Earlier in May, I visited San Francisco with my girlfriends and my sister. I used to live in San Francisco (1999 to 2001) so I loved seeing my old neighborhood, being in the city and meeting up with old friends. I absolutely adore San Francisco.
And we couldn’t go to San Francisco without going to wine country. . Napa Valley.
Our first stop was to Round Pond Estates. “Round Pond Estate, owned and operated today by the second generation of the MacDonnell family, is a Rutherford farm and winery that specializes in the creation of pure, expressive wines, artisan foods and unforgettable experiences—all from the heart of Napa Valley.” This was my first time visiting this winery and the visit was great. Round Pond is absolutely beautiful!
They have a lovely second story tasting lounge and a covered terrace offering panoramic views of the vineyards and the Mayacamas Mountains. The view is breathtaking . . you’ll just have visit to see it for yourself!
What I loved about Round Pond was that they have an olive mill right across the street. . so, after our food and wine garden pairings, we purchased some wine and headed across the street for their Olive Mill Experience.
We learned about olive cultivation, harvest, and Round Pond’s artisan methods of olive oil production.
Then, we had a guided tasting of Round Pond’s fresh olive oils and red wine vinegar blends. The olive oil and vinegar blend tastings were so delicious! We sampled a small selection of garden inspired small bites using fresh organic produce and locally sourced meats and cheeses, all developed by Round Pond’s Estate chef. They even gave us the recipe cards for everything we tasted so we could re-create the fabulous recipes at home.
We tasted the following:
- Burrata Cheese with roasted asparagus, arugula pesto and crunchy quinoa
- Smoked Salmon Lollipop
- Roasted Yellow Beets with Blood Orange Oil and Sea Salt (SO GOOD!!)
- Baby Lettuces with Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Seasoned Pork Tenderloin with Herb Argo Dolce and Huckleberry Compote
- Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Pomegranate Gelee
- Blood Orange Brownies
I love it when I try something unexpected and different and it’s delicious.
We ended the Olive Mill Experience with a Strawberry and Ginger Shrub Mocktail, with . . Blood Orange Olive Oil and Pomegranate Syrup. It was absolutely delicious!!
You guys, if you ever are in the Napa Valley, you need to stop in at Round Pond Estates and you have to do the Olive Mill Experience. . it’s amazing!! To get a more detailed look at their Mill Tasting, check out their feature from their blog, the Feed: “Three New Olive Mill Experiences“.
To say that these olive oils are delicious is an understatement. I love the different flavors and the Blood Orange Brownies left a lasting impression with me . . like these are the best brownies I have ever tasted.
And they were even better when I baked them at home.
So, I have to share the recipe with you today! And make sure you enter the giveaway below so you can try these olive oils, vinegars and syrups and make these brownies!
These brownies obviously use the Round Pond Blood Orange Olive Oil shown above and you can also drizzle with their Blood Orange Citrus Syrup on the brownies as well before serving. Amazing!!!
You can bet that I’m going to try this recipe with the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil next!
Enter the giveaway below. . you have to try these olive oils and syrups!!
Note: I doubled this recipe!!
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
- 3 tablespoons Round Pond Blood Orange Olive Oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 oz Round Pond Estate Blood Orange Citrus Syrup (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick baking spray if desired.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium pan over very low heat. Stir together and remove from heat. Let cool for a minute or two. Add the Blood Orange Olive Oil, sugar and vanilla, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating into the mixture rapidly to avoid cooking the eggs. Stir in the salt, cocoa and flour.
- Spread the brownie mixture into your prepared baking pan and bake until set, for about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool before cutting with a sharp knife and drizzle with Blood Orange Citrus Syrup before serving if desired.
Recipe from Round Pond Estates. Shared here with permission.
The Giveaway!!
(Giveaway open to residents within the United States only)
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. The giveaway alone is sponsored by Round Pond Estates. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
I would like to try the Blood Orange Olive Oil. I didn’t know anyone made olive oil flavored with anything much less Blood Oranges!
Oh gosh, how marvelous. I would start with the MEYER LEMON OLIVE OIL, maybe just drizzled on a white goat cheese pizza with some salmon and arugula on top.
Round Pond was awesome. The staff were delightful, and the wine and food were amazing!
the basil olive oil looks amazing!!
I’d like to try the Meyer Lemon Syrup.
Alice, I’m beyond jealous here. Napa is on my travel bucket list, and since having children, all of that has been hard to achieve. I really want to go even more now!
These olive oils look ridiculously amazing. That Meyer Lemon one…wow. And your brownies are fantastic. My mom loves putting orange juice in her brownies, but this way is much better!
I would love to go to Napa. It is on my bucket list.
What a fantastic twist on brownies too. I LOVE blood oranges.
What an amazing trip and what amazing brownies! I love orange and chocolate together so I’m sure these would be right up my alley. 🙂
Basil Olive Oil is my favorite. I’d love to try theirs!
Your trip looked like so much fun! Such a wonderful experience 🙂 We visited SF and Napa a few years ago and definitely want to go back again and will have to visit Round Pond Estates. Love these gorgeous brownies! The orange and chocolate sound incredible!
I’ve never been to Napa Valley before, though it’s on my list of places to visit! I love these blood orange brownies, Alice! So creative! I don’t think I’ve ever had a brownie quite like this. Sounds amazing!
I have always wanted to make my way out to Napa! And now I know to schedule a stop at Round Pond when we go. I think I’d want to sample the Spanish Varietal Olive Oil first…followed by more olive oil and wine, of course! These brownies look delicious…maybe they can be my snack on the plane out to Napa. 🙂
What an awesome trip you had! Looks like so much fun. 🙂 And these brownies! Um, I’m obsessing over how ultra-fudgy they look and I just love the sound of blood orange flavor in them! Need theeeeese!
I would love to try the ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL.
Napa Valley has been on our bucket list for sometime now!! So glad that you had a great time with your mom & sister! I tell you it’s the best company you can ask for! These brownies look to die for!!
Those syrups look insane. Such incredible flavors. Also I cannot wait to go to Napa and try all the spots you checked out! You are now the guru. And these brownies are sensational boo!
One of my dreams is to go to Napa Valley! I just love these photos! These orange and chocolate brownies sound delicious, I absolutely adore the combo!
I would love to try these with the blood orange olive oil! 🙂
What a dreamy trip! I LOVE the idea of orange olive oil, so chocolate paired in there with it seems perfect : )
These brownies look so good and I love the hint of blood orange. While I would love to try all their products I’m going a little crazy over that meyer lemon syrup…yum!
What a unique product. I can think of a dozen things I could do with this. Would love to explore!
What an amazing trip! And these brownies have me salivating. Blood orange olive oil? That’s a foodie’s dream right there 🙂
Sounds fascinating – and so dignified for wine pairing!! Although when I saw “blood” in the title I thought “vampiiiiiirrrrres”! 😉
I would like to try the Rosemary Olive Oil!
First of all… blood orange brownies – amazing flavor combinations! I would eat an entire tray!
Secondly…. my husband and I were out in SF earlier in May house hunting for our move later this month. After an exhausting and frustrating house hunting trip, we escaped to Napa for an afternoon to relax. SO bookmarking this post so we can check out this winery when we move out there! Thanks for the great post. And if you’re ever back out in SF, let me know! 🙂
I would like to try the meyer lemon olive oil
Oh my gosh I need those olive oils!! Like desperately. Love all the glavors and how you can use them to get your blood orange or Meyer lemon kick all year round. These brownies look amazing!!
These brownies look amazing!! Orange has to be my favourite pairing with chocolate, I love it so much! The blood orange oil and syrup you used sound incredible! I definitely need to try them! Can’t wait to make these delicious creations 🙂
Looks like a lot of fun and I am obsessed with these citrusy brownies! 🙂
These brownies king me drool! I’d love to try their 2014 Meyer Lemon Olive Oil 370ML. Love anything citrus/zesty flavored.
Both the trip and brownies – FABULOUS! I’d love to try their SANGIOVESE-NEBBIOLO BLEND.
SO jealous — that looks amazing! I’m LOVING this chocolate and orange combo!
Oh my gosh these brownies are awesome. And I just love all those pretty bottles. Gorgeous. I have a total Meyer Lemon obsession so that would be the flavor I’d try first!
I would love to try 2014 BLOOD ORANGE OLIVE OIL 370ML! I have tried this once and it was unforgettable, I want to experience it again!
Those look and sounds absolutely delicious. Blood oranges are actually my favorite fruit! It sucks that they are seasonal! I would definitely have to try the Blood Orange Syrup! I have never heard of a syrup like this!
The Meyer Lemon Syrup would be the first choice
Sounds like an amazing trip! And these brownies are fabulous! Orange and chocolate is such a great combination!
those look delicious. I would love to try the Meyer Lemon olive oil or the garlic infused
I would like to try the garlic infused olive oil.
I think everything :). But I would go with the blood orange syrup and olive oil so I can make these delicious brownies.
I’d love to try the meyer lemon syrup!
I would go for any of the wines or olive oils. What a fun trip you had. I am loving the look of those brownies!!
I’ve been wanting to try a citrus olive oil, and your brownies are one of the reasons! But I’d love to try Round Pond Estate’s Rosemary Infused Olive Oil. I adore the flavor of rosemary but don’t always like the texture, and this would be a perfect solution.
These brownies, oh my gosh. They look fantastic! I want to try the blood orange oil!
I would love to try the Round Pond Blood Orange Olive Oil. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
I want to try the Pomegranate syrup!
What a fun trip! I love the orange olive oil in these brownies!
Love these fancy oils Alice! And your blood orange brownies look fantastic! Pinned!
They all look amazing but I would love to try the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil.
This looks fantastic! Need to try the blood orange oil!
You are making me think I need to get to Napa Valley ASAP! I absolutely love the idea of blood orange in these brownies!
Yummm! I love how you do a twist on this brownies recipe. Gotta love this and can’t wait to visit Round Pond Estates since they’re not too far away.
What a gorgeous place and those brownies! Oh my goodness! I’m so intrigued! I bet they taste amazing. I’ll have to remember to visit Round Pond when I make my trip to Napa.
I’m obsessed with Meyer lemons, so I’m loving the meyer lemon syrup!
Oh my goodness, their packaging is gorgeous! As for your brownies? Well, those are gorgeous, too. And BRILLIANT.
So looking forward to trying these recipes. So many great ideas … Must start now!
These look awesome! I would love to try the basil oil!
The Spanish Varietal Olive Oil to bring back memories of my time studying abroad in Spain. Also, let’s talk about how beautiful their packaging is. Those bottle would make cute little vases.
Whoa, Alice, my mind is blown by that olive oil tasting experience. Blood orange olive oil? Seriously? I need to get my hands on that asap! These brownies look and sound too good to not try it with this oil. Yum. Literally. Dying.
What fun! And I’ve used lemon olive oil for poundcake for years, but never thought of using a citrus olive oil in brownies – brilliant!!!
I would like to try the Pomegranate syrup.
Those olive oils and syrups sound amazing, and these brownies must be incredible with blood orange flavor! Pinned. 🙂
Those brownies look so rich and fudgy, chocolate perfection!
I would love to try the Basil Infused Olive Oil!
I love SF, but I think I may love these brownies more 😉 I have a similar olive oil that’s been resting in my pantry unused – I’ll have to give it a try in this awesome treat!
I would love to try the Basil Infused Olive oil!
The citrus olive oils.
Hi Alice! These brownies looks absolutely perfect! Adding blood orange olive oil to them sounds intriguing and delicious! mmhmm!
I love using flavored olive oils, but was unfamiliar with this brand. I would like to try their LEMON PEPPER INFUSED to cook fish.
I’d love to try the Pomegranate syrup and the Meyer Lemon Olive oil!
I’d love to try that pomegranate syrup! And a pan of these brownies.
I’d love to try Blood Orange Citrus Syrup!
It all looks amazing, but I would start with the Round Pond Blood Orange Olive Oil. Thanks for the chance!
Hey..What a dreamy trip! I LOVE the idea of orange olive oil, so chocolate paired in there with it seems perfect : )One of my dreams is to go to Napa Valley! I just love these photos! These orange and chocolate brownies sound delicious, I absolutely adore the combo…. 🙂
I would love to try the Garlic Infused Olive Oil.
I think I would go with the Sangiovese-Nebbiolo Blend oil.
I love the packaging! sooo gorgeous. would look great in my kitchen.
I WOULD LOVE TO TRY THEIR POMEGRANATE SYRUP.
I would like to try the Rosemary Olive Oil.
I would like to try the blood orange olive oil.
I’m a sucker for all things lemon, so I’d love to try the Meyer Lemon Citrus Syrup.
I’d love to try that blood orange oil, sounds so unique!
What a lovely trip! I love seeing travels. These brownies sound lovely!
Blood orange brownies?! That even sounds fabulous (the way they taste must be even better!) And thanks for introducing this products – I’ve got to find now blood orange syrup!
My husband and I are planning a trip to San Francisco and Napa. I can’t wait to go. I would love the blood orange olive oil.
I accidentally entered before I was done replying. I can’t wait to order some on Friday 🙂
Hi Jodi, the giveaway is over but I hope you make it out to Round Pond Estates when you are in Napa Valley. . you will love it!