My Italian Treasure Hunt Was a Great Success! Presenting Three Spectacular Just-Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oils That Defied Mother Nature

• The growing season and 2018 harvest were marred by wind, rain, temperature extremes, and even pestilence. But some producers prevailed, and I found them!
• Hailing from Tuscany, Sicily, and Abruzzo, these hand-selected, ultra-avorful oils are certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin.
• Introducing a Club first—olive oil pressed from Dritta olives, which grow near the Adriatic Sea. You won’t find this oil—or the others, either—on supermarket or gourmet shelves. They are available no where else.
• Rushed to you by jet to preserve their flavors, perfume, and healthful polyphenols. See my tasting notes, suggested food pairings, and seasonal recipes below.

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Greetings Olive Oil Lover,

Ciao! I am writing from the road. So determined was I to secure three of the world’s best fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oils for your table that I haven’t slept in my own bed for weeks. But if you enjoy these extraordinary polyphenol-rich Italian olive oils as much as I think you will, it’s all been worth it.

Victory was certainly not assured this quarter. (Is it ever?) With the help of my longtime friend and colleague, Roman olive oil consultant Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, I was able to monitor growing conditions in Italy starting in February. The news was not encouraging. Snow and hard frosts damaged groves.

The month of May unleashed punishing heat, scorching tender new buds and flowers. Like a tornado, Mother Nature’s caprice spared some olive varietals while decimating others. Frantoio, the drupe that gives Tuscan oils their distinctive flavor profile, was especially hard hit. One of my favorite producers—Fratelli Giganti from Siena—lost their entire crop.

My Response to “the Worst Italian Harvest in 20 Years”

There were other threats to the developing olives as the year progressed. Low-lying coastal groves were plagued by the olive fly, which flourished in summer’s heat and humidity. I crossed several destinations off my itinerary. (In Puglia, the region that forms the stiletto heel of the Italian boot, production is estimated to be half of what it was last year.) Early fall brought devastating rain and wind storms.

Duccio used the word “mess” during our increasingly urgent phone calls to describe the situation, noting 2018 had the potential to be the worst Italian harvest in 20 years.

But there was hope! Several producers we were in touch with were optimistic their oils would impress. (For most artisanal growers, it’s a special honor to be selected for inclusion in the Club, a validation of their passion, dedication, and hard work.) And thanks to many valuable contacts in the field, we had strong leads on others.

Our strategy evolved quickly: focus on the scattered pockets of healthy olives, most of them at higher elevations; personally visit the promising groves; and supervise the pressing to optimize quality and preserve healthy polyphenols. We urgently needed to do all this before weather harmed the olives or the best producers committed their oils to other customers. (Weather did score a point against us when high winds cruelly stripped a grove of its olives just days before our planned visit.)

In a departure from past years, there would be no “Grand Tasting” of olive oil samples when I landed in Rome. We were going to have to work hard! Beat the bushes, so to speak.

Long Days, Short Nights Pay Off

And work hard we did. Days after leaving Rome, we acquired our first olive oil at Frantoi Cutrera, near the Baroque town of Chiaramonte Gulfi in southeastern Sicily. Gulfiis the Arabic word for “place of pleasure.” How appropriate, as I was more than pleased to be able to offer Club members an exclusive blend featuring native olive cultivars Tonda Iblea and Nocellara del Belice. One olive oil down and two to go. We continued our quest, tirelessly traveling by car, SUV, plane, and ferry.

The tipping point of the hunt came when we met with Gionni and Paolo Pruneti in Tuscany. Their diversified groves yielded several worthy oils, including some pressed from cold-defying Moraiolo olives. Master miller Gionni helped us create a stunning well-balanced blend that satisfied my desire for a bold, beautiful oil.

Finally, acting on a tip from Giorgio Mori (his company builds some of the most well-respected olive oil milling equipment on the planet),  we set our GPS for a new destination: Abruzzo. What a delightful “first date” that turned out to be! We met the genial Claudio Di Mercurio, founder of Frantoio Hermes, and his family at their farm near the hilltop town of Penne and adjacent to a national forest. There, we were introduced to Dritta olives. (Dritta, which rhymes with Rita, is just one of 536 olive varietals grown on Italian soil.) Yay! We had our third oil, something novel and exciting that fit perfectly into the line-up. Claudio was thrilled to imagine his olive oil being boxed shoulder-to-shoulder with prestigious oils from Frantoi Cutrera and Pruneti and soon to be enjoyed—harvest-fresh!—by American aficionados like yourself.

Yes, this quarter was a nail-biter. But I know you have in your hands three of the finest olive oils in the world.

Mangia!

Though exhausting, the trip to Italy—always one of my favorite destinations—was very fulfilling for me as it proved, once again, that planning and persistence pay off. Oftentimes,  it was simply filling! Oh, my…the food… Too many plates to count, and nearly all of them splashed with just-pressed extra virgin olive oil. (Yes, my team and I take our own bottles to restaurants.) Calzone-size ravioli stuffed with homemade ricotta and pork ragu served at a rough-and-tumble bar/restaurant frequented by the Polizia Provinciale is the stuff of dreams. Earthy porcini pasta. A superlative salumi platter at Ristorante Majore in Chiaramonte Gulfi. The amazing arancini(deep-fried balls of cheese-stuffed risotto) sold on the ferry. And I’ll never forget Claudio’s hospitality: When he learned there was a vegan lurking in the ranks of my Merry Band of Tasters, he orchestrated a homecooked plant-based feast.

As a Club member, you’ll soon discover just how food-friendly these three olive oils are. To get started, see the recommended food pairings that follow my tasting notes. I’ve also included a dozen Italian recipes you’ll want to add to your cold-weather repertoire, many of which are ideal for entertaining.

As always, I’d love to know what you think of these storied, exquisitely fresh extra virgin olive oils.

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

Cold weather may cause cloudiness in your bottles of olive oil. Pay it no heed, as this has no effect on quality or flavor. Simply bring your oils to room temperature and most of this cloudiness should disappear. For best results, always store your oil in a cool, dark place, preferably in a cabinet away from heat and light.

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Salvatore Cutrera Exclusive Signature Selection 2018, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
• Olive Varieties: Tonda Iblea, Nocellera del Belice
• Flavor Profile: Mild

I knew I was in Sicily when…

In a scene reminiscent of a Francis Ford Coppola movie, workers poured out of Frantoi Cutrera upon hearing the megaphone-enhanced cries of the approaching produce vendor: “Pomodori.Melanzane.Zucchine…” His truck, fully loaded with some of the most beautiful fruit and vegetables I’ve seen anywhere, rolled to a stop before being swarmed by would-be customers (including me and my Merry Band of Tasters).

Salvatore Cutrera, who runs the family-owned olive mill near the hillside town of Chiaramonte Gulfi, palmed an orange and a banana for himself before presenting the vendor—a longtime friend, I presume—with a bottle of just-pressed olive oil. The vendor’s face split into a wide grin. The barter transaction satisfactorily completed, Cutrera returned to the mill and the all-important task of pressing the 2018 crop of olives.

He knew there was no time to waste. The olives, picked from a patchwork of small farms (about 125 acres), had to be harvested and pressed at their peak. For weeks, he’d been putting in 18-hour days, anxiously watching the weather (heavy rains threatened) and keeping a close eye on every facet of the operation he oversees. I liken him to the captain of a ship who’s committed to steering his vessel and its valuable cargo safely into port, come hell or high water.

You’d think Salvatore would have been exhausted. But he seemed to draw energy from his mission. His pride in this year’s harvest was palpable, his passion infectious.

I first met Salvatore years ago at the Fancy Food Show in New York City. But it wasn’t until last year, when I stepped up my search for Tonda Iblea, an olive cultivar native to Sicily’s Ragusa province, that our paths crossed again. This talented producer’s oil was such a hit with Club members that I secretly hoped for an encore.

But I remembered what he said to me in 2017: “Next year, only come for coffee. There will be no oil.”

For a time, it looked as if his prediction might come true. Sicily’s olive farmers, like those in other regions of Italy, struggled during the 2018 growing season with weather- related challenges and olive pests. Scouts on the ground reported there were healthy pockets of olives, but warned I would have to work hard to find them.

Happily, Salvatore was wrong. Though his Tonda Iblea trees did not bear as much fruit as last year, Salvatore was able to make up the shortfall with another of my favorite Sicilian olives, the plump and meaty Nocellara del Belice. (You may know it as Castelvetrano, a popular brined table olive.) The resulting 50-50 blend, a Club exclusive, is phenomenal!

A bit of background is in order here. The name Salvatore Cutrera is extremely well-known in olive oil circles: Frantoi Cutrera is one of the winningest producers in Italy, if not the world. In the past year alone, it collected 18 elite awards, from Los Angeles to Zurich. For many years, its olive oils have been named among the top 20 in the world by FlosOlei. Its offices display wall-to-wall awards, some turned into fine art.

The family has been pressing olives since 1906 near Chiaramonte Gulfi, the so-called “Balcony of Sicily.”

But millstones powered by donkeys have yielded to two modern mills that are among the most technologically advanced on the island. A third mill, projected to cost $10 million, is currently under construction. It will incorporate a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen as well as a laboratory. (In addition to olive oil, Frantoi Cutrera also produces excellent jarred items like brined olives, sun-dried tomatoes, caponata, pesto, artichokes, and more, which they sell under their Segreti di Sicilia—Secrets of Sicily—brand.)

Within seconds of my arrival, Salvatore hustled me to the rear of the mill to show me his latest “toy.” It was a high-tech device, completely foreign to me, that vets individual olives. All olives entering the mill have to pass its inspection. Parameters can be set by the operator for a number of variables, such as color, size, etc. Via conveyor belt, olives run a gauntlet of super-sensitive cameras that identify imperfect fruit. Those olives are almost instantaneously removed from the procession by a targeted blast of air. The process was incredibly fun to watch!

This selection machine is a game-changer. The oil you are about to taste is pressed from olives that represent the best of the best! And what a story you’ll have to tell your lucky tablemates.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

A blend of two olives that are typically used as table olives, this oil’s beautiful green color hints at its verdant perfume and flavor. On the nose, we detected green tomato leaf, cut grass, fresh basil, lettuce, arugula, endive, walnuts, and apple, with a whiff of fennel. Some of these aromas were echoed on the palate, specifically green tomato and fresh basil, with underpinnings of baby spinach, fresh green walnuts, and a touch of vanilla-like sweetness. Finishes with the spiciness of arugula.

Enjoy this mild oil on a wide variety of foods, including milky fresh cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella, bread, eggs, white potatoes, creamy soups, delicate fish and shellfish, roast chicken, veal, salads made with tender lettuces, cauliflower, light pasta dishes, roasted apples or pears, yogurt, or even ice cream.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Frantoio Hermes, Penne, Abruzzo, Italy 2018
• Olive Varieties: Dritta
• Flavor Profile: Medium

The Old World is steeped in the romance and history of olive oil production— you’ve likely seen iconic images of sun-drenched baskets of ripe olives (actually bruised and fermenting) and mules pulling a millstone in a circle—yet I have learned over the years that the old-fashioned methods result in some pretty terrible olive oil. What makes for a charming photo op is, ironically, what the top-tier producers have been working the past three decades to overcome. (Granted, mules have been retired for nearly a century.)

Forward-thinking artisans have incorporated technologically advanced olive milling equipment to minimize contact with oxygen; refrigerated systems to maximize the aromas and flavors in the oil; and early harvesting, to optimize flavors, perfumes, and polyphenols in the oils.

To produce the finest ultra-premium olive oil, Claudio Di Mercurio knew exactly where to start. His parents had owned land in Italy’s Abruzzo region, rich with olive trees, since 1964, but they had never produced olive oil. In 2009, aiming to press his own oil, Claudio wisely met with one of the greatest experts in the field: Giorgio Mori, proprietor of Mori olive mills. (You might compare the excellence of a Mori mill to that of an Illy espresso machine,  or perhaps to a Maserati: simply put, the best equipment that gives the best results.) Claudio named the mill “Frantoio Hermes”—readers of classic myths and legends might make the connection with the family’s surname, Di Mercurio. (Hermes is the Greek messenger god, with wings on his sandals; his Roman avatar is Mercury.)

You could say that the olive oil world got the message immediately: in its first year in production, 2010, Hermes won regional awards for excellence (“beginner’s luck,” demurs Claudio, but olive oil experts begged to disagree), and its award- winning streak has continued ever since.

Given my extensive network of contacts in the olive oil world, I was astounded that Claudio—and his grove’s sterling reputation—had eluded me up till now. At the same time, it’s thrilling to think that other such discoveries await me and my tastebuds! I have logged tens of thousands of kilometers in Italy over the years, yet my hunting grounds have been located largely in Tuscany, Lazio, Calabria, and Sicily; Abruzzo has not been a primary destination. Believe me, dear Club members, that has changed! (Abruzzo lies in Italy’s center, east of Rome, extending to the Adriatic Sea.)

Not only did I collaborate with a new producer, I also became smitten with a new olive variety. (New to me, that is.) Prevalent in Abruzzo, Dritta is a small, hard fruit—lower in oil yield, but bursting with flavor and perfume, and very food-friendly.

Claudio and his family employ an eclectic and personable harvest team, with workers hailing from Romania, the Ivory Coast, and Italy. Regional growers bring their olives to be pressed at the Hermes mill. “It’s the best place around,” one of my scouts observed. No surprise, then, that 5 of last year’s top 10 olive oils in Abruzzo were produced at Hermes.

Claudio also juggles his identity as a prize-winning olive oil artisan with a career as a systems engineer. His eye for detail and mind for process have naturally shaped the developments at Frantoio Hermes; as but one example, he and his team have incorporated a special Mori knife crusher, using multiple knives in the milling process—the slicing action of the knives (different from the crushing action of a hammer) helps preserve and amplify the aromas in the resulting oil.

Dritta continues to amaze me with its enchanting perfumes, especially of almond. I’d love to hear about your own sensory impressions—I encourage you to note down the aromas you identify, swirling out of the bottle. Then, like Hermes, wing me a message to let me know what you find!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

Straddling sweet and savory elements, this golden-green oil is fresh and bright on the nose, evocative of mint, lemon verbena, almonds, green apple, cinnamon, thyme, and chopped green salad. Very green and complex in the mouth, presenting almonds, hazelnuts, and cocoa beans alternating with bitter chicory and radicchio. The spiciness of arugula and green peppercorns dominates the long finish until it yields to almonds.

Sweet, spicy, and bitter elements are all present in this intriguing oil. Foodwise, you could go many ways with it. A salad of winter greens, preferably with nuts and citrus, would be a perfect vehicle for the oil’s flavors. Also try it with grains, on white beans, bruschetta, roasted cherry tomatoes, grilled meats, pork (especially heritage breeds that have dined on nuts), lamb, cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts and broccoli rabe, savory bread puddings, fresh sardines, kale, chicory, and yams.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Frantoio Pruneti, San Polo in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy 2018
• Olive Varieties: Moraiolo, Leccino, Frantoio, Pendolino
• Flavor Profile: Bold

I love traversing the rolling hills of Tuscany during harvest season, as vineyards and farmland blanket both sides of the road in alternating patches of gold, purple, and scarlet, like the squares of a quilt. This is  also wild boar country, so I’m constantly scanning my surroundings from the passenger seat, hoping to catch sight of one of those impressive and tasty beasts. They’ve eluded me so far (aside from the occasional, very delicious appearance on my plate, perfectly braised).

Almost as elusive this year were the Tuscan olives! My scouts on the ground sent early word that Tuscany’s olive crop was in trouble. Unusual, damaging weather patterns—late, tree-killing frosts in the spring, then too much moisture, including storms and floods— destroyed many olive crops in Italy’s north, abetted by olive pests. An important aspect of being the Olive Oil Hunter is having faith, and another part is cultivating relationships with the finest olive oil producers in the world. One of my favorite growers in Siena lamented, “No fruit this year.” Several others reported the same.

But just sixty miles from Siena, the Pruneti brothers anticipated a beautiful crop. Gionni and Paolo Pruneti are fourth-generation olive oil producers in San Polo in Chianti (that’s the full name of the town, San-Polo-in-Chianti). Gionni is a master miller, while Paolo tends to the business side of production. Their grove consistently reaps the highest awards, including four appearances on the Top 20 list of Flos Olei, the connoisseur’s guide to the world’s best olive oils; a 2017 silver medal in the Sol d’Oro competition; and the German Feinschmeckerlist of the world’s top 25 olive oils.

Perhaps it is their diversification that keeps the Prunetis striving for excellence—they also produce award-winning wines, a prized saffron crop, and about 12 acres of iris, famous for its graceful blooms but cultivated for the extract from its roots, which is used in perfume. In recent seasons the Prunetis purchased a new plot of land, acquiring more than 4,000 olive trees; they’ve spent two years reconditioning and pruning the trees in order to prepare the grove for optimal production.

This year the Prunetis’ MVP (most viable plant) was the ultra-flavorful Moraiolo olive, which weathered cold temperatures other varieties could not withstand. Longtime friend of the Club and master miller Duccio Morozzo described it as “a special year for Moraiolo. It reacted in a good way to the cold—this intensified the flavor.” He considers this Moraiolo crop possibly the best of the past 10 years.

As soon as I arrived at the Pruneti mill, Gionni and Paolo lined up about a dozen just-pressed blends on the table before me. I wanted to sample and savor every one of the pressings, as each would bring specific qualities to the nose and palate. The Prunetis knew that my aim would be to combine them in the perfect ratio to create a classic Tuscan blend— spicy, fruit-forward, and extremely food-friendly.

In the last year, Paolo announced, they’ve enhanced their already state-of-the-art equipment, introducing refrigeration to the crushing process to keep the olives cool as they become olive paste. This helps preserve the fresh, green perfumes in the oil.

These efforts met with sensational results, as all the pressings exhibited a rare harmony and balance. Gionni and I tinkered with many different proportions, bringing individual flavor characteristics to the fore. Finally, our eyes locked, eyebrows raised, palates humming: we had a winner! This exclusive blend of four traditional Tuscan olives is fresh, green, robust, and exquisitely well calibrated.

We celebrated our triumphant collaboration at a cozy local restaurant, Fuoripiazza, where we enjoyed first courses of a chicken terrine with pistachios and tomato sauce; crostini with Lardo di Colonatta, a special pork salumi of Tuscany; and a local dish of caramelized onion, pear, and béchamel cream. This all came before the centerpiece, Bistecca Fiorentina, descended on the table. (See us drizzling our just-pressed blend over the gorgeous steak below. The herbaceous oil melds perfectly with grilled meat juices to create a delectable sauce—try it at home!) Three bottles of the Prunetis’ top-shelf wine, Chianti Classico Reserva, enhanced each and every morsel of food. You’d better believe that in the process we toasted you, my dear Club members—the Prunetis are so very pleased to be sharing the fruits of their labors with you. Buonappetito!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

Distractingly green in the glass, this beautiful oil is Tuscany in a bottle. You’ll see what I mean when you open it—the scents of artichoke, black kale, almonds, spinach, lime zest, and white pepper are released. It is much the same in the mouth, but greener and more assertive. Very vegetal with the bitterness of escarole and chicory and (surprise) dark chocolate. My tasters and I also noted micro- greens, wheatgrass, lime zest, almonds (a recurring theme this quarter) and hazelnuts, before succumbing to its peppery throat-tickling finish.

This oil is extraordinarily food-friendly, despite its bold flavor profile. Pair it with grilled or long-braised meats (especially game), aged or strong-flavored cheeses, cured meats, oily fish such as mackerel, grilled octopus over bitter greens (I ate this dish recently), grilled artichokes, black kale, fennel, minestrone or broccoli soup, or pasta dishes with long-cooked sauces. Would also be wonderful paired with a bitter chocolate dessert.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

Recipes

• Grilled Fish With Artichoke Caponata Many years ago, an olive oil producer’s elderly mother made lunch for us. I will never forget her caponata, which was similar to this one. view recipe
• Cranberry And Pistachio Biscotti Wrap these cookies in cellophane for an attractive hostess gift. view recipe
• Chocolate Budino With Olive Oil And Sea Salt The word budino means custard or pudding in Italian. Rich and creamy, this already ethereal dessert is made even better when topped with olive oil and a flaky, crunchy sea salt such as Maldon. view recipe
• Overnight Broccoli Rabe With Anchovy And Preserved Lemon One of my closest friends, Justin Wangler, and I first met at A. B. Tech Culinary School in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Justin is currently the executive chef of Jackson Family Wines in California’s Sonoma Valley. The vineyard’s new cookbook, Season, was released in September. Below is a recipe Justin shared with me;… view recipe
• Orecchiette With Broccoli Sauce One of the most memorable dishes of my recent trip to Abruzzo was served family-style at a dinner at the Hermes farm. We liberally splashed the pasta with the exclusive olive oil blend we’d just created. Ingredients 12 ounces very small broccoli florets8 ounces orecchiette or other short pasta 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil,… view recipe
• Tuscan-Style Veal Chops Extra virgin olive oil becomes the base for a savory “board sauce” when mixed with fresh herbs and the natural juices of the meat. Substitute bone-in beef rib eyes or tomahawk steaks if veal is unavailable. view recipe
• Spatchcocked Grilled Chicken With Sicilian Salsa Spatchcocking is a great technique to use when you’re short on time; it can be used on chickens, turkeys, game hens, etc. If grilling isn’t an option, place a cooling rack in a rimmed sheet pan, put the bird on the rack, and roast in the oven. This recipe comes from master griller Steven Raichlen,… view recipe
• Porchetta-Style Turkey Breast Well-suited for smaller gatherings, this attractive and flavorful roulade of turkey breast will be the centerpiece of your festive table. And because I consider fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil to be Mother Nature’s perfect sauce, I suggest providing the table with extra oil for drizzling. view recipe
• Barbecued Lamb Skewers (Arrosticini) This finger food is very popular in Abruzzo. It is traditionally grilled over a fornacella, a shallow trough of charcoal just wide enough to cook 4 inches of skewered meat. (We use a hibachi or grill pan.) The garlic is my addition. view recipe
• Winter Panzanella Salad Bold textures and flavors distinguish this salad from its warm-weather version. view recipe

The Olive Oil Hunter Brings Magic to Your Fall Table: Three Fantastic Olive Oils from the Land Down Under

• Be one of just a handful of Americans to taste these healthful custom blends, created exclusively for Club members and available nowhere else!
• All have been certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin.
• Luxuriate in food-friendly, fresh-pressed olive oils that have no equal on supermarket shelves!.
• Enjoy the new recipes we’ve chosen to complement the oils you’ve just received (the Pear Crostini on page 13 will be a new favorite).

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G’day, Mate!

This quarter, my hunt for the finest fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oils in the world right now took me to Australia, one of my favorite sources of “liquid gold.” It’s about as close to the ends of the earth as I can go without commiserating with penguins or polar bears. “Oz,” as Australians like to call their island continent, is 10,000 miles and 14 time zones from my North Carolina home. But these food-friendly oils and their healthful antioxidants were worth the inevitable jet lag!

This is not my first trip Down Under. I’ve been visiting Australia for many years, scouting the country’s best olive oils and building relationships with top producers and industry experts. Australia’s rapid metamorphosis from an olive oil curiosity to a force to be reckoned with has been gratifying to see. During last year’s prestigious New York International Olive Oil Competition, Australian producers won four of the 17 “Best in Class” medals, second only to Italy.

Determined to Produce Fresh, Nutritious, and Winning Olive Oils

“Australia didn’t just enter the olive oil trade,” proclaimed the awards wrap-up on the competition’s website. “They reinvented it and sent shockwaves through the industry. Determined to produce olive oil that is as fresh and nutritious as possible, Australian producers craft some of the most winning brands in the world, while calling out low-quality rivals.”

Though nearly the size of the United States, physically, the Commonwealth of Australia is home to less than 30 million people. Most live on the periphery of this island continent. Olive trees thrive in the southeastern part of the country, particularly in New South Wales and the state of Victoria, where conditions mirror those of the Mediterranean. With the help of dedicated Australian olive farmers, I’m happily able to provide just-pressed olive oil to my Club members throughout the year.

Credit for Australia’s boot-strap victories can be divvied up among many entities. Among them are the Australian Olive Association, established in 1995 to support growers and promote high standards for Australian olive oils; Boundary Bend and Modern Olives Nursery and Laboratory Services (I’ve worked closely with both), for their ongoing commitment to quality and innovation; and especially the Australian olive farmers themselves, whose passion for making the best olive oil they can compels me to return to this friendly,
welcoming place year after year. (I love how the olive farmers go out of their way to help each other.)

During this visit, I encountered a new player, the Olive Wellness Institute. I met with a charming and knowledgeable representative, former pharmacist Sarah Gray, who told me the institute’s mission is
to provide consumers with the most up-to-date and evidence-based scientific information (all reviewed by a panel of independent experts) on olive oil and olive products as they relate to nutrition and wellness. The institute’s website is a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in the connection between olives and health.

Aussie Extra Virgins Take On Old World Olive Oils

Australia and olive oil actually have a long history. Italian and Greek immigrants in the nineteenth century concealed olive tree cuttings in the inseams of their clothing to carry the stock to their new homes in the Southern Hemisphere, later pressing the olives primarily for their own use. There was not yet a market, per se, for the oils. That’s changed! Extra virgin olive oil is now a staple in the majority of Australian homes, riding the coattails of exploding interest in food and health.

The Old World’s feathers were ruffled when New World producers like Australia began winning major awards for their olive oils. (About 95 percent of Oz’s oils meet or exceed international standards for extra virgin olive oil.) In a defining moment for Aussie producers, the city of Adelaide hosted Australia’s first international olive competition in October. There were more than 200 entries—none from Italy or Spain, who are among the largest importers of Australian olive oil.

But as world-renowned olive oil expert and master miller Leandro Ravetti explained to me over lunch, “We don’t have the ‘romance’ factor selling olive oil for us. We don’t have Florence, or the Duomo, or cypress-lined roads. We just have to do everything right, and that means taking a methodical, scientific approach to producing olive oil.”

Amazing Producers, Custom Blends

Australian producers I spoke with said this year was a bit of a nail-biter. Weather-related issues, especially the threat of frost, ultimately forced an early harvest; things then moved quickly. For me, this is not always a bad thing, as I prefer greener (early harvest) olive oils. Foresight and my long-term relationships with the country’s top producers enabled theme to create amazing custom blends for Club members that we’re sure you’ll love. Meet all of these extraordinary people in the following pages: the aforementioned Leandro; Annie, a pearl-wearing Australian grandmother with can-do attitude; and John and Marjan, risk takers who own olive groves on two continents.

Because only about one percent of the olive oil sold in the US is Australian, it’s possible, if you’re a new Club member, that you’ll be tasting an Aussie oil for the first time. All three oils (with mild, medium, and bold flavor profiles) are from the state of Victoria and will pair beautifully with colder weather dishes and seasonal produce. They will be a wonderful addition to your autumn table!

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Oasis Olives, Kialla, Victoria, 2018
• Olive Varieties: Frantoio, Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Mild

Last year I was thrilled, after five years of anticipation, to feature a stunning oil from the Oasis groves for my Club. I was so smitten with that oil—an intensely green Picual—that I served it at my wedding! (When I call myself your personal olive oil sommelier, you’d better believe it—the oils I select for my Club are those I’m most excited to use at my own table and to share with my family and friends.)

As the season progressed, I was thrilled to receive advance word that Oasis, the brainchild of John and Marjan Symington, anticipated another excellent harvest this season. Some nearby small farms were down as much as 70 percent in their production—a very dry summer was followed by early frosts, which destroyed some harvests outright—but
Oasis, located on 110 acres in Kialla, Victoria, yielded beautiful fruit. Strategic irrigation, early harvesting, and the skills of a passionate and gifted harvest team all contributed to a gorgeous Frantoio olive crop.

About eight years ago, John and Marjan were “looking for a challenge,” as John, a former software engineer, put it, when the couple purchased plots of untended, gnarled, and bushy olive trees with the aim of producing premium olive oil. Guided by olive expert Scott Sanders, the Oasis team made crucial improvements such as heavy pruning of the trees, implementing efficient irrigation technology, and acquiring a sleek, state-of-theme art olive mill to put their young farm on the map in short order. In less than a decade, the ultra-premium olive oils from Oasis have garnered the most awards of any farm in this region. The Symingtons also oversee a thriving Oasis outpost in Peru—one of these days I would love to feature a Peruvian oil as a Club selection, as soon as one meets my sky-high standards—and they are developing another property, in the neighboring state of South Australia.

On my journeys across the globe I have observed that artisanal growers and millers who are involved in more than one harvest per year—such as many of the Oasis team members, who work both the Peruvian and the Australian harvests, as well as longtime friend of the Club Leandro Ravetti, featured in this report—expand their knowledge more quickly and deeply than most other producers. And that makes for exponentially improving olive oils!

This harvest, the six-member Oasis team included John, Marjan, and Scott as well as two French seasonal workers, Guillem and Sylvain, and Antonio Maldonado, an expert miller from Spain. Antonio and his girlfriend journeyed Down Under with an aim of studying English: she attended language courses in town while Antonio worked on his vocabulary in the Oasis groves. Who do you think spoke more fluently by the time the harvest ended? (Antonio.)

In Spain, Antonio spent nine years sorting olives, which endowed him with an intuitive understanding of the fruit—how to handle it, how to select for optimal flavor, and the perfect time to harvest. You can discern his Iberian influence on the splendid blend we created exclusively for my Club.

Oasis conducted a special early pressing of Frantoio olives, green and fragrant, to which we added a small amount of Coratina for complexity. To my mind, this is a perfect exemplar of the Aussie approach to olive oil, making something new and wonderful out of a mosaic of cultures: Italian olives, grown in Aboriginal soil, cultivated by Australians, picked by Frenchmen, milled by a Spaniard, and blended by a North Carolina Southern boy (myself).

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

This unique blend has a delightful bouquet, with apple, almond, grass, celery, salad greens, and white pepper on the nose. My tasters and I also detected warm baking spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The sweet almond note is even more assertive on the palate, along with the minerally flavor of spinach, the spiciness of celery leaves, and the bitterness of sturdy fall greens such as endive or radicchio.

This oil’s vegetal flavor profile steers our recommended food pairings toward roasted root vegetables, especially potatoes, yams, bell peppers, pumpkins, and other squashes; fall salads (pears with cranberries and celery, for example, or bitter greens with oranges or grapefruit); mild fresh cheeses; mild white (non-oily) sh; white beans; veal; and even breakfast fare, such as scrambled eggs, the ubiquitous avocado toast, or oatmeal or yogurt with dried fruits.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Nullamunjie 2018 Blend, Tongio, Victoria
• Olive Varieties: Frantoio, Coratina, Corregiola, Leccino
• Flavor Profile: Medium

As soon as my plane lands at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport, I hit the ground running, always eager to get on the road and visit olive oil producers. But an atypical evening arrival gave my Merry Band of Tasters and me a rare opportunity to accept a social invitation from Nullamunjie proprietress Annetta “Annie” Paterson and her husband, John, to dinner and cocktails at the family’s
home—a charming antique Victorian with gingerbread trim—near the city’s Central Business District.

Annie, who is like a composite of everyone’s favorite aunt, greeted us with her characteristic warmth and a crackling fire in the replace. Wearing her trademark South Sea pearl necklace, she teased our travel-weary palates with aperitifs and warm pear crostini (find the recipe below), one of the most satisfying bites of the trip, followed by seasonal dishes like braised duck leg quarters with cabbage and onions, roasted root vegetables, a farro and chickpea salad, and a rustic apple crostata. (For several months out of the year, Annie runs a popular restaurant on her farm called “The Pressing Shed Cafe”— “pressing shed” is the Aussie term for olive mill. So a meal at her table is quite a treat.)

The next day, excited to revisit Annie’s farm near Tongio and taste the oils at their source, we maneuvered our rental van through fast-growing Melbourne’s nightmarish traffic and picked up
the scenic Great Alpine Road for the four-hour drive.

While Annie’s life now straddles city and country, this cattleman’s daughter grew up near the rural mountain range known as the “Australian Alps” in southeastern Victoria. A college-era trip to Greece convinced her olive trees would thrive on the family’s ranch with its Mediterranean-like climate, active freeze-thaw cycle, and rocky soil. As it turned out, Annie’s instincts were spot on, but her father was unconvinced.

It wasn’t until 1998 that Annie acquired a beautiful parcel of family land, bisected by the Tambo River on the slopes of Mt. Stawell. Finally, with her four children ready to leave the finest, the time was right to pursue her dream. Twenty years later, Nullamunjie is a frequent award winner and its proprietress is a respected authority in Australia’s tight-knit olive oil community.

Nullamunjie hosts about 3,000 trees—mostly Tuscan varietals
Annie selected for their adaptability to the farm’s unique
microclimate. She is assisted in day-to-day operations by the capable Tom Morgan, grove supervisor, as well as Jack Diamond, who
understands the terroir as only a local can. Bonnie, a gregarious
German wirehaired pointer, is the farm’s official greeter. When
manpower needs surge at harvest time, the always resourceful Annie
recruits family members and hires first responders from Ambulance
Victoria, an emergency healthcare and transportation service that
ministers to the region’s rural population.

The 2018 harvest was certainly one to celebrate, though Annie admits there were some challenges. To wit, Victoria’s summer was the third hottest on record. Annie fretted over potential stress to her trees, which she treasures like children. (Actually, yields were up over last year, and the fruit’s oils were more concentrated thanks to water deprivation, moving Nullamunjie’s flavor profile, consistently “Mild” for several years, to “Medium.”) The very real threat of bushres terrified Annie, too.

There were also pesky equipment breakdowns, not to mention the now infamous deleafer: Annie purchased it to remove not only leaves but also stems and twigs from the olives before pressing. But the deleafer arrived sans assembly instructions. Annie asked a couple of olive oil producer pals to help her, and laughingly notes there was only one leftover part (apparently nonessential!) when they were finished.

Bottom line? Once again, this plucky and determined Australian grandmother has pulled a rabbit out of the hat. The blend we created together is magical.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

Right out of the bottle, this luscious custom-blended extra virgin olive oil is very fresh and green on the nose. (Note the lovely color!) It evokes citrus notes, along with sweet hay, macadamia nuts, fennel, baby lettuce, ginger, and fresh herbs like parsley and basil. In the mouth, its appealing nuttiness is balanced by the pepperiness of nasturtiums and green peppercorns. Spicy heat is reminiscent of baby arugula and serves as a reminder that healthful polyphenols are in the house. Expect a rich mouthfeel and a lingering finish.

This oil would be our choice for some baked desserts (especially featuring dark chocolate); serve it with chicken, turkey, or veal; use it to make pesto from fresh basil or carrot tops. Another fine use would be in a spinach salad featuring nuts or seeds (they would complement the natural nuttiness of the oil).

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Leandro Ravetti 2018, Boort, Victoria
• Olive Varieties: Picual, Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Bold

When I’m in Australia I’m always on the lookout for koala bears. The koala’s popularity gives the impression a furry cub is waving at you from every eucalyptus tree, but in reality you have to keep your eyes peeled. I feel triumphant, as if I’ve truly arrived on the continent, when I’ve finally seen one.

Likewise, a trip Down Under feels truly complete when I have the opportunity to collaborate with my dear friend and longtime supporter of the Club, Leandro Ravetti. As a globe-trotting expert on all things olive, Leandro can be tough to pin down—at any given time he might be judging a competition in New York or consulting in Japan—so I was thrilled to learn that we would be in Australia at the same time this season.

Born in Argentina to parents of Italian heritage, Leandro paired his analytical mind and culinary interests to earn an honors degree in agricultural engineering. Post-graduate work in Spain and Italy saw him certified as an olive oil master miller, and his expertise and ingenuity brought him to international attention. In the fall of 2000, Leandro was invited to join the company Modern Olives as its technical director to help guide the brand-new Australian olive
oil scene, then characterized by tiny groves, often located hundreds of miles apart, pioneered by enthusiastic, novice growers who were
yearning for advice and camaraderie. Anticipating he’d stay for maybe two years, Leandro has now called the state of Victoria his home for 18 years and counting (although he’s constantly on the move).

Leandro’s ancestral heritage has come full circle, with his playing a major role in redirecting the Old World traditions of olive cultivation toward a uniquely New World approach. The success of Australian olive oil is built on science: Modern Olives maintains a nursery and a laboratory for the study and improvement of planting and cultivation techniques, optimizing aroma and flavor, and perfecting state-of-the-art storage methods. (You can read more about Leandro’s influence on Australian olive oil above.)

Leandro oversees two groves in Victoria, located about 150 miles apart, which are home to many different microclimates and, consequently, to varied complexities of aroma and flavor in the olives. In the months leading up to the harvest, he and I were in touch about the growing season—“a peculiar year,” he said; early frosts had devastated the crops of some growers, but others, including his groves, were lucky to escape unscathed.

He was excited to collaborate on a special selection for my Club, and confided that the ace up his sleeve this season was Picual. I love Picual, as longstanding Club members can attest. But to please my palate it must be an early-harvest Picual, beautifully green, showcasing the variety’s bold flavor intensity, and Leandro knows exactly what I mean. This beguiling Picual blend—with just a dash of Coratina, to round it out—embodies the signature Ravetti air, bringing out the New World character in this Spanish variety, with fruit flavors dancing among the greenery: kiwi, apricot, pear.

We debuted our brilliant collaboration at a memorable lunch at Café Sa, on St. Kilda Road. Australian cuisine draws from multiple influences for a mouthwatering parade of flavors: Pacic Rim, Thai, Turkish, and more. I drizzled the fragrant blend over a crumbed chicken Caesar salad as Leandro tucked into cashew chicken and roasted vegetables with a generous splash of our exclusive creation. I can’t wait for you to wow your family and friends with this exceedingly food-friendly blend!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

This master miller has once again coaxed an amazing olive oil from one of my favorite varietals, Picual. The nose is fruity and
intoxicating, evocative of pears, kiwi, and stone fruits like peaches and apricots. There’s a very green component, too—grassy, vegetal, and herbal with celery and green tomato leaves and a touch of lemon and peppermint. This oil is green in the mouth as well, with an intense, cocoa nib–like bitterness and the minerally notes of artichoke. Predictably, it tastes of tomato leaf and is beautifully calibrated with a touch of ginger-like spiciness.

My tasters and I immediately pegged this oil as the one to serve with pizza! It would also be fantastic with grilled meats, bruschetta, or any dish with tomatoes or aged cheese. It’s bold enough to serve with tuna, lamb, duck, or slow-cooked cold-weather stews.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

Recipes

• Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies Well-known cookbook author Rozanne Gold shared this recipe on an episode of Martha Stewart’s Cooking Today on Sirius XM 110. These cookies’ oval shape, payload of olive oil, and the fact that they’re rolled in chocolate chips make them unusual and very professional looking (and tasting!). view recipe
• Boon’s Brussel Sprouts Roasted until golden brown and then doused in a flavorful vinaigrette, these brussels sprouts are addictive. If you can find them, buy brussels sprouts on the stalk. They are often available in farmers’ markets in the fall. Simply cut off what you need. view recipe
• Greek-Style Mushrooms and Leeks (Manitaria Yiahni) Melbourne has the largest population of Greeks of any city in the world outside of Greece. Originally discovered in an old monastery cookbook, this recipe is representative of many Greek dishes called lathero, meaning vegetables cooked with olive oil, tomato, and herbs. If you eat dairy, serve it with a briny chunk of feta cheese. view recipe
• Rack Of Lamb With Garlic, Rosemary Sheep outnumber Australians by 3 to 1, so it’s no surprise lamb is popular on restaurant menus and in Aussie homes. This elegant entrée can be on the dinner table in less than 30 minutes. We like to serve extra virgin olive oil on the side so it can be drizzled on the meat like… view recipe
• Herb-Marinated Beef Tenderloin Here, beef tenderloin is steeped in pungent fresh herbs, olive oil, and Aussie wine, and cooked to perfection in a two-step process called “reverse searing.” The method yields meat that is uniformly pink from edge to edge. Great for entertaining! view recipe
• Grilled Salmon With Orzo, Feta, And Red Wine Vinaigrette Native Australian, celebrity chef, and restaurateur Curtis Stone has put down roots in Los Angeles. (Check out his acclaimed restaurants Gwen or Maude if the opportunity presents.) In the meantime, here’s an easy dinner that will put the spotlight on your fine Australian olive oils. view recipe
• Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner With Lemons And Olives Outstanding extra virgin olive oil allows you to achieve big flavors effortlessly. Case in point? This sheet pan chicken dinner that goes together in minutes. If you don’t have olives on hand, feel free to substitute marinated artichoke hearts and a couple of tablespoons of brined capers. view recipe
• Pear And Arugula Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette This recipe was developed by my longtime friend Justin Wangler, executive chef for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens in Fulton, California. view recipe
• Carrot Salad Garden-fresh carrots with feathery tops are preferred for this simple but colorful salad. It is perfect for weeknight dinners, potlucks, or picnics. view recipe
• Dukkah-Spiced Yogurt Dip with Toasted Pita Dukkah (pronounced dook-ah) has Middle Eastern origins but is a very popular seasoning in Australia. It is also good on fish, raw vegetables, and pita bread toasted with olive oil. view recipe

To enliven your summer dining—three tantalizing harvest-fresh extra virgin olive oils from Chile, rushed here by jet at their peak of flavor!

• All are from award-winning producers at the top of Chile’s vibrant olive oil scene.
• All are brimming with bright, enticing flavors, perfect for enhancing summer salads, grilled seafood and meats, even desserts (try some drizzled on vanilla ice cream!).
• All three are packed with healthful polyphenols and are independently lab certified to be 100% extra virgin.
• All three are Club exclusives, available nowhere else in America.

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Where in the world is the Olive Oil Hunter? You might just as well ask, “When in the world?” While the US is gearing up for summer, right now I’m enjoying late autumn—olive harvest time—in Chile, my favorite South American destination on my ever-revolving mission to bring you the freshest, finest extra virgin olive oils on earth.

Farmer’s Market to the World

Agriculture is the mainstay of Chile’s economy—the highways in central Chile are lined with produce packing houses. Gorgeous avocados—palta—are always within reach; one of my favorite snacks is smashed avocado on crusty bread, with a drizzle of fresh olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. My only regret is that I’m not here at tomato-time, to savor what I think of as “the essence of summer”: thick slices of plump, red, vine-ripe tomatoes, splashed lavishly with just-pressed olive oil. But you, my lucky Club members, are perfectly poised to do so!

I’ll be the first to admit that back in my school days I probably couldn’t find Chile on a map. Now I know it like the back of my hand—if my hand were a narrow, two-thousand-mile stretch along the Pacific—thanks to Chile’s award-winning, groundbreaking, and vibrant olive oil scene.

Chile Bursts on the Scene

The first substantial olive groves were planted in Chile only as of the year 2000. Within just a few years—thanks to a Mediterranean-like climate, devotion to horticulture, an absence of olive pests, and expert technical and creative guidance from master millers—the quality and distinction of Chilean extra virgin olive oils had earned them international acclaim.

Bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Andes Mountains on the east; the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, to the north; and the taper of Patagonia to the south, Chile is only 110 miles across at its widest point. Chile’s diverse geography provides for many microclimates, which create complexity in the flavors of its freshpressed olive oils.

I first visited Chile and its olive groves in 2005, at which time I met several of the pioneering producers. As soon as the trees bore fruit, I was thrilled to introduce Chilean oils to my Club members, and each year since I have delighted in bringing you exclusive Chilean oils—especially at a time of year when just-pressed olive oils are otherwise unavailable (or very hard to come by) in the Northern Hemisphere.

Dusty Roads to Liquid Gold

When I landed in Santiago, one of the first things I noticed was that the Andes, normally snow-capped, were bare. My scouts on the ground had reported, “No rain, all summer. Not a drop.” For several years running, Chile has been enduring what scientists have dubbed “mega-drought,” or megasequía. Most farms are equipped with irrigation systems that rely on water from wells or lakes. But snow melt from the Andes helps replenish those ground sources, so the visual of bald mountains was uncanny, like a good friend who’s gotten a subtly strange haircut.

Many of the roads to, from, and around olive farms are dirt or gravel, and in Chile they seemed paved with dust, all 1,400 miles of them. While touring the groves of Deleyda (see profile below) with producer Christian Coddou, I was sputtering some numbers in “Spanglish,” trying to estimate the acreage. Finally—in a truly resourceful move—Christian wrote out the specific sum with his index finger in the dust on the dashboard of our rented gray SUV. (The same way we kids used to inscribe “Wash Me!” on a dirty car.)

In spite of the drought, my Merry Band of Tasters and I weren’t worried about the olives, as we work with producers who meticulously manage their irrigation resources. Also, a degree of water deprivation has its benefits, as it helps concentrate the perfumes and flavors in the resulting olive oil.

Several farms anticipated excellent harvests. I was particularly eager to taste the Frantoio at the Deleyda groves; I was also intrigued by advance word that, on more than one farm, Koroneiki olives—a Greek variety—promised to be outstanding. The threat in Chile, where the seasons can shift in a blink, would be frost. We had to ensure the olives were picked and pressed before the temperature dropped. That was fine by me, as I prefer that the fruit be pressed green, for greater flavor and higher polyphenol content.

The Beauty of the Blend

Chilean groves tend to focus on a handful of olive varieties (in contrast to the more than 500 found in Italy): Arbequina, Coratina, Koroneiki, Arbosana, Frantoio, Picual. This minimalist approach presents a wonderful opportunity for artful, finely calibrated blending, and it gave me and my colleagues—including Italian master miller Duccio Morozzo della Rocca—the chance to create three exquisite blends that are truly greater than the sum of their parts.

Before embarking on the 5,000-mile flight home, I was delighted to spend an afternoon with Maria Luz Hurtado (see photo, opposite page), director of the olive oil diploma program at the University of Santiago. An ambassador for Chilean olive oils, Maria was the teacher of two producers I worked with this quarter (Deleyda and Alonso), as well as dozens of other influential people in Chile’s olive oil scene.

Maria was thrilled to learn about my Club and the level of olive oil appreciation demonstrated by its members. She is so proud that these beauties will be representing Chile on your summer tables. I can’t wait for you to taste them with just about everything—splash them generously on salads, grilled meats, vegetables, and seafood, and drizzle them over tender sweet corn. Mmmmmm… A mi gusta!

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson

The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Duccio Morozzo Selección Exclusiva, Colchagua Valley, Chile 2018
• Olive Varieties: Arbequina, Koroneiki
• Flavor Profile:  Mild

If you’ve been a Club member for a while, you’ve savored the artistry of my dear friend and devoted champion of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club, Duccio Morozzo della Rocca. An internationally celebrated olive oil judge, taster, and master miller, Duccio, like myself, works and travels almost year-round, as the global olive harvests trace the earth’s trip around the sun. He sent word that he’d also be in Chile during the time of my quest, advising and overseeing the harvest at the Swett family farm in the Colchagua Valley, about 100 miles south of Santiago.

I love driving through central Chile at this time of year. The endless vineyards, olive groves, and other plantings blanket both sides of the road like an autumnal patchwork quilt, rippling out in squares of burgundy, gold, dark purple, and silver-green.

Duccio was as excited as I was to collaborate on an exclusive blend for my Club, showcasing this season’s beautiful fruit in what he has dubbed “the perfect example of Chilean agriculture.” The extensive groves of the Swett family farm inhabit a complex landscape, with many different microclimates and sharp shifts in geography. Thus the same variety of olive—yet grown, for instance, on both sides of a hill—can yield very different aromas and flavors, depending on the sun exposure and altitude.

On the ground in advance, Duccio observed this season’s crop coming to fruition, and pronounced it outstanding. He gave a special nod to the Koroneiki olives, a Greek variety, and the Arbequina, a Spanish variety that is ubiquitous in Chile, but, as Duccio observes, diplomatically, “Not everybody does it well.” Duccio prefers to sample the olives right from the tree, tasting for potential, finding the spots with just the right amount of sun to build aromas in the fruit, imagining how he’ll orchestrate the flavors together. (See us inspecting the rows of olive trees in the photo at left.)

For a few days we were given reign over the field for a special harvest, exclusive to my Club, in order to procure the perfect ingredients for what we had in mind: a complex, intense, pleasing, extraordinary oil.

Providing the base of the blend, Arbequina brings green and sweet aromas; Duccio describes its sensory impression as “the fresh soul of the olives.” We harvested two different batches of Arbequina, from separate locations, and pressed them separately as well. One batch was pressed using a traditional hammer crusher, whereas the other was milled using a super state-of-the-art knife crusher. Both methods produce desired but different results, enabling us to glean more complexity and nuance from the Arbequina: variations on a theme. The Koroneiki, in a smaller amount, adds dimension to the blend, giving it pungency, a lively bitterness, and a bit of a kick.

Trained as a composer, Duccio brings a musician’s appreciation of harmony, interplay, and resonance to the creation of an optimal blend. He also brings his irrepressible personality and love of life into the process, beginning our blending session by announcing, “Let’s have some fun!” Believe me, we did! (See photo at right.) The brilliant blend we created is bursting with personality. It’s a celebration of Chilean agriculture; an expression of gratitude for you, my wonderful Club members; and an almost magical levitation of the sensory elements that construct an optimal olive oil: greenness, sweetness, bitterness, and spice.

We were so delighted with the result that Duccio bottled extra to give to the grove workers, so they can enjoy the fruits of their labors. All of us are so very proud to share it with you!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

Grassiness is forward on the nose, as are the fruity notes of green banana and apple. Minty and fresh, with hints of Belgian endive, fennel, and lime zest, with a fillip of green peppercorns. In the mouth, expect a crescendo of rich, round food associations—from sweet (bananas, lemon meringue pie, white chocolate, cocoa butter) to savory (celery leaves, chicory, ginger), with the subtle nuttiness of almonds. Clean, bright mouthfeel (again, minty) with a long, warm Szechuan peppercorn-like finish.

My tasters and I noted this beautifully balanced, somewhat sweet olive oil would be great for baking. (It would shine in quick breads, pastries, or the Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake shown below.) It would also be perfect for drizzling over summer salads, especially those featuring fruit; mild fish and shellfish; poultry; fresh or non-aged cheeses; grilled vegetables; sweet potatoes; lentils; rice; eggs; and as always, warm crusty bread.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Deleyda, Pumanque, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2018
• Olive Varieties: Frantoio, Arbequina, Arbosana
• Flavor Profile: Medium

Make the trek up the pyramid-like hill in the center of Deleyda’s El Cerrillo olive groves, and you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of the property and the mountain-rimmed Colchagua Valley that cradles it. (El Cerrillo means “the hill.”) Bring food, too, because the wooden pavilion at the hill’s quartz-strewn summit is a perfect place for a fall picnic. On this unseasonably warm day, I’ve brought a colorful quinoa salad with lemon wedges and heavenly just-pressed extra virgin olive oil.

From my high vantage point, I contemplate the circumstances that brought me to this special place. I don’t recall how I first came to know of Deleyda, but during the past 13 years, I have cultivated a strong network of friends and contacts in Chile. Any one of them could have alerted me to this quality-obsessed producer. (Deleyda’s oils have been featured in Flos Olei, a prestigious guide to the world’s best olive oils, since 2009—quite an accomplishment).

For several years, I auditioned Deleyda’s extra virgin olive oils, hoping one day to include them in my Chilean lineup. The oils showed much promise, which is why I persisted in tasting them. But they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. Until now.

Deleyda was founded in 2006 by five partners committed to producing super highquality Chilean olive oil. They evaluated more than 20 properties before purchasing the El Cerrillo land in the O’Higgins Region. Access to water was a must, of course.

The O’Higgins Region, a bit smaller than the state of Massachusetts, is agriculturally blessed with a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean. Like Russia’s famous nested dolls, it harbors contoured valleys within valleys. Tree fruit and olives are among the products it trucks over the ribbon-like Ruta Cinco to Santiago and the world beyond.

Planted in 2008, the 400-acre farm is itself a valley. It hosts a number of microclimates that give complexity to the olives. My scouts on the ground predicted 2018 could be an exceptional year as long as Mother Nature cooperated. And she did! Shortly before my visit, El Cerrillo hosted world-renowned olive oil expert and master miller Dr. Mario Beltrami. Dr. Beltrami, an agronomist from Tuscany, has been a consultant to Deleyda for several years, deftly maximizing its oils’ potential.

Happily, the just-pressed Frantoio, Arbequina, and Arbosana oils I tasted at the on-site high-tech mill with El Cerrillo’s general manager, Christian Coddou, were very impressive. Together we created a beautiful and exclusive blend for my Club members.

Over a lunch at a local restaurant appropriately named Mestizo (“mixed”), Christian was eager to talk about why this year’s early-harvest oils were so good. The weather was very accommodating, he said, with warm days and cool nights. Luckily, frost did not affect the budding trees in the spring or the harvest-ready fruit in the fall.

The farm actually has a clever defense against frost. Christian explained that solar-powered thermometers positioned throughout the groves send alerts via Wi-Fi if temperatures drop below a preset threshold. A tractor equipped with a blower rushes to the trees and warms the air. I have not seen this technique in play before—more evidence of New World ingenuity.

The continuation of Chile’s drought has reduced water levels in the fruit and concentrated its amazing flavors. With a background in irrigation, Christian gives the trees just enough water to sustain them without diluting the olives’ perfume and essence. Six wells on the property supply the irrigation system. Christian stops watering the trees about a week before harvest.

I am very eager for you to taste the olive oil from this world-class producer. Deleyda is thrilled to share its just-pressed extra virgin olive oil with my Club members, people who will appreciate its outstanding quality and affinity for the foods of summer.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

On the nose, this medium-intensity olive oil releases the heady scents of almonds, vanilla, banana skin, honeycomb, celery, baby spinach, fennel, and fresh-cut grass. It gives the impression of being both sweet and green, which is confirmed on the palate. Again, we invoked almonds, vanilla, and honey, cut through with the vivifying astringency of lime and the darkly vegetal bitterness of Swiss chard and parsley stems. The spiciness of black peppercorns lingers in the throat, a reminder of this oil’s precious payload of polyphenols.

We recommend pairing this multi-faceted oil with white beans; game meats; lamb shoulder, breast, or shanks; lobster or prawns; duck; beef; salmon; herb-inflected egg dishes, such as frittatas or quiches; oil-rich fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, or bluefish; and simple pasta dishes, such as aglio e olio. Perfect, also, for chocolate- or almond-based desserts.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Alonso, Agricola Pobeña SA, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2018
• Olive Varieties: Picual, Koroneiki, Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Bold

Not even in Corleone, Sicily, had the Olive Oil Hunter been threatened before. I certainly didn’t expect it in friendly Chile. But several people heard Juan Jose Alonso jokingly deliver an ultimatum: “T. J., if you don’t come to my beach house this year for a barbecue, I will not sell you any olive oil.”

So I did the only thing I could do—I buckled—and promised Juan Jose (shortened by friends and family to “Juanjo”) my Merry Band of Tasters and I would happily accept his invitation.

That is how we found ourselves navigating our rented SUV to a house party on a twisty, unpaved version of the Pacific Coast Highway. Our destination was Puertecillo, a tiny seaside town (population: less than 100) mostly known only to hardcore surfers. I imagine this is what Malibu must have looked like back in the day. Juan Jose and his young family live there.

Life, however, hasn’t always been a party for the Alonso family.

Its patriarch, Abel Alonso, was a Basque refugee from Spain’s civil war in the 1930s.

Abel’s father had been imprisoned by the despotic military dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled the country for decades. As a teenager, Abel and his parents fled to Chile. Though he had little education, young Abel found work in a shoe factory. He eventually built one of the largest and most successful shoe companies in the country.

But annual visits to his homeland after Franco’s death in 1975 made Abel long to establish an olive farm in Chile—a living legacy for his five sons and their families. He entrusted Juan Jose with the responsibility of finding a plot of land to make the dream come true.

Even though Juan Jose had his own dream—he had just returned from California with a newly minted master’s degree in Fine Arts and a keen interest in surfing—he didn’t want to disappoint his father or siblings. Eventually, he located a property in the O’Higgins Region of Central Chile that hosted Mediterranean-like conditions, had water reserves (extremely important), and not incidentally, was only 30 minutes from one of Chile’s finest surfing destinations. (The family still teases Juan Jose about this, though he insists self-interest had nothing to do with the decision.)

Today, the farm is a model for New World olive producers and a source of pride for Abel, who now spends much of his time in his beloved Basque country. A 55-acre lake and a series of wells supply the water for a sophisticated irrigation system. A large state-ofthe- art mill ensures olives are pressed within 90 minutes of being harvested—an amazing turnaround time that preserves freshness and protects precious polyphenols. Day-to-day operations are managed by another son, Ignacio Alonso, giving Juan Jose the freedom to pursue art and epic waves. Ignacio is ably assisted by master miller Miguel Molina, who has helped the farm win many olive oil awards.

The 2018 harvest has gone very well so far for the Alonsos. Last year, as you may recall, devastating wildfires licked the edges of the property but were held back by a Herculean effort on the part of the entire team. The drought continues, unfortunately. The lake is the lowest I have ever seen it. Yet, the oils continue to thrill. I am particularly proud of this year’s blend, which showcases Alonso’s lovely Picual, Koroneiki, and Coratina varietals. (See my tasting notes below.)

Meanwhile, I got the blue-ribbon tour of Juan Jose’s charming beach house and its bohemian-inspired décor. (My visit coincided with his son’s fourth birthday party.) There’s something to see on every surface. Even the commode in the bathroom is gaily painted. Only the homemade chicken empanadas, olive oil-honeycoconut macaroons, and a cold Escudo beer distracted me from the riot of color. It was a joyous celebration. I hope you experience some of that joy when you open the bottle. Impressions and

Recommended Food Pairings:

Boldly, deeply green on the nose, leading with fresh culinary herbs like thyme, rosemary, and tarragon. The green theme continues with tomato leaf, green tea, kiwi, kale, and peppery arugula or nasturtium leaves. It was described as “chewy,” with just a touch of sweetness reminiscent of blackberries. Very intriguing on the palate, exhibiting the bitterness of radicchio and the spiciness of arugula. Our taste buds were met with oncoming waves of tomato leaf, celery, bitter chocolate (think cocoa nibs), as well as mint, rosemary, and thyme. Not unexpectedly, we experienced a long, peppery finish. Our tasting affirmed our decision to position this oil as our boldest in the lineup.

Of course, this muscular oil should be paired with assertively flavored foods. Bistecca Fiorentina (wood-grilled beef porterhouse) comes to mind (see our recipe for Flank Steak with Salsa Verde on page 17), along with bruschetta; swordfish, sardines, and tuna; sliced tomatoes; tomato soup or sauce; gazpacho; and gremolata; even chocolate ice cream. One taster dubbed this oil “pesto in a bottle.” It will be a stalwart in your summer kitchen and, in

Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

Recipes

• Roasted Peppers with Parmesan Breadcrumbs This simple but jewel-like appetizer or side dish can be served hot or at room temperature. Don’t forget the last drizzle of olive oil for a spectacular presentation! view recipe
• Portobello Mushrooms with Chipotle Guacamole The mushrooms can be grilled up to a day ahead, but make the guacamole an hour or two before serving. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (make sure the wrap makes contact with the guacamole) and refrigerate. view recipe
• Grilled Cauliflower Fajitas With over 6 percent of Americans identifying as vegan and millions more describing themselves as “vegetarianinclined,” a meatless main course option belongs in your recipe repertoire. view recipe
• Fresh Tomato Soup Make this simple soup when sun-ripened tomatoes come into the market. If you’re unfamiliar with it, burrata is a water-packed, milky mozzarella-like cheese filled with cream. Substitute a spoonful of fresh ricotta if burrata is unavailable. view recipe
• Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake This beautiful cake is dense, as it was originally adapted from a quick-bread recipe. Before juicing the lemon, remove the zest in long thin strips and reserve for a garnish. view recipe
• Oatmeal With Olive Oil And Berries Fruit-topped oatmeal drizzled with extra virgin olive oil is a lovely way to greet the morning, hitting just the right savory and sweet notes. Use whatever fruit you have on hand—sliced bananas, diced fresh peaches, strawberries, etc. view recipe
• Black Bean and Corn Salad This colorful side dish is potluck-worthy, and with the addition of sliced grilled chicken, pork, or steak, is substantial enough to serve as a main course. Diced avocado is an optional ingredient. If you’re short on time, substitute canned black beans (drained, thoroughly rinsed, and drained again) for the dried. view recipe
• Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Bacon My wife, Meghan, and I enjoyed this simple salad on the first day of our Chilean olive oil expedition, and we recreated it as soon as we returned to Asheville. view recipe
• Garlicky Herbed Chicken Halving or spatchcocking the chicken enables it to cook faster—a plus on busy weeknights. To spatchcock a bird, place it breast-side down and remove the backbone with kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Flatten with the palm of your hand. view recipe
• Grilled Flank Steak with Salsa Verde Maintain a cool kitchen by taking the party outside. The key to tender flank steak is to cook it to medium-rare, then slice thinly on a sharp diagonal. view recipe

Proudly Presenting Three Exquisite Fresh-Pressed Olive Oils from the Iberian Peninsula!

• Bursting with healthful polyphenols (some of the highest I’ve seen in years), these olive oils are all from award-winning family-owned groves.
• All have been tested and certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin olive oil.
• Rushed to you by jet at their peak of flavor, these oils will be fantastic additions to your spring menus.
• All three are Club exclusives and are available nowhere else in America!

In biblical times, the story goes, Noah released a dove to determine if there was life to be found in the wake of an epic flood. The bird returned with a green olive leaf clutched in its beak, gladdening Noah’s heart. When a devastating heat wave swept Southern Europe several months ago—a scorching tsunami nicknamed “Lucifer” by climatologists—I despaired of finding the ultra-premium extra virgin olive oils my Club members love and expect each quarter. Even Francisco “Paco” Vañó of Castillo de Canena, one of the most resilient, consistent, and resourceful producers I know, was concerned. (Read more about Paco below.)

But the scouts I dispatched in advance of my recent visit to the Iberian Peninsula were cautiously optimistic, handing me the metaphorical equivalent of a green olive leaf! Olive oil quantities would likely be lower, they said, but the quality was predicted to be even better than last year. I found this to be true when I hit the ground. In fact, the polyphenol levels, which give olive oil many of its healthful properties, are among the highest I’ve seen in years.

Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Is a Healthful Tonic

Aren’t you craving a restorative tonic like this? Bring on the fresh asparagus, the morel mushrooms, the spring onions, the fiddlehead ferns, the ramps, and other seasonal foods— all drizzled with stunningly fresh and flavorful olive juice. See below for new and inspiring Spanish and Portuguese recipes.

The first stop on my hunt for three precious extra virgin olive oils was Andalucía, an autonomous community in the south of Spain. The Roman Empire conquered the region in 212 BCE, quickly recognizing the stony Guadalquivir River Valley (now named Jaén) was perfect for olive trees. So popular was its olive oil in Italy that an artificial hill in southeastern Rome—Testaccio—was built from millions of smashed amphorae, imported from Spain.

When the empire collapsed, other cultures found Andalucía too tempting a prize to pass up. Most of the invaders improved olive growing practices; the Arabs even introduced irrigation to what became the world’s largest manmade forest, now the source of more than 40 percent of the planet’s olive oil.

No Rain in Spain

The Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder evidently knew a thing or two about farming. He sagely recommended spacing olive trees 55 feet apart to prevent them from pilfering each other’s water—advice modern farmers would do well to follow in arid years like this one.

And while we’re on the subject… In tandem with the heat wave, which delivered daytime temperatures exceeding 110°F, parts of the Mediterranean have been plagued by a prolonged drought. It’s now in its fourth year. Many regions have reported zero rain for six months. Lakes, rivers, aquifers, and wells are drying up. In Spain, where less than onequarter of the country’s olive trees are irrigated, farmers are using up to 30 percent more water to keep their thirsty trees hydrated, alive, and thriving—water they’re often compelled to buy from other local sources. Portugal is faring no better.

Paradoxically, Jaén Selección by the Diputación Provincial de Jaén, a prestigious annual competition in Spain’s most important olive growing province, typically receives fewer than two dozen entries. You’d think this difficult growing year would limit the field. So it was surprising when 60 oils were entered in the most recent contest.

Viva the Revolution!

I had a bit of an inside track this year. My friend Santiago Botas, an international food and olive oil expert, was familiar with the entrants. In a lively discussion in Madrid over coffee, he exclaimed that there’s been a “revolution” going on in Jaén’s olive groves and almazaras (mills) for the past fifteen years or so.

“We were producing for quantity, not quality,” he said. “That is changing. We are obtaining lower yields but better [organoleptic] qualities.” That has been my experience as well. I only work with top-tier producers—perhaps less than one percent of growers satisfy my discriminating requirements.

Santiago, who will be featured in a documentary on Spanish Picual olives that is currently being filmed, credits visionaries like Paco from Castillo de Canena and the Gálvez family of Finca Gálvez with leading the charge. (Before speaking to Santiago, I had already visited both producers and selected their oils for Club members this quarter. But it was gratifying to have my choices affirmed by this colleague and authority.) He is thrilled with Jaén’s newfound commitment to making premium olive oils, and hopes other provinces will follow suit. The Spanish government, he noted, is sponsoring generous olive-related subsidies to help both cooperatives and private parties improve their oils and compete at the highest levels in the olive oil world.

Meanwhile, my Merry Band of Tasters and I were expected in northern Portugal, roughly an eight-hour drive over sometimes rugged terrain, to taste the very special oils of Filipe de Albuquerque Madeira and his gracious family. These oils are pressed from olive varietals that are unique to Portugal. Heirloom olive trees, if you will, that have adapted to the schistous soil. I am always happy to do whatever I can to support smaller growers who are committed to sustaining these glorious trees, living pieces of history (some of the trees in the Madeira family groves are nearly 1,000 years old!)

Please enjoy these spectacular newly harvested oils. Use them and share them in good health!

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

P. S. Cold weather may cause cloudiness in your bottles of olive oil. Pay it no heed, as this has no effect on quality or flavor. Simply bring your oils to room temperature and most of this cloudiness should disappear. For best results, always store your oil in a cool, dark place, preferably in a cabinet away from heat and light.

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Douro, Filipe de Albuquerque Madeira, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Olive Varieties: Negrinha, Madural, Verdeal, Cobrançosa
• Flavor Profile: Mild

I once met a world-renowned “extreme” ski jumper. Dropped from a helicopter onto an otherwise unapproachable mountain peak, he proceeds to ski off a ledge into the abyss, careening through space to land on a slope below, slicing his way down the nearly vertical, uncharted mountain face. To my mind this may seem the very embodiment of insanity, but, as they say, “Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.”

I thought of the ski jumper recently, as I stood atop a craggy mound of rocks in northern Portugal, exploring the latest olive planting project of the Madeira family. I call the Madeiras “extreme olive oil producers.” They may not be literally skiing off cliffs, but they take intensely calculated risks in a rough, untamed landscape, making the most of what Mother Nature has to offer in unforgiving conditions, with spectacular results.

Located about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northeast of the city of Porto, the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro province (alto means “upper”) is characterized by impossibly steep hillsides composed of metamorphic rock. You’re likely familiar with this region’s most famous agricultural product, the fortified wine Porto, but I urge you to dispel any visions of gently rolling hills and valleys. As the World Wine Atlas puts it, “Of all the places men have planted vineyards, the Upper Douro is the most improbable.” The same challenges apply to olive cultivation, too.

The predominant stone in this region is schist (xisto in Portuguese, pronounced “shisto”), a flaky, layered volcanic rock that ranges in appearance from slate-gray to yellowishorange, often with shimmering metallic flecks. (See photo below.) The ground here is not that of gardens or croplands, with a rich, loose layer of topsoil, or even the sandy, rocky soil of the Mediterranean. Here, a plant’s roots must push through the schist to reach the water trapped between its layers. Water itself is typically scarce: in summer the heat can reach a blistering 110˚F at its peak, and irrigation is nearly nonexistent. With nightfall, though, the temperature may drop as much as 30 degrees.

Although these conditions are stressful for the olive trees, they appeal to me and the ingenious artisans I work with. Scarcity of water and high heat—as long as it doesn’t scorch the olive blossoms in the spring—help to intensify the aromas and flavors in the olive fruit.

Although these conditions are stressful for the olive trees, they appeal to me and the ingenious artisans I work with. Scarcity of water and high heat—as long as it doesn’t scorch the olive blossoms in the spring—help to intensify the aromas and flavors in the olive fruit.

Celso Madeira, the tireless 84-year-old patriarch of the Douro farm, took the initial leap into the world of premium olive oil production about two decades ago, when he declared that the abandoned olive groves on the family’s land—with trees ranging from 80 to 1,000 years old—should be transformed into a first-class olive farm.

His son Filipe joined him on this plunge into the unknown. Detouring from studies at the University of Genoa, Filipe undertook to teach himself everything about olive cultivation and state-of-the-art milling techniques. In astoundingly short order, the family’s oils were sweeping Portuguese olive oil competitions and earning international awards.

Celso, exuberantly devoted to the family’s legacy, recently purchased parcels of land to expand the Douro groves. The trees soon to be planted will bear fruit for hundreds of years, Mother Nature willing. He and Filipe were excited for us to witness the process of preparing the terrain for olive horticulture (see photo above). First, a Caterpillar bulldozer digs down 3 meters (9 feet) to turn over the mineral-rich, rocky earth. Next, another machine will grind the rocks into tiny pieces, a pebbly soil, in which the olive seedlings—all native varieties— will be planted.

The Douro groves are home to indigenous olive varieties, grown only in Portugal and nowhere else in the world. Their delicate, floral perfumes and flavors are unique to this region. I am grateful for the chance to help conserve and celebrate this (delicious and special) branch of olive oil history. You, my lucky Club members, are among the very few Americans ever to taste the oil from these rare and exquisite olives!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings:

This beautiful oil is golden green in the glass, with a nose reminiscent of fresh grass, wild mint, and green banana. My tasters and I also detected pear, Belgian endive, apricot, vanilla, white pepper, and thyme. There’s a hint of minerals that translates to spinach. Its aroma is pleasantly nutty—sweet almonds (which also thrive in this corner of Portugal) and hazelnuts are prominent. Although this oil is relatively mild, a bouquet of flavors blooms in the mouth. Fruity, with a bitterness akin to radicchio or celery leaves. Well-balanced and food-friendly, the finish is both long and complex with a touch of pepper.

Pair this oil with proteins such as chicken or mild fish, hearty greens like collards, cabbage, endive, or salads featuring fruit, nuts, or goat cheese. At formal dinners the family hosted, we enjoyed it with beans as well as a variety of vegetable purées. Its nuttiness makes it a natural in baked goods, too—try it with chocolate cake or quick breads. On the farm, the harvest is always celebrated with a dish called bacalhau à lagareiro—cod grilled over an olive wood fire with the just-pressed olive oil, garlic, bay leaf, and small potatoes in their jackets.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Castillo de Canena, Selección Especial, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain
• Olive Varieties: Arbequina
• Flavor Profile: Medium

One of the highlights of my annual olive oil pilgrimage to Spain is a visit to Canena, a small hillside village tucked in a region affectionately dubbed the “Spanish Tuscany.”

Presiding over its whitewashed buildings and red clay tiled roofs is a magnificent castle known as Castillo de Canena. Built by the Arabs in the 15th century over the ruins of a Roman fortification, its balcony is my favorite vantage point from which to view the seemingly never-ending, corduroy-like rows of olive trees that define Jaén. (Annually, the province produces more olive oil than Greece.) Lucky for me, the castle is owned by one of my longtime friends, Francisco “Paco” Vañó and his family. His family has been in the olive oil business since 1780. (Though privately owned, the castle is open to visitors on Mondays between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.).

With nine generations of experience guiding him, it’s no surprise that bold but debonair Paco, succeeding his father as the head of Castillo de Canena, has become one of the world’s most respected premium olive oil producers. Never afraid to champion highquality olive oils (prizing quality over quantity), he runs the company with his sister, Rosa Vañó. Castillo de Canena’s olive oils are consistently among the top twenty in the world as evaluated by Flos Olei, the Michelin-like guide to olive oils.

For several years running, the Vañós’ Picual has been named a Jaén Selección by the Diputación Provincial de Jaén, a prestigious honor bestowed on only eight oils out of a field of dozens. Their oils are favored by some of Spain’s most influential chefs.

Surrounded by the obligatory tapestries and wall trophies in the castle’s cavernous dining hall, Paco explained to my Merry Band of Tasters and me the challenges he had to overcome during this harvest year.

Primary among them was record-breaking heat exacerbated by a sustained drought. Temperatures reached levels previously unheard of in the region—over 114 degrees. Though Castillo de Canena’s groves are irrigated, weekly water rations for each tree were bumped from 101 gallons to 135 gallons. If those numbers sound very precise, it’s because they are. Like me, Paco is a stickler for detail. He employs some 20 markers for identifying the optimal time for picking the olives.

“Excellence is a habit, and working daily with this maxim makes our team increasingly stronger,” says Paco.

Over the years, this olive oil pioneer has developed some ingenious methods for amplifying and preserving the olives’ quality. Because heat is an enemy of harvested fruit, Paco’s team picks only at night, the groves illuminated by bright lights. He also uses a special double grid mill to press the olives, which reduces friction and keeps the temperature of the olive paste down. No flavor-diluting water is added during the process.

This year’s Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club selection is a blend of two lovely Arbequinas, one harvested several days before the other. Paco’s cook, who works from a deceptively small kitchen given the scale of the castle, prepared several outstanding dishes for lunch. All paired wonderfully with the blend: jamón ibérico de bellota; a savory but delicate egg custard; boquerones (anchovies); a flavorful beet and carrot purée with an olive oil drizzle; roasted beef tenderloin with foie gras and root vegetables; and chocolate mousse for a sweet finish (see below for a recipe).

At the end of the visit, Paco’s valet helpfully retrieved several suit bags from the back of the dusty Range Rover we’d driven to the olive groves and transferred them to a clean, shiny, black SUV. The dynamic Paco’s day was apparently not over!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This brilliant blend of two Arbequinas with staggered harvests teases the olfactory senses with the aromas of green banana, walnuts, green almonds, and lime zest. Warm it slightly with the heat of your hands before tasting. This oil’s grassiness—characteristic of an early-harvest Arbequina—is cut with a honeyed floral note and a touch of mint. Chocolate was even used as a descriptor. Lively and fresh, you can almost feel the polyphenols dancing on your tongue. The fruitiness is deftly balanced with the spiciness of watercress or arugula, the bitterness of sturdy greens, the tang of citrus, and the pungency of fresh herbs. The peppery finish lingers.

This oil pairs amazingly well with eggs, pork, shrimp, lobster, veal, potatoes, or cauliflower. We love it drizzled over a salad of fresh fennel and oranges. Its citrus and herbal notes (especially mint) and rich mouthfeel are sauce-like. You’ll love experimenting in the kitchen with this remarkable oil!

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Finca Gálvez, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain
• Olive Varieties: Picual
• Flavor Profile: Bold

When my Merry Band of Tasters and I pulled up to Finca Gálvez, a short drive from Madrid, a swarm of Spanish law enforcement vehicles crowded the entrance. A foiled olive oil heist? I wondered.

Messenger bag slung across my shoulders, I stepped out of our station wagon. A Guardia Civil (GC) officer approached and inquired, “What’s in the bag?” A member of our group who speaks excellent Spanish translated, while I identified the mundane contents of my satchel. “Computer… olive oil tasting cups… pen.” The guard relaxed and waved us on. (Whew!)

As it turns out, our arrival coincided with the submission phase of one of the strictest and most prestigious competitions of the International Olive Council. Certified legal officials arrive in person to verify and collect olive oil samples from each competing producer (otherwise, as I was informed, unscrupulous people could buy or steal samples to submit as their own). This year some higher-ups from the ministry of agriculture had invited themselves along to observe the process—thus the accompanying entourage of bodyguards and GC.

This gives you some idea how seriously the province of Jaén takes its olive oil. In the US you might expect this kind of hoopla surrounding the release of a Star Wars movie or a new smartphone; in Spain, it’s all about the liquid gold. And, as if at an awards show, the ministry officials emerged from their tour of the mill with “swag bags”…full of olive oil.

Finca Gálvez (finca is Spanish for “farm”) helped put Spanish ultra-premium olive oil on the map. Founded in 1999, with groves located between the Castilian Plateau and the Guadalquivir River Valley, the family-owned farm continually strives for improvement in every aspect of olive oil production— cultivation and harvesting techniques, irrigation systems, and community education. Last year, they unveiled a spacious, welcoming classroom next to the mill, where locals and tourists alike can participate in olive oil tasting classes and food pairing workshops.

My scouts had tipped me off that this season’s oils at Finca Gálvez promised to be outstanding. The drought conditions in Spain had occurred during a year of lower fruit yields for the farm—an oddly ideal pairing of factors (in the way that two negative numbers, multiplied, give a positive result). As Andres Gálvez explained, “If we’d had more fruit on each tree, there would not have been enough water, and we wouldn’t have had the same quality of olives.”

In order to capture the fruit’s peak flavor, Andres and his team “played with the light of the sun,” as he puts it, beginning the harvest at 7:30 a.m. and stopping by 12:30 p.m., in order to pick and press the fruit during the cooler part of the day.

We created a taste-tempting combination of two Picual oils, harvested about a week apart, that showcases the qualities I treasure in this variety—dark, intensely green flavors with complex spiciness and a long, full finish.

Our brilliant blend made its debut at the restaurant Los Sentidos (“The Senses”), in nearby Linnares, where Finca Gálvez has partnered with the chef to encourage culinary exploration with olive oil.

As we drove to the restaurant, knowing my deep love of jamón ibérico, Andres called ahead to speak with the chef—not, as might be expected, to ask whether they had it, but to inquire exactly where on the ham they were carving at that moment, in order to requisition the tenderest, melt-in-your-mouth slices for our lunch. Such attention to the finest details warmed my heart (and whetted my appetite!).

On the wall at the Finca Gálvez mill is a quote from the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali: “Have no fear of perfection; you’ll never reach it.” The more I thought about the line, the more it made me smile. Dali wasn’t saying “shoot low; don’t bother.” On the contrary—he was giving permission to strive for perfection as much as you possibly can. There’s always farther to go, more detail to capture, another facet to explore. Finca Gálvez puts that motto into practice every day, and you’ll know what I mean when you taste this oil!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

Take a whiff of this exclusive oil, and you’ll be seduced by its greenness. Green tomato, arugula, celery, baby spinach, wheatgrass, and a cornucopia of fresh chopped herbs. Like pesto in a bottle! The taste, of course, is phenomenal. Clean, bright, almost astringent (like Japanese green tea), this olive juice exhibits the sweetness of banana and artichokes, the spiciness of arugula and Szechuan peppercorns. There’s just a touch of grapefruit. Expect a protracted finish with assertive pepper.

Reach for this bottle when making bruschetta. Or simply enjoy it with crusty bread (toasted or not) and coarse sea salt. Drizzle this addictive stuff over tomato soup, white beans, kale, or tomato salad, hummus, artichokes (find a recipe below), grilled beefsteak, tuna, or dark cooked greens like collards. Its bright, herbal flavors even work with ice cream (vanilla or pistachio).

Olive Oil and Health

Kudos from Club Members

Recipes

• Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) We’ve included two tricks to make this the best gambas al ajillo you’ve ever eaten. First, we infuse extra virgin olive oil with slices of garlic, which are later used as a crunchy garnish. Second, we marinate the shrimp with a secret ingredient—baking soda—to make the cooked shrimp extra “poppy.” view recipe
• Spanish Cod with Celery Salsa Verde We often detect celery leaf–like flavors in the superior-quality oils we deliver to your table and were excited to find the following recipe. It uses celery leaves in a deliciously creative way. view recipe
• Portuguese Rice and Tomatoes The Portuguese are very talented at creating wonderful combinations from a limited palette of ingredients. Rice and tomatoes is a great example. Serve with roasted meats, especially chicken, and plenty of premium extra virgin olive oil. view recipe
• Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Almonds This easy-to-make cake is moist (thanks to the olive oil), dense, and very satisfying with a cup of coffee or tea or a glass of Spanish sherry or Portuguese port. If you’re feeling fancy, arrange a paper doily on top of the cake before sifting powdered sugar over it. Carefully remove the doily to preserve… view recipe
• Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Mousse We’ve long known that olive oil and chocolate have a natural affinity for each other. This ethereal chocolate mousse proves it. The orange zest is optional and can be replaced by a few drops of Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur. view recipe
• Olive Oil Roasted Leeks How can only three ingredients create such a sublime dish? We can’t explain it! view recipe
• Broccoli Rabe with Pine Nuts and Raisins The slightly bitter flavor profile of broccoli rabe pairs beautifully with this quarter’s trio of olive oils. And the nuts and raisins give the dish textural contrast. view recipe
• Chicken that Fancies Itself Spanish Don’t let its tongue-in-cheek name fool you. This dish is delicious on a cool evening. view recipe
• Steak Salad with Romesco Dressing Piquillo peppers are unique to Spain and are only sold in jarred form in the US. They can be found in many supermarkets and online. If you can’t find them, substitute one roasted, peeled red bell pepper. view recipe
• Portuguese Green Broth Humble ingredients define one of Portugal’s most beloved soups, caldo verde. It traditionally contains potatoes, olive oil, kale or Portuguese cabbage, and salt. For a vegetarian or vegan version, omit the sausage. view recipe