You should absolutely plan to visit if in the area.

A hidden mecca of olives. In central Texas. The Bella Vista Ranch was designed as a traditional Italian family farm and features the first commercially grown olives in Texas. And the olives I sampled are Texas size and Texas good. Apparently the crowd favorite is the bleu cheese stuffed olive. We sampled a garlic stuffed olive that was really good.The ranch also offers delicious balsamic vinegars and olive oils which go for around $17 a bottle. My lips slurped the Fig Vanilla Balsamic over and over again. I am sure I was sample cheating but that stuff is incredible. This is also a working winery that produces several red and white varieties plus a Natural Blackberry Wine! Yum. Wine tastings are $5/per person. I think the owner has a great thing going for him and a beauty of a property. Tours of the orchard happen on the weekend and include a wine tasting for $10/per person.

Who here likes an hour and a half talk ab everything I ever learned ever?? If you raised your hand then step right up, produce $15 and hold on to your hat!It went on so damn long I wanted to ask for a hall pass just to sneak to my car.

Worst service ever. Mistreated. Was watched the entire time. Before I could even ask a question about the wine or olives, an employee firmly told me as she was finishing up with another set of customers that "I don't have time to answer your questions." She then proceeded to hard sell our group to pay $10 for the "last minute" tour. And, to add insult to injury, as 2 of the 4 of us completed their purchases, both employees proceeded to exit the store and watch us walk to our vehicle and drive off. I will never spend a dollar at your business. Good luck to you.

Very limited services. I walked in to see if this facility was appropriate for sitting outside for a tasting. I was immediately met at the door because there was a "tour" in progress. There was no other option other to join the tour that was already in progress. The woman that met me right at the door was very un-hospitable. The inside smells absolutely delicious, full of olive oil. The grounds were beautiful.