Magic on Your Table: Introducing Three Ravishing, Harvest-Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oils From the Land Down Under

• This trio of extra virgin olive oils from award-winning Australian producers is exceedingly food friendly and will partner beautifully with the meals you enjoy when the weather cools.
• Personally selected by the Olive Oil Hunter, these exclusive oils have no equals on supermarket shelves: they are available nowhere else.
• All have been rushed to the US by jet to preserve their aromas, flavors, and healthful qualities.
• All have been certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin olive oil.

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Greetings—or should I say, “G’day, mate!”— from your Olive Oil Hunter, who has found three stunning Australian extra virgin olive oils from the current harvest for your fall table.

It was fantastic to be back in this vibrant, charismatic country. Its idiosyncrasies—and there are many—charm me. Aussie slang, for example, much of it derived from shortening English phrases: n’erries (no worries); brekkie (breakfast); cab sav (Cabernet Sauvignon).

Its unique wildlife—koalas, kangaroos, and egg-laying mammals like the echidna and platypus. Melbourne’s confounding road rules, including hook turns and P-turns.

I made my first trip to ’Straya in 2005. My motivation for traveling nearly halfway around the world—9,823 miles each way—was (and still is!) the freshness factor. Only in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are the antipodal opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere, could I find extra virgin olive oils this time of year that would satisfy my high standards.

Olives are a seasonal crop, harvested just once a year. Olives grown in the Northern Hemisphere still have months to go before they can be picked. That is why it’s such a joy to share—right now!—oils from Australia’s top producers. You’ll enjoy matching them to your favorite cool weather menus. (You’ll see my tasting notes and food pairing recommendations in the pages that follow.)

Australian Olive Oil Surprises

Whenever I gift people with bottles of my fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oils, the recipients are often surprised to learn that Australia, aka “The Lucky Country,” produces “liquid gold.” But it wasn’t luck that enabled Australian olive oil producers (including the ones I collaborated with this quarter) to win nine gold and four silver awards at one of the most prestigious olive oil contests in the world, the annual New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC). They’re innovative, technically savvy, and above all, passionate.

While the modern olive oil industry in Oz is less than 30 years old, the country has a much longer history with olea europaea (the scientific name for olive trees). In the 1800s, Italian and Greek immigrants, the story goes, smuggled live olive cuttings in their neckties and the inseams of their trousers before they boarded ships. To their delight, the newcomers discovered southeastern Australia’s climactic temperament was similar to that of their homelands. (The country’s opposite latitudes, between 30° and 40°, are friendly to olives.) The oils the immigrants pressed were mostly for home use, as Australia’s European populace at that time preferred to cook with animal-based fats like lard.

Reunited and It Feels So Good

Because Australia produces just 1 percent of the world’s olive oil (nearly all of it—95 percent—qualifies as extra virgin), few Americans have tasted olive oils from this island continent. If you are new to the Club, know how delighted I am to introduce you to these extraordinary oils, produced by some of the most dedicated, detail-oriented producers I have met anywhere. If you are a veteran Club member, you know you’re in for a very pleasant experience!

Featured in this quarter’s trio are oils from the award-winning Victorian groves of Oasis, Kyneton, and Leandro Ravetti. My Merry Band of Tasters and I, driven by my dear friend, Melissa Wong, traveled hundreds of miles in Melissa’s SUV to meet with the producers in person. I first became acquainted with Melissa, a consummate foodie, two decades ago at the Food Network studios in New York City. Today, Melissa lives in Melbourne. With her husband, Robert, she graciously hosted olive oil tastings for me and my team as well as marvelous dinners at her home. She never seemed to tire of squiring me to her favorite markets, cafes, and restaurants. Nearly too many to mention! As the founder of Australian specialty food purveyor AuLife and, more recently, The Good Soup Club, Melissa is well-connected to southeastern Australia’s thriving food culture. For years, she has been invaluable in helping me identify Oz’s best olive oil producers—my trusted “boots on the ground” whenever I need her assistance. (She did yeoman’s duty when travel was restricted.)

I was so happy to see everyone again and to put my own boots on the ground. (I recently invested in a pair of Tasmanian Blundstones—excellent for tramping in olive groves.)

One of the many high spots of our trip was getting together with Annie Paterson, the irrepressible proprietress of Nullamunjie. Dressed in her signature pink sweater and South Sea pearls, Annie hosted a luncheon for me and my Merry Band at the posh Alexandra Club in Melbourne. Annie’s oils have long been Club member favorites, but they were compromised this year by persistent rain and naughty cockatoos, which Annie chased away from her olive trees with a drone. Her telling of the bird story unleashed yet another round of laughter at our table. (We laugh a lot when we’re with Annie.)

Expand Your Taste Library

These sensational extra virgin olive oils will be honored guests at your table, enhancing cooler weather foods like pumpkin and other squashes, braised meats, fresh seafood, fall fruits, charcuterie platters, and more. Meals, from casual suppers to holiday dinners, will become even more festive. And talk about a conversation starter! As you taste, savor, and use these exquisite oils in your seasonal cooking, please remember the proud Aussie producers halfway around the world who helped me put them on your table.

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Leandro Ravetti, Boort, Victoria, 2022
• Olive Varieties: Picual
• Flavor Profile: Mild

As the late, great baseball player Yogi Berra would say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

I’m once again lunching, three years after my last visit, with olive oil
expert Leandro Ravetti in a brick-walled restaurant at the Federal Mills
complex, a very cool mixed-use industrial space (formerly a woolen mill) in the port city of Geelong, some 40 miles southwest of Melbourne. (Geelong, which is near Leandro’s office, is Victoria’s second largest city. It is pronounced “juh-long,” and was originally settled by the Wathaurong, a First Nations people.) Lined up in front of us are three sample bottles of this master miller’s finest extra virgin olive oils from the current harvest, his nominees this quarter for the Club, that if selected, will bear his name. We taste them individually, ritually inhaling their aromas; then “slurping” a small mouthful, a noisy, impolite process that involves drawing air into the mouth as if trying to cool a too-hot spoonful of soup (yes, we do this in public places); swallowing; and finally, evaluating the oil’s finish. Are its flavors fleeting or do they linger? (For more on how to properly taste olive oil, see below.)

The final test—and this is very important—is tasting the oil(s) with food. Leandro and I have both ordered a “power bowl” from the menu: a colorful, gluten-free mélange of roasted pumpkin, quinoa, fennel salad, hummus, and pepitas. (Find a recipe for Pumpkin Hummus on below.) For me, one oil “hit it out of the park,” to continue the baseball reference.

Drum roll, please: it was the Picual. And it was, in my opinion, the perfect candidate for the “mild” position in the Club’s third quarter trio. Leandro agreed.

If you’re a veteran Club member, you’ll remember that Picual, whether on its own or fronting a blend, has generally occupied the “bold” slot in my global selections over the years. This cultivar’s Spanish progenitors might not recognize its Aussie kin. Though they share that desirable “tomato, tomato leaf” nuance prized by many olive oil lovers, the New World Picual Leandro’s been nurturing is more delicate than its Old World counterparts. In fact, I’ve pegged it as “mild” three years’ running.

I feel a bit proprietary toward the young trees that produced this lovely fruit; I was on site when some of them were planted back in 2015. For olive oil producers—any farmer, really—nearly every year brings its own challenges. This year, Leandro chuckled, snow fell early on Victoria’s Australian Alps, a region that attracts sports enthusiasts from around the globe. The backpackers he hired for the harvest couldn’t resist the fresh powder in the mountains, sometimes giving only an hour’s notice before leaving their jobs to ski or snowboard. On occasion, Leandro resorted to operating the farm’s harvester himself.

In hindsight, the timing of my first trip to Oz, in 2005, couldn’t have been better. The Australian Olive Association (AOA), which was founded in 1995 to resuscitate Australia’s olive industry, was just developing traction in its mission, even making introductions on my behalf to some of the country’s up-and-coming producers. Meanwhile, a passionate agricultural student with Italian roots was just finishing up his studies at the National University of Catamarca in Argentina. (That was Leandro, of course.) He did post-graduate work in Italy and Spain before returning to Argentina, where his accomplishments brought him to the attention of Modern Olives in Lara, Victoria. In 2001, Leandro became the technical director of the company, overseeing its olive tree nursery, laboratory, and budding relationships with Australia’s novice olive growers.

No one—least of all, Leandro, who is also an avid cook—could have predicted what an impact he would have on the world’s olive oil industry. Now a much sought-after expert who travels the globe, Leandro was instrumental in convincing producers to print “use by” dates on their oils. He has also railed against subjective marketing terms like “light” or “pure,” and championed some of the highest olive oil standards globally—standards that cannot be ignored by Old World producers. (My wife, Meghan, and I bumped into this intrepid world traveler at the airport when we were leaving Australia for home after a wonderful visit. He was headed to northern California—UC Davis—where he teaches milling and horticultural classes.)

When Leandro and I put our names on a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, you can be assured it’s very, very special. We can’t wait for you to taste this versatile oil on cooler-weather foods.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This Picual is a mono-varietal native to Spain. It is so fragrant you’ll want to dab it behind your ears. You’ll inhale the essence of sun-ripened tomatoes, tomato leaf, fresh-cut grass, butter lettuce, celery, dried tropical fruits, warm baking spices, vanilla, Asian pear, and green peppercorns. On the palate, it continues to dazzle, invoking artichokes, fresh basil, tomatoes, and fennel. Presents just the right amounts of bitterness (walnut skins), spiciness (arugula), and bright notes (lime zest). With a peppery pinch, it bids you a lingering farewell, leaving you longing for another taste.

Exceptionally food friendly, this oil generated a tsunami of pairing suggestions from my tasters: scrambled eggs; granola; pizza and tomato-based pastas or salads; vinaigrettes; bruschetta; charcuterie platters; fresh or mild cheeses; yogurt; sweet potatoes (any potato, really); mild fin fish and shellfish; starches like rice, couscous, and bread; turkey and chicken; quick breads; and vanilla ice cream.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Oasis Olives, Kialla, Victoria, Australia, 2022
• Olive Varieties: Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Medium

With Zoom meetings behind us, I eagerly anticipated my reunion with Oasis owners John and Marjan Symington. I really missed being with them over the last two years, so it was especially exciting for me to be the “boots on the ground” at their expansive—and expanding—farm this year.

With Melissa Wong behind the wheel, my Merry Band of Tasters traversed the 117 miles north from bustling Melbourne to rural Kialla, population sub-7000. The area is the country’s sweet spot for olives with its warm summers, just enough rain, and (usually) mild winters. But when the Symingtons first bought their farm 12 years ago, I don’t think even they could have envisioned the amazing success that lay ahead. At the time, the property was somewhat ramshackle, the groves were a tangle of unkempt trees, and whatever irrigation system had been in place was in disarray.

The small Oasis team brought the trees back to stellar condition with strategic pruning and better irrigation. As longstanding Club members know, it took a mere two years for them to start winning accolades and coveted awards, with the most recent being Grand Prestige Gold at the 2022 Mediterranean International Olive Oil competition held in Jerusalem.

Still, John, whose first career was in IT with its very predictable outcomes, will tell you his second career is far more challenging and also far more emotionally rewarding. You may do everything right, but Mother Nature could still have other plans for you! This year’s harvest, however, presented a happy surprise: The usually very short “magic window” for harvesting was rather long, allowing more time to be meticulous.

The Coratina stayed incredibly green throughout the harvest period, and I loved it so much that the Club selection I proudly present to you is a single varietal: 100 percent Coratina extra virgin olive oil. I asked John whether its extraordinary quality could be attributed to this year’s ideal weather or to his latest equipment upgrade, a new Amenduni mill from Italy. This is one of the most well-respected brands of milling equipment, yet the purchase came with some drama of its own—it had to be shipped in separate cargo containers, the second of which arrived with barely enough time to assemble and test it before the harvest!

“This season was certainly easier for quality than last year, as with colder temperatures, most of the olives stayed green right through to the end of the season,” John said. This was in contrast to last year, when the team had to struggle to keep up with extraordinarily rapid ripening. “The greener harvest was probably something of a reversion to more normal conditions we have had most years on the grove, though with climate change, who knows what ‘normal’ will be in the future?,” John mused.

Never content to sit back and relax, John and Marjan recently purchased the neighboring property. Like their first acquisition, it was in need of a lot of TLC. “The Picual, Leccino, and Arbequina responded well to the care, and we’ll get a reasonable crop next year,” John predicts. He’s adding more Hojiblanca, a Spanish varietal. “My favorite blend is Coratina, Frantoio, and Hojiblanca—we will be able to do that in the future,” said John. He’s also excited about adding another variety to the grove, Del Morocco, renowned for the quality of the fruit it bears. “The oil is really, really good, so I planted it here,” he told me. Stay tuned!

As we drove around the new section in John’s white Land Rover, I felt like we were on safari. I expected to see their flock of sheep—the farm’s 500 “workers” that prune the grass between the olive trees—but not the mobs of kangaroo, as large groups of the animals are called. More exotic still are the echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters—hedgehog lookalikes, but a totally different species of mammal that lays eggs.

Another unusual sight are massive dead trees that look like fantastic sculptures dotting the landscape. Australia doesn’t allow them to be removed because they create nesting places for birds. One was filled with crows, giving it a very stark, almost Hitchcock-esque appearance!

I continue to admire John and Marjan’s quest for perfection and appreciate that they always ask me to send them the trio of oils from the Club’s other quarterly selections. This gives them context and enables them to appreciate what other growers around the world are able to achieve.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings 

You’ll love this beautiful oil pressed from Coratina olives. The nose is intoxicating. Expect hints of artichoke, green almond, green banana, wheatgrass, lime zest, fresh mint, thyme, and parsley. Take a sip. Notice the appealing bitterness of radicchio and celery leaves, baby spinach, hazelnuts, and the bright, citrusy zest of grapefruit. The finish, reminiscent of Sichuan peppercorns, is pleasantly long, with the astringency of green tea.

Pair this intriguing oil with hummus and other bean-centric dishes; fried eggs; artichokes; pesto; salads made of fall fruits and sturdy greens, such as pears, kale, and blue cheese; avocado toast; roasted root vegetables; risotto; “steak fish” like tuna, salmon, and swordfish; pork, veal, and beef; aged cheeses (plus goat cheese); dark chocolate; brownies; and peasant breads.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Kyneton Olive Oil, Bylands Estate, Central Victoria, 2022
• Olive Varieties: Frantoio, Correggiola, Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Bold

“Making olive oil is not just about how much love and care you put into that fruit juice at pressing, but also about how much love and care you give to the trees all year long,” said Mick Labbozzetta, the general manager of Kyneton. Just an hour north of Melbourne, Kyneton has a storied history and expansive grove—I love combining their many varietals to create bold Australian olive oils for you.

I’ve worked with Mick and his team for a half-dozen years now, since his extended Calabrian-Sicilian-Australian family, notably his daughter Melissa and son-in-law Robert Inturrisi, acquired the Kyneton name and assets from the Trovatello family. (Longstanding Club members will remember how delightful their oils were, too, when I worked with them.)

I love Kyneton’s philosophy: “Australian made, Italian heritage.” That’s also a way of life in this area because the region has attracted a large number of Italian immigrants. Being here is like taking a mini field trip to Italy! There are so many producers of delicious Italian specialties—olive oil, cheeses, salumi, to name just three—and they thrive in part because of the vibrant Italian-Australian community.

Mick shared a wonderful example of unity from last year. Kyneton partnered with the award-winning That’s Amore Cheese to celebrate the olio nuovo, the first-pressed extra virgin olive oil harvested at the start of a season. The event included many food producers showcasing their products, making it a wonderful culinary celebration. Besides watching a live olive oil pressing (Kyneton set up a small mill!) and learning about extra virgin olive oil, attendees were able to bid on a charity auction of the first 20 liters of the olio nuovo. Mick was so proud that all the proceeds were donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre, prescient considered the Australian superstar’s passing this summer.

The farm’s secret weapon is the Italian master miller Davide Bruno, who travels from Liguria to work the harvest and stays afterward to set up the grove for the following year. Davide has a foot in each hemisphere, drawing on both Old World and New World methods and techniques. While he honors his Italian roots, he also believes in taking beneficial modern approaches. These include monitoring the olives at every stage of development, responding to the trees’ needs, and investing in farm-owned harvest and milling equipment, thereby minimizing the time between picking and pressing. He’s also been blessed with a unique sensibility that enables him to determine the optimum time for harvesting—for you, my dear Club members, that translates to maximizing flavor and health-promoting polyphenols.

I’m always mesmerized as I watch Davide at work. He continually follows each batch of olives through processing and rarely leaves the mill—when he does, it’s with a timer in hand so that he’ll never be away for more than precisely two minutes! At his side is Carmelo Tramontana, an Italian ex-pat from Calabria who has lived in Australia for a decade. By Carmelo’s calculations, this year’s harvest was twice the volume of last year’s, a season plagued by heavy rains—even trying to get the harvester through the grove had been a monumental challenge, as it kept getting stuck and required the farm’s excavator to pull it out. This year, there was “Goldilocks” rain—not too much and not too little. Kyneton’s harvest season lasted two and a half months, each day a labor-intensive 6 am to 8 pm (or as late as 10 pm), seven days a week. “You push and you push,” said Carmelo, because the time is finite.

It helps that there’s a decided method to counter the madness of an olive harvest, with the careful planning of varietals that are picked in succession. For instance, Frantoio and Correggiola, which form the essence of my bold selection for you, are pressed first. Then the team moves on to Coratina, whose vibrant green flavor added the perfect boldness to my blend. It was a reminder of the fact that many people still haven’t had the opportunity to experience the zest of an early-harvest fresh-pressed green oil or enjoy its powerful polyphenols. Know that I will continue to tantalize your taste buds with the most extraordinary extra virgin olive oils as I travel around the world with my Merry Band of Tasters!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

My tasters and I were blown away by this powerful Tuscan-style blend. On the nose, it’s green, grassy, and fruity. You’ll be reminded of arugula, endive, wild mint, and fresh chopped culinary herbs. There’s an undercurrent of nuttiness, too. Like walnuts. On the palate, it’s dynamite. Bold, but well-calibrated. This is what emerald green tastes like. Descriptors include artichoke, Swiss chard, walnuts and almonds, escarole, spearmint, and spicy green peppercorns. The finish is long.

Distinctly bold, this oil complements grilled, braised, and roasted meats like lamb, beef, and veal; roasted vegetables, like brussels sprouts and squash; fried peppers and eggs; focaccia; cold-weather soups and stews like cioppino and minestrone; Asian dishes; salads featuring bitter greens; and dark chocolate desserts.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

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Recipes

• Ma’amoul (Date-Filled Cookies) These buttery date-filled cookies featuring olive oil hail from the Middle East—potentially from ancient Egypt—and are an unexpected addition to holiday cookie trays. Ingredients 1/3 cup roasted, salted pistachio nuts, chopped 1/3 cup pitted whole dates, chopped 1/4 cup apricot spreadable fruit preserves or jam 1/2 teaspoon orange zest 1 cup white whole wheat flour… view recipe
• Baby Bok Choy Looking for a simple side dish for an Asian-influenced meal? We love baby bok choy. You could substitute rapini or broccoli florets if baby bok choy isn’t available. Ingredients 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 pound baby bok choy, stalks separated, washed and spun dry 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 2 tablespoons natural rice… view recipe
• Baked Salmon with Basil and Garlic A quick romp in an olive oil-based marinade for as little as 30 minutes, a brief stint in a hot oven, and dinner is served! If desired, serve with the Braised Fennel and Lentils. Rice or couscous work well with the salmon, too. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets, skin off Coarse salt (kosher or… view recipe
• Zucchini Bolognese No, it’s not a typo. You really do cook zucchini for 4 hours for one of the most unctuous iterations of this vegetable we’ve ever encountered. The foodie website “delish” claims Meghan Markle shared this pasta dish with them before she married into the Royal family. Regardless, we were impressed when we made it for… view recipe
• Pork Schnitzel with Giardiniera Duck into almost any pub in Australia, and you’ll find schnitzel on the menu—chicken, beef, or pork. “Schnittys,” though nicked from European immigrants, are now one of Oz’s iconic foods. Giardiniera is a versatile Italian condiment that can be used as an antipasto or on eggs, sandwiches (a must-have on Italian beef), and even hot… view recipe
• Greek Lamb Chops (Paidakia) Melbourne, a sister city to Thessaloniki, is home to one of the largest Greek populations outside of Greece and Cyprus. It’s no wonder, then, that the local cuisine thrums with Hellenic influences. Ingredients 8 large lamb rib chops 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for searing and serving 6 cloves garlic, crushed with… view recipe
• Prawn Tacos with Asian Slaw Nagi Maehashi is one of Australia’s most popular food bloggers. We were inspired by her recipe for tacos made with prawns, and paired them with one of our favorite Asian cabbage slaws featuring extra virgin olive oil. Ingredients For the prawns: 1 pound large prawns or shrimp, peeled (tails, too) Zest and juice of 1… view recipe
• Roasted Cauliflower Soup Silky and rich-tasting (though it contains no cream), this is one of our favorite fall soups. Ingredients 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for garnish Fine sea salt 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced1 quart… view recipe
• Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki My wife, Meghan, and I often order souvlaki (both chicken and lamb) during our stays in Oz. We present it as an appetizer here, but it can easily become a main course—especially when served with a Greek salad and pita. Ingredients For the chicken and marinade: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic,… view recipe
• Turkish Shepherd’s Salad (Çoban Salatasi) If you find dicing vegetables and chopping herbs relaxing, you’ll enjoy making this healthful salad. It makes a great accompaniment to grilled meats. Find sumac and Aleppo pepper online or at well-stocked spice stores. Ingredients 1 pound ripe tomatoes, cored and diced 1 European (English) or 4 Persian cucumbers, diced 1 green or red pepper,… view recipe

Three Incredible Extra Virgin Olive Oils from the Chilean Harvest for Your Warm-Weather Dining Pleasure

• Enticingly fresh, these sensational just-pressed olive oils from award-winning producers are the perfect complement to summertime menus. They’re game-changers!
• All three are Club exclusives, hand-selected in Central Chile by the Olive Oil Hunter.
• All were rushed to the US by jet to preserve their amazing flavors, intoxicating aromas, and healthful antioxidants.
• An independent lab has certified all three to be 100 percent extra virgin olive oil.

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Awaiting takeoff, I rechecked my electronic ticket. Yup. Confirming Santiago International Airport, SCL in airline parlance. This was my first trip—highly anticipated—since 2019 to one of my favorite olive oil destinations.

Finally, the band was getting back together. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.

“The band,” of course, refers to my Merry Band of Tasters, the trained palates that helped me select this quarter’s beautiful trio of premium olive oils and so ably channeled me when I was grounded by the pandemic. Joining me and my wife, Meghan, in Chile were Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, a world-renowned olive oil expert from Rome, my longtime friend and logistical genius Tjeerd Beliën, who divides his time between the Netherlands and Canada when he’s not traveling, and Chilean olive oil expert and judge Denise Langevin. (Read more about Denise below.)

Reunited!

It was thrilling to see each other in person once again. We instantly picked up the threads of our friendship as if we’d never been apart, reminiscing about our shared experiences and memories of past trips. Food is never far from our minds, either—particularly foods that can be enhanced with extra virgin olive oil. We’re not shy about putting our own just-pressed oils on tables everywhere, from casual roadside eateries to fine dining establishments such as celebrity chef Francis Mallmann’s Fuegos de Apalta, where we lunched one afternoon.

Above all, we prize invitations to eat at family tables—something I dearly missed when I was unable to travel. We enjoyed several such feasts, where a stimulating exchange of ideas always takes place, including one where we met octogenarian Abel Alonso for the first time. Abel is the patriarch of the Alonso clan, which has been producing premium extra virgin olive oil for more than a decade. On the menu? Smoked salmon, a mâche salad, ripe tomatoes, avocados, a Chilean take on shepherd’s pie, and a refreshing array of fresh fruits for dessert.

A Magnificent Triumvirate: The Farmer, the Miller, the Taster

This quarter, I’m paying homage to the extraordinary people whose efforts put these oils in your hands: The trio includes the farmer (el agrónomo, Juan Carlos Pérez); the miller (Miguel Ángel Molina); and the taster (Denise Langevin). All play critical roles in the olives’ journey from tree to bottle.

You would be hard-pressed to find Chilean oils on US grocery store shelves. Few Americans have tasted them. When I first visited this skinny-as-a-necktie country in 2005, I fell in love with the way farmers were putting a New World spin on Old World olive varietals, particularly in Central Chile, with its Mediterranean-like climate. I’ve been sharing my antipodal finds with Club members ever since. Lamentably, the cost of building their own brands was too high for some of these olive oil pioneers, forcing them to sell their oils to the bulk market. It saddens me, as there were award-winners among them. The protracted lack of rainfall hasn’t helped.

The Best Olive Oil Producers Prevail, Overcome Challenges

Wherever my Merry Band and I went, the topic of water—and its scarcity—came up. Officially in its thirteenth year, the “mega-drought,” as it’s called by NASA, is the worst in more than 1,000 years. Consequently, this year’s olive fruits are smaller and drier, decreasing yields. The water stress has, however, raised polyphenol levels—a good thing. Fortunately for you and me, rain fell on the Agricola Pobeña farm at an opportune time—days before the harvest—practically a miracle!

The producers I work with practice extreme water conservation, collecting water whenever possible and limiting evaporation. For example, Olivares de Quepu pays for rights to snowmelt channeled from the Andes. A reservoir services the Agricola Pobeña olive groves; the farm has even been known to engage in extreme pruning of trees to reduce water needs. And it’s not only rural populations that are affected. Officials in Santiago, a city of 6 million people, are anxiously watching water levels in the Maipo and Mapocho Rivers and developing contingency plans.

Happily, the exceedingly dry weather has not diminished Chile’s breathtaking fall beauty. Late one afternoon, I witnessed the sun setting on the magnificent Andes, bathing its imposing peaks with pink and orange light. (As the Pacific does on the west, the Andes range protects the eastern borders of this remarkable country, even helping the directionally challenged—me!—keep their bearings. Andes on the right? You’re heading north.)

Whether you’re a charter member or new to the Club, I hope this timely collection of sensational extra virgin olive oils from award-winning farms bring summer joy and good health to you, your family, and friends.

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Denise Langevin Exclusive Selection, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2022
• Olive Varieties: Arbequina, Koroneiki, Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Mild

After a drive through the parched countryside from Santiago, catching sight of Agricola Pobeña, the expansive, award-winning farm managed by the Alonso family, was akin to Dorothy seeing the Emerald City. I was delighted—almost giddy with anticipation—at the thought of being able to sit down next to Denise Langevin instead of comparing tasting notes through Zoom as we had during the pandemic.

Club members know that Denise is a luminary in the olive oil world, crisscrossing the globe to judge at the most prestigious competitions. She’s in constant demand because of her technical skills and discriminating palate—she has an enviable taste memory! Denise had just returned from the 19th Olive d’Or Competition presented in Montreal by SIAL Canada, organizers of the country’s largest food show, and it was fun to hear her impressions of recent international offerings.

As the leading Chilean authority on olive oil, Denise has been an invaluable part of my hunt for the very best EVOO for three years now, though we’ve known each other for much longer. She is passionate about her connection to our Club, proud to be part of our mission, and excited to help showcase her country’s finest oils in another elixir bearing her name. For all her professional stature, Denise is warm, gracious, down-to-earth, and generous of spirit. She just started a healthy food movement, complete with a vegetable garden, at one of the schools in the town of Rancagua, near her home. Her goal is to teach the children about fresh foods by getting their hands in the soil—they will grow a dozen vegetables! It’s a program she hopes to expand to help combat the country’s child obesity crisis.

First on the agenda for my Merry Band of Tasters and me was enjoying a beautiful lunch with Denise and our Chilean olive oil family. That always includes Juan José and Ignacio Alonso, brothers who together took on the job of creating and running the olive farm their father Abel bought for all five of his children.

No matter how many times I return to the Pobeña farm, I always marvel at the fact that one property can have so many diverse microclimates, each imparting unique qualities to its olive oils and, in turn, to the distinctive blends I create for the Club. We spent several hours experimenting to find the perfect combination of flavors—ultimately, a blend of two Spanish Arbequinas, gathered from different areas of the farm. Combined in equal amounts, the Arbequinas are enhanced by a big splash of Koroneiki, a Greek varietal, and just the right amount of Coratina, an Italian varietal, to give this blend its distinctive personality and broaden its flavor profile. This is what gets me so excited about the Chilean olive oils: we have the ability to put together cultivar combinations unheard of in the Old World and deliver them to the Northern Hemisphere in time to enliven the summer’s bounty.

We couldn’t wait to test-drive Denise’s signature blend at Fuegos de Apalta, the restaurant of fire-obsessed Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann. It’s an extraordinary restaurant, nestled in the most exquisite setting—the center of the Montes winery. We shamelessly drizzled the oil we’d brought with us on five-star dishes such as charred eggplant, skirt steak with vegetables, roasted beets with grapefruit and cheese, and pork with grilled cabbage and mustard. Divine!

The oil’s dazzling versatility was in full bloom a few days later when we journeyed to Denise’s house for a spectacular four-course meal she and her husband Luis prepared. We started with large green olives stuffed two ways—with blanched almonds or jamón, all marinated in the Denise Langevin Exclusive Selection—and Denise’s own sun-dried (and slightly warmed) tomatoes on bruschetta, topped with the oil. We next drizzled it on silken asparagus soup, our wonderful second course.

The entrée was a luxurious prime rib, prepared in a special Chilean broiling oven. We anointed the carved slices with the oil—a delicious counterpoint to the crusty edges of the beef. The oil also dressed both a warm spinach salad with bacon, walnuts, and blue cheese, and a second salad of the sweetest cherry tomatoes I’d ever tasted and a mix of greens that, like the spinach, came from Denise’s own garden—a splash of red wine vinegar added the perfect acidic note. Dessert was an indulgent platter of six different French and Chilean cheeses with syrupy vinegars from Denise’s journeys to France—the olive oil, so fruity, was perfect on the younger cheeses. We were all blown away by the oil’s mild yet complex, full flavor and how it enhanced every dish in a different way. And now it’s your turn to savor it!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This blend is fresh and clean, rather sweet on the nose (think vanilla and dried banana), presenting fresh-cut grass, green apple, pear, lettuce, almond, and wild mint. The fresh, sweet impressions continue in the mouth, joined by parsley, thyme, sweet pea shoots, lime zest, and the well-balanced spicy/bitter notes of escarole and baby arugula.

Pair this mild but nuanced oil with scrambled, fried, or hard-cooked eggs; simple pasta dishes (including pasta salads); chicken; mild fin fish, lobster, or shrimp; fresh mild cheeses; salads made with tender greens or avocados; stuffed or sautéed mushrooms; peas, carrots, green beans, sweet corn, summer squash, or asparagus; white beans; rice or other grains; fresh fruit smoothies; yogurt or ice cream; melons; bread or focaccia; or sweet baked goods, such as quick breads.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: El Agrónomo, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2022
• Olive Varieties: Picual, Coratina, Koroneiki
• Flavor Profile: Medium

The Olive Oil Hunter is proud to feature for the second consecutive year a signature extra virgin olive oil named “El Agrónomo” to honor the work of one of Chile’s most talented young agronomists, Juan Carlos Pérez. (Agronomy requires extensive knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, economics, earth science, genetics, mathematics, ecology, research protocols, and other related disciplines. Whew!)

His colleagues at Agricola Pobeña respectfully refer to Juan Carlos as “the boss of the farm.” Quiet, with a humble demeanor, you’d never assume he carries on his shoulders the responsibility for 1,100 acres of olive trees and the success of the harvest. (You must have great fruit to make great olive oil!) On a typical day, he tours the property, establishes work-related assignments, and meets with his team, which swells to 80 people during the harvest. He is the final arbiter of which olives get picked, and when.

The story of how Juan Carlos found his current position is an interesting one. After graduating from college, he worked for Olave, a pioneer in Chile’s olive oil industry, as well as another well-known farm in the fertile O’Higgins region in Central Chile. While some people would appreciate the security of working for well-established companies, after 14 years, Juan Carlos craved new challenges. He longed to get involved with an olive farm that was being built—quite literally—from the ground up.

As a matter of fact, that ground, well-suited to growing olive trees, was conveniently located directly on the other side of the fence. Yes, the newly acquired property of the Alonso family was adjacent to the land owned by Juan Carlos’s employer. Intrigued, he tracked down a phone number for the family and made a cold call. He reached Juan José Alonso (aka “Juanjo,” with a soft “j”). The two Juans hit it off immediately. Their conversation lasted more than an hour, Juan Carlos said, ranging in scope from business topics to the best places to surf on the nearby Chilean coastline.

The timing was perfect. Juanjo was eager to hire an experienced, quality-driven agronomist before varietals were selected and olive trees planted, and Juan Carlos found the “from scratch” opportunity appealing. After consulting his family, Juan Carlos accepted the job. He was eager to put all he had learned into practice and to help the farm, now known as Agricola Pobeña, avoid the mistakes he had seen other olive oil producers make.

Today, Juan Carlos has a dozen Agricola Pobeña olive harvests under his belt. Water shortages have accompanied all of them. Though the farm has a 55-acre lake, two reservoirs, and 20 wells, the prolonged drought is worrisome to everyone involved in Chile’s agricultural community, especially those sectors that require large quantities of water. (Five pounds of avocados, for example, require an estimated 63 gallons of water.) To capture and conserve water, Juan Carlos’s team has dug earthen trenches to channel run-off and direct the water to their groves. Currently, new tree stock is often planted in more traditional formations to give the roots more room to search for moisture. Last year, some trees were drastically pruned—Juan Carlos called it the “bonsai” treatment—to reduce their water consumption.

Thanks in no small part to Juan Carlos’s dedication to promoting tree health, the farm’s per-acre yield of olives has remained consistently high. Agricola Pobeña’s strategy (which I heartily endorse) is to maximize oil quality by picking the olives while relatively green, a technique known as “early harvesting.” The olives’ oil content is typically lower at this point of the growing season, but an abundance of fruit helps compensate. Early harvest oils typically have a higher concentration of healthful polyphenols as well as more vibrant flavors and aromas.

I had the opportunity recently to visit the Pérez family home, where Juan Carlos lives with his wife, Romina, and two young daughters, ages 5 and 14. A tour of the couple’s amazing garden confirmed what I already knew—Juan Carlos is blessed with a green thumb! I have never seen such a magnificent backyard plot, replete with fruit trees, walls of living succulents, herbs, vegetables, and lettuces that are lovingly nibbled by a pet rabbit. Naturally, there are olive trees on the property as well; Juan Carlos boasts that his daughters have been consuming olive oil since birth. The family loves olive oil on salads, tomatoes, bread, and a dish made with corn called humitas—very popular in Chile.

I can’t wait to hear how you and your family use this splendid oil. Juan Carlos is so proud to have one named after him that will be enjoyed by discriminating Americans.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings 

Intoxicatingly green on the nose, this blend evokes wheatgrass, Tuscan kale, almond, lettuce, spinach, basil, chicory, green banana, celery, apple, and green tomato. In the mouth, my tasters enjoyed the oil’s herbaceous qualities (“pesto in a bottle”), as well as tomato, artichoke, dark leafy/bitter greens, and rosemary. Expect a kick of black peppercorns on the long, complex, well-balanced finish. It blurs the line between “medium” and “bold.”

This oil is full-flavored, robust enough to complement a wide range of foods. Pair it with grilled vegetables (it’s wonderful with fire-roasted brussels sprouts, sweet corn, celery root, fennel, or cabbage); charcuterie platters; pizza; tomato-based salads or pasta dishes; tuna, salmon, or arctic char; lamb; pork; duck; beef or veal; stronger-flavored cheeses; pesto or herbaceous sauces like chimichurri; bruschetta; and dark chocolate.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Don Miguel, Olivares de Quepu, Maule Valley, Chile 2022
• Olive Varieties: Favolosa, Picual, Arbequina
• Flavor Profile: Bold

The saying goes that there are just six degrees of separation between each of us, but when it comes to my world of olive oil, I say it’s more like just two or three! This selection, named for Miguel Ángel Molina, the master miller with whom I worked to bring you this amazing, unlikely combination of oils, is the perfect example of such close connections.

Longtime Club members know Miguel as the genius behind previous selections that bore the name “El Favorito,” the favorite of the man whose palate perfectly aligns with my own. In each of those harvests, we were in complete agreement over the farm’s crown jewels—I’ve called him the olive whisperer for years.

Those exclusives were created when Miguel was with the Alonso family farm—he would diligently drive the two and a half hours north from his home in Talca for the workweek, then drive back to spend weekends with his family. When all our lives were upended by the pandemic, Miguel knew he didn’t want to be away from his family on a regular basis anymore. Talca lies within Maule Valley, the southernmost of Chile’s renowned wine-making regions, and also happens to be the location of one of its most forward-thinking olive farms, Olivares de Quepu, run by the talented agronomist Álvero Ignacio Ried Roncagliolo. Álvero brought on Miguel to manage the mill a year and a half ago, starting the journey that ultimately led to this outstanding selection for the Club.

Álvero, too, has deep roots in Talca, where he studied agronomy before earning a master’s degree in business innovation and entrepreneurship in New Zealand. His return to Chile was perfectly timed—Chilean olive oil was just about to step onto the world stage. When Álvero first joined Quepu and embraced their mission of creating ultra-premium olive oils, he visited Old World producers around the Mediterranean to learn from global generations of experience. And because Álvero believes in nurturing talent, he arranged for Miguel to go on a similar journey of Mediterranean mills. Miguel’s knowledge of olives and olive oil deepened even further after he worked with a leading miller in Portugal for an intensive six-week harvest.

I’m just as impressed by Quepu’s company-wide commitment to the land. After each pressing, the olive pits are dried and sold as biomass fuel, and the other organic byproducts are composted and put back into the earth in a virtuous circle. Farm manager Manuel Barrera shared these details when my Merry Band of Tasters and I toured the farm with him, the late afternoon light creating a tapestry of colors on the slopes. He and Miguel work hand in glove, because great olive oil starts in the grove. “Most people think olive oil is made in the mill, but it’s more about the farm and the fruit because if you have bad fruit, you have bad oil,” said Manuel. “We must analyze the conditions continually and make adjustments when there’s not enough rain.”

Another amazing aspect to Quepu is how they’ve handled water needs. As Club members know well, water is ever scarce in Chile, where the drought is in its thirteenth year. Though olive trees need less water than other crops—3,000 cubic meters per hectare compared to 6,000 for grapevines, 9,000 for nuts, and a whopping 12,000 for cherries—they still need it. When Quepu was established, they were able to buy access to the Pencahue water channel that runs from the snow-capped Andes some 80 kilometers away. It runs partly underground, under the nearby Lircay River and under roads. Water storage in the farm’s own reservoir allows Quepu to meet the changing climatic conditions.

Of course, the proof of all these efforts is in the pudding or, in this case, the oil. Working with Miguel, I created a unique blend of Favolosa, Picual, and Arbequina, refined over the course of many tastings. I’m especially pleased about the inclusion of the Favolosa varietal, which we’re bringing to you for the first time.

We’d been looking forward to working with the talented Quepu team for many years, and my elation at realizing that dream by presenting you with this alluring and food-enhancing extra virgin olive oil is best echoed in Álvero’s words: “I’m so happy and excited for Club members to taste all our efforts in every drop of this olive oil.”

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

My tasters and I realized we were about to experience a powerful oil when from our tasting glasses wafted the unmistakable scents of artichoke, tomato leaf, celery, fennel, and frisée, underscored with the nuttiness of almonds and hazelnuts and the concentrated sweetness of dried stone fruits. In the mouth, the bitterness of chicory, radicchio, dark greens, celery leaf, and walnut skins harmonized with the spiciness of green peppercorns, watercress, and, surprisingly, cinnamon and bay leaf.

Play up this assertive oil’s best qualities by serving it with aged cheeses; cured meats; salads featuring bitter greens and toasted walnuts; padrón or shishito peppers or other chiles; oily fish like sardines, mackerel, or bluefish; shakshuka; game meats; spicy stews or soups; chargrilled steaks or beef or lamb kebabs; grilled or sautéed onions or leeks; broccoli or broccoli rabe; and chocolate mousse.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

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Recipes

• Olive Oil Cake with Honey Yogurt Cream and Strawberries Moist and fairly dense, this fruit-inflected cake is a perfect grand finale to a warm-weather meal. Blueberries can stand in for strawberries. Ingredients 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan 1 1/2 cups almond flour (about 5 1/4 ounces) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking… view recipe
• Grilled Carrots with Avocado and Mint If possible, buy fresh just-picked carrots with the tops still on (you can always make pesto out of the tops). There’s no need to peel them as the skin is thin and tender. Ingredients 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons honey 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil… view recipe
• Grilled Broccoli Rabe with Salsa Rossa Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini) is a deliciously bitter green closely related to turnips. To ensure tenderness, the stalks are blanched, then grilled. You’ll find the Salsa Rossa pairs well with many green vegetables—green beans, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc. Ingredients For the Salsa Rossa 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed) Pinch of hot red… view recipe
• Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce Verdant and bold-flavored, chimichurri is one of South America’s finest contributions to the world’s sauces. If available, buy “outside” skirt steak, which is considered superior in flavor and tenderness to “inside” skirt steak. Or substitute flank steak or flat iron steak. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak For the marinade 1/4 cup extra virgin olive… view recipe
• Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Herb Sauce While we always prefer wild-caught salmon, Chilean Verlasso salmon (farm-raised) is also very good. Feel free to substitute black bass, red snapper, or lionfish if salmon is not available. Ingredients 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional) 1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced 1 cup chopped tender fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, and/or basil 1… view recipe
• Beet and Goat Cheese Salad You can turn this colorful salad into a main course by adding cooked shrimp. Substituting golden beets for the more familiar red will prevent your hands from staining. Ingredients 1/3 cup sliced almonds 8 ounces beets (red or golden), cooked and peeled 3 ounces goat cheese 4 ounces baby arugula 1 navel orange 3 tablespoons… view recipe
• Siracha and Lime Corn Salad This salad is also excellent when made with grilled corn. Simply lay the husked ears on a hot grill grate and grill, turning with tongs, until patches of brown appear. Slice the kernels off the cobs before proceeding with the recipe. Ingredients 3 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels sliced off the cobs 4 tablespoons extra… view recipe
• Lemony Pea and Spinach Soup A generous drizzle of fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil before serving gives this soup richness (we love its jewel-like color). Ingredients 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving 2 medium leeks, trimmed, white and green parts halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced and rinsed (about 4 packed cups) 2 celery stalks, trimmed and… view recipe
• Garlic and Lemon Aioli with Fresh Asparagus This is a recipe my wife, Meghan, and I enjoy as an appetizer when asparagus is in season. We use a Microplane to grate the lemon zest and garlic. Ingredients 1 bunch fresh asparagus, tough ends removed, preferably thicker stalks1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh and finely grated lemon… view recipe
• Black Bean Dip We love appetizers that can be assembled quickly. This recipe uses ingredients you likely have on hand. No fresh jalapeños? Pickled ones can be used, too. Ingredients 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 2 small yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped 1 to 2… view recipe

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

• From award-winning family-owned groves, these amazing creations have been rushed to you at their peak of flavor and nutritive value.
• All are Club exclusives, including a blend of rare Portuguese varietals grown nowhere else on Earth.
• All have been certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin.
• Feature these stunning EVOOs in regional recipes specially selected to showcase their vibrant flavors.

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¡Hóla! ¡Saludos desde España, saudações de Portugal! In my dreams I’m writing this from Barcelona, nibbling a velvety slice of my favorite jamón Ibérico—or from Porto, sipping its namesake wine, perched at the westernmost edge of what was once considered the “known world.”

The Iberian Peninsula—modern-day Spain and Portugal—is my preferred source, this time of year, of ultra-flavorful, harvest-fresh olive oils. Lamentably, in spite of optimistic plans to resume in-person quests as the Olive Oil Hunter, I was unable to travel to the recent Iberian harvest.

When I’m in Spain, my quest is invariably inspired by the story of Don Quixote, the enduring knight errant who, accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Sancho Panza, journeys through the world, encountering real and imagined adversaries as well as forces beyond his control.

As I’ll elaborate below, it was time to rewrite Cervantes, pandemic-style. But first, let me give you the lay of the land…

Iberia, Liquid Gold Mine to the World

The ancient Greeks named it Iberia, the fist-shaped land mass encompassing Spain and Portugal. Sturdy olive trees, introduced first by the Phoenicians and Greeks, have thrived in its sunny, dry climate for thousands of years. Large-scale olive cultivation exploded in Iberia
(renamed Hispania) under the shrewd business management of the Roman Empire, whose citizens prized olive oil from Hispania above all. (Records of olive oil exports from Andalucía, Spain’s southernmost region, can be traced to the reign of Julius Caesar, in the first century BCE.)

Today, carpeted with an estimated 215 million olive trees (more than a quarter of the world’s olive acreage), Spain produces the most olive oil of any country on earth. The majority of that production is from Andalucía—specifically, from the province of Jaén (an area about the size of the state of Connecticut), which by itself yields more olive oil than either Italy or Greece.

Portugal, in contrast to Spain, occupies a distinctly “boutique” niche; its rocky, forested terrain is home to rare, indigenous olive varieties cultivated nowhere else on earth.

Crunching the Numbers: 0.5%

With its massive production volume, Spain supplies olive oil to much of the globe, including its neighbors. If you pick up a bottle of “Italian” olive oil of uncertain provenance, there’s a good chance it’s mostly Spanish oil with a label that says “Italian.” Most of the Spanish yield is bulk oil that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. From my first scouting trip to Spain, in 2005, I have cultivated relationships with the pioneers of ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil production in Spain. In the past I’ve estimated that such quality-focused innovators represent only about 1 or 2 percent of the total.

But when I actually crunched the numbers a few weeks ago, I arrived at an even tinier ratio: the Spanish artisans who produce competition-style EVOOs even approaching the exacting standards of our Club are fewer than 1 in 200. Half a percent, tops—and we know them personally.

Ingenuity and Collaboration

While I, as a grounded Don Quixote, was tilting at Zoom windmills, Sancho Panza led the way on the ground in Europe. Draft in another compadre—dub him “Pancho Sanza”—to depict how my Merry Band of Tasters and I managed, a world apart, to create the incredible trio of Iberian olive oils you now have before you. (Call me “Don Remot-e.”)

Over the past two years, Club members have been introduced to two of my dearest friends and charter members of the Merry Band of Tasters, Tjeerd Beliën and Duccio Morozzo della Rocca. Tjeerd, a gregarious Renaissance man who speaks six languages, traversed the Spanish and Portuguese countryside in a well-appointed RV. Duccio, a world-renowned olive oil expert based in Rome, met up with Tjeerd at the producers’ groves. I trust them both implicitly to channel my palate and preferences.

Ahead of the harvest, I consulted with my old friend, mentor, and longtime collaborator Francisco “Paco” Vañó, maestro of the Castillo de Canena groves in Jaén. Paco reported that Spain had experienced a very hot and dry season, with a peculiar effect on the olive trees’ flowering and fruit: even though plenty of blossoms appeared, in many cases the fruit did not develop. Olive oil yields in Spain were down by almost half compared with last year. Paco, ever ingenious, has implemented multiple water-sparing measures at the Canena groves to ensure consistently excellent EVOO, no matter the weather. Likewise, the innovative family team at Finca Gálvez transcended the challenges of the season to produce superlative oils.

Portugal also endured a cruel season of drought. Yet our friends at CARM, with groves in the mountainous Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region, reported an excellent harvest. I am honored to share these unique indigenous Portuguese varietals—olives grown nowhere else on the planet—with our Club.

Tjeerd and Duccio tasted oils on site at the groves and overnighted their favorite samples to me. We conducted tasting and blending sessions over Zoom, calibrating the ratios until we had created three absolutely spectacular oils.

As you open these exclusive creations and inhale their lively aromas, take a moment to reflect on the dedicated, passionate artisans behind the scenes. Read on for more details about the award-winning producers; instructive tasting notes for each of the oils; and mouth-watering, regionally inspired recipes to enhance your enjoyment of these Iberian beauties!

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

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

I am thrilled to once again offer Club members a phenomenal extra virgin olive oil pressed from rare varietals native to a remote province of northern Portugal, an otherworldly region whose name means “beyond the mountains.”

Thought to be one of the oldest dominions of prehistoric man on the
European continent—perhaps where Neolithic hominids made their last stand—Trás-os-Montes, like Tolkien’s Middle Earth, is starkly devoid of the modern references we use to define our positions on the space and time continuum. Though just 4.5 hours from the bustle and cacophony of Lisbon, a sighting of hobbits would not be entirely unexpected. More common are wolves and foxes!

It seems improbable that agricultural products could thrive on the steep, rocky slopes that dominate the landscape, and yet, declares olive oil producer and winemaker Filipe Madeira, some of the world’s best fruit is grown in the terroir of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, including wine grapes, citrus, almonds, and olives. Here, the earth’s crust is shot through with schist (xixto in Portuguese), a flaky, compressed metamorphic rock created in the process of mountain formation, which sustains plant life by trapping rainfall and snowmelt between its porous layers.

I wonder if the word “schist” was in Filipe’s vocabulary some 20 years ago when his father, Celso, announced he wanted to restore to productivity familial land that hosted olive groves?

Recalled from his medical studies in Italy, Filipe quickly assumed stewardship of the olive trees, some several hundred years old. The fi rst harvest, he told me when we first met in 2012, was nightmarish, requiring him to forgo sleep for days. He was in constant contact with a technician in Italy who was proficient with the newly installed milling equipment, literally telling Filipe which buttons to push and what knobs to turn as he pressed the olives. Astoundingly, the family’s oils began winning awards immediately, even sweeping Portugal’s prestigious OLIVOMOURA competition.

Like all the top producers I work with, Filipe is devoted to pressing the finest olive oils possible, methodically making adjustments in his fields and in his mill. (Because of the rugged terrain, the olives are picked by hand.)
Since my last visit in 2020, he has added a Rapanelli crusher (the machine that turns the olive flesh to a paste before the oil can be extracted) to his line, which he is eager to compare with his Mori crusher in controlled olive oil trials during the next harvest. He also added a new decanter to the mill, which helps him process the olive fruit even faster.

Apparently, Filipe isn’t the only person authorized to make purchases. In a recent Zoom call, Filipe related how he noticed a significant shortage in the family’s accounts. When he investigated, it emerged that his 88-year-old father, though quarantined at the time, covertly bought five tractors and a plot of land that complemented the family’s holdings. “He kept it a secret from me!” laughed Filipe, a mix of love, exasperation, and pride in his voice. The new acquisition, located on a high plateau with a lake, was a worthy one, Filipe admitted; the water will give him unprecedented control over the trees as they mature and bear fruit by allowing him to irrigate. The plot is already nurturing young trees. Readying it for cultivation was no easy undertaking: Several feet of loose rock had to be excavated and pulverized before planting could begin.

Another ambitious project is also underway, says Filipe—the opening of a spacious olive oil and wine center in the nearby village of Almendra. (Filipe is renovating what was essentially a ruin, an effort that will not go unappreciated by the community.) Milling of the olives will continue to take place at the farm, but bottling will be transferred to the new state-of-the-art facility, eliminating some tasks that have been performed manually.

Rainfall—and its timing—is often an issue here, as it is elsewhere in the Mediterranean. (I wasn’t able to work with Filipe last year as the olives weren’t up to our exacting standards. The trees likely needed time to recuperate from 2020’s excellent harvest.) This year, the trees flowered profusely, but unseasonably high temperatures affected fruit formation. The harvest was later than usual, but the yield was much better than expected.

And the quality? Outstanding! This is one of the most genial olive oils in my memory. It blooms fragrantly and deliciously when introduced to food. I can’t wait for you to taste it.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

A blend of four olive varietals native to Portugal (Negrinha, Madural, Verdeal, and Cobrançosa), this oil is a rare treat. On the nose, it’s redolent of green apple, lettuce, kiwi, mint, baby spinach, lemon, almonds, and vanilla. In the mouth, it exhibits the sweetness of ripe pear along with fennel and spinach. The mild bitterness of walnuts, endive, and lime zest gives it balance. The finish blooms with green tea astringency and the spiciness of celery leaves and white pepper.

This oil’s affinity for food is phenomenal. Try it with the Spicy Cabbage and Chorizo Soup found below. It also complements bread; mild cheeses; eggs; poultry; salads featuring Marcona almonds or walnuts; rice; white beans; mild fi n fi sh; shellfi sh; simple pasta dishes; steamed, grilled, or roasted vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, peas, or farmer’s market finds; or quick breads like the one below.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

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

How has Francisco “Paco” Vañó orchestrated his “best harvest in memory” when—in the same conversation—he laments, accurately, that for most growers the recent Spanish olive harvest “has been a disaster”?

Let’s start at the (modern) beginning. Paco, with his sister Rosa, founded Castillo de Canena in the early 2000s, staking a claim as one of the pioneers of high-quality EVOO production in Spain, focused on early-harvest oils. Their first efforts, bottled in 2003, immediately raised the bar to new heights, and ever since, Castillo de Canena has set the standards for ultra-premium olive oil across the globe. The farm was named “Best Olive Oil Company in the World” in 2016 by Flos Olei, the guide to the world’s best olive oils, and has been named to the Flos Olei Hall of Fame, one of only seven olive oil producers worldwide to receive the honor.

I met Paco in 2005, on my very first trip to Spain, and over the years our friendship has developed and deepened my own understanding of what makes an olive oil producer great: consistency. As Paco has said, nodding to Mother Nature’s unpredictability, “It’s not a matter of making the very best oil in the world. That is simply not possible, every year. The point is to make consistently excellent oils, year in and year out.”

Consistent excellence requires continuous innovation. In December 2019, the Castillo de Canena team began the construction of a brand-new mill. When I use the term mill (almazara, in Spanish) in this context, I don’t mean just the equipment that crushes the olives and extracts the oil, although that machinery itself is, in fact, the mill. What Paco and his team have unveiled, with full functionality as of this harvest, is a breathtaking olive oil temple: the building has an exterior of sleek white stucco, with burnished metal trim that resembles aged wood, and the ceilings within are up to 30 feet high. The eventual goal is to have three olive presses, each representing a top company (Alfa Laval, Pieralisi, and Westfalia), making Castillo de Canena the very first producer to house all 3 under one roof.

The previous building—which, mind you, produced oils celebrated as among the best in the world—was the size of my first New York apartment, less than 600 square feet. You practically had to stoop to walk around; Paco described its heroic feats, chuckling fondly, as “Homeric.” In the earliest days, the mill ran only one production line, and in 2007 they added a second. The new mill already has three lines up and running and next season will add a fourth. I could hear the relief in Paco’s voice as he proclaimed, “This harvest was so much easier, so much better.”

Multiple lines allow the harvest team to mill different batches of olives simultaneously, which gives them more control over what I call the “magic window,” the narrow period of time when the olives are at their peak of polyphenol content and flavor.

Overseeing the entire process, from tree to tank, is Paco’s right-hand woman, “olive master” Mariela Chova Martínez, who has worked with Castillo de Canena as the quality control and food safety supervisor since 2010. In the spring, Mariela follows the olive development in each plot: the first blossoms appear in April or May; then, as soon as the tiny olive fruits emerge, usually in June, the team initiates irrigation and monitors even more closely. Trees are watered once a week from June through August, and two or three times a week from September until harvest time.

During the harvest, the tireless Mariela works both in the mill and in the groves. A warm, upbeat presence, she is in constant contact with the team in the field to detect and troubleshoot any problem, and each morning she samples and evaluates the batches produced on the previous day, directing the pressings to specific tanks based on their quality parameters.

My scouts on the ground, Tjeerd and Duccio, reported that they were smitten with multiple Arbequina oils, harvested on different days from separate microclimates. Excited, I proposed to Paco that we create an Arbequina blend—mingling separate pressings of the same olive varietal helps to bring out complementary aspects of its flavor profile. We’ve created a charming, spirited, extremely food-friendly oil. You, my Club members, will be the first (and only) Americans to savor these exclusive fruits of Paco Vañó’s “best harvest in memory.”

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings 

This well-calibrated oil pressed from a stellar harvest of Arbequina olives makes a lovely first impression on the nose. Enjoy the olfactory interplay between grassiness, green banana, tomato, orange peel, black pepper, and fresh thyme and oregano. Repeats the sweetness of banana in the mouth, accented by cashews, tomato leaf, tingly Szechuan peppercorn (polyphenols!), wild mint, and vanilla. The protracted finish is symphonic—bitter, spicy, and elegant.

Pair with whole grain or savory breads; bruschetta; cheeses like Manchego or Idiazabal; cured Spanish jamón; roasted Marcona almonds; lamb chops; pork; tuna or salmon; tomato-based soups like gazpacho; grilled artichokes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, leeks, or Swiss chard; salads featuring nuts, citrus, kale, watercress, endive, or arugula; chocolate; and vanilla ice cream or yogurt.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

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

I will always remember my first visit to the Gálvez family’s olive groves and beautiful mill. The year was 2005. I had only recently founded the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club and was eager to meet brothers José and Andrés Gálvez, who were themselves relatively new to the world of olive oil. I recall how excited they were when they learned their oils would be in the hands of discriminating Americans. (They still are!) Who could’ve predicted that almost two decades later, we’d still be collaborating on the top-tier olive oils the brothers produce and that have become favorites among my Club members?

During a lengthy Zoom reunion we organized recently, José and I (Andrés was unable to join us, unfortunately) pondered the fact that we have, in effect, grown up together.

It has been very gratifying for me to watch the brothers evolve into the skilled, confident, and highly respected artisanal olive oil producers they are today. Their oils have earned many prestigious awards in multiple countries, including the International Olive Council-sponsored Mario Solinas Quality Award, and have often been named among the top 20 oils in the world by the authoritative guide Flos Olei.

The family’s journey to the winner’s circle began in 1999. Recognizing there was an emerging niche market for premium Spanish extra virgin olive oils, the family purchased two olive farms in the Guadalquivir River Valley, near the ancient town of Bailén. (The Guadalquivir is Spain’s only navigable river and supports millions of olive trees—the largest manmade forest in the world). José, who’d always planned to join the family masonry business when he graduated from college, was tapped to manage the new enterprise with the help of Andrés, whose natural aptitude for engineering and mechanics has been invaluable. An aside: José later returned to school to learn everything he could about olives and olive oil production.

Called Los Juncales and La Casa del Agua, both farms hosted olive trees—some over 150 years old—that had been planted in groups of three, with about 30 feet separating each cluster. Though it’s no longer in favor with modern producers, the formation allows for wide, grassy paths between the rows that help retain moisture and nutrients and that are friendly to the region’s abundant wildlife. (To these groves, the family added a third that is more densely planted.) The family’s holdings now exceed 5,000 acres.

Early on, José recognized the key to achieving the family’s goal of producing premium olive oils was control. Major investments were made in an imposing stone-and-brick state-of-the-art mill as well as a sophisticated irrigation system serviced by deep wells. (Only about one-third of Spain’s olive trees are irrigated, which attests to the Gálvez family’s commitment to quality.) Upgrades and improvements to both the building and equipment are routine at Finca Gálvez. I’m looking forward to touring the new addition to their mill when I’m able to resume my visits.

José and Andrés are careful, however, to keep their primary focus on the fruit. (After all, what good is an expensive set of cookware if inferior ingredients are used to prepare the meal?) To the extent they can, the duo does everything possible to ensure the best crop of olives, monitoring the trees’ needs throughout the growing season and the harvest.

This year, the brothers’ considerable skills and experience were put to the test.

There were two challenges: lack of rainfall—zero fell during a six-month period—and blistering hot temperatures, some in excess of 100 degrees. The trees received periodic rations of water that continued through the harvest, the latter a first for Finca Gálvez. José was as stressed as the trees, confiding during our call that he’d lost nearly 15 pounds before the last batch of olives was pressed. (Stress, as you may recall from past Pressing Reports, can actually be good for olives, as it helps develop and concentrate aromas and flavors.)

But once again, the duo triumphed over circumstances that might’ve defeated lesser producers. Their amazing Picual is proof positive that these guys really know what they’re doing. This luscious oil, the boldest in our trio, is complex but exceptionally well balanced. It will hit your palate like a potent, invigorating spring tonic, as you’ll find out when you taste it.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This stunning oil, pressed from Picual olives, is like pesto in a bottle! Basil and pine nuts mingle in the tasting glass, along with rosemary, spinach, parsley, arugula, black kale, celery, and kiwi. On the palate, anticipate the bitterness of radicchio and the spiciness of arugula and black pepper. Note the astringency of green tea and green apple skin, their edges softened by hints of wheatgrass, tomato leaf, bittersweet chocolate, and culinary herbs like tarragon, rosemary, and celery leaf.

Straight from the bottle, this oil makes an outstanding sauce for a variety of foods. Try it with pizza or rosemary-topped focaccia; grilled or roasted meats; seafood stews; fried eggs; grilled beefsteak; paella; tomato-based pasta dishes; salads featuring radicchio, endive, or green beans (see the Spanish Tuna, Potato, and Green Bean Salad below); broccoli rabe, cabbage, fennel, and other stronger-flavored vegetables; green smoothies; and dark chocolate, especially chocolate mousse with sea salt.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

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Recipes

• Asparagus and Crispy Bean Salad with Manchego This is a great use for canned cannellini beans (or use garbanzos). Sprinkle with Spanish smoked paprika, if desired, before roasting. Ingredients One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed Coarse salt (kosher or sea) 8 ounces fresh asparagus, tough ends snapped off 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use Freshly ground black pepper… view recipe
• Pork Marbella Both salty and sweet, this savory dish riffs on Chicken Marbella by substituting pork tenderloin for chicken. (Please do not confuse small pork tenderloins, usually about a pound each, for pork loin, which is a much larger cut.) Ingredients For the chimichurri marinade/sauce: Two 1-pound pork tenderloins 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 cup dry white… view recipe
• Marinated Rib-Eye Steak with Chimichurri Sauce Called chuletón in Spanish, these rib-eyes can be cooked indoors or out. To get more mileage (aka servings) from the steaks, thinly slice them on a diagonal after cooking and shingle on a large platter with the chimichurri sauce. Ingredients For the chimichurri marinade/sauce: 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley,… view recipe
• Sea Scallops with Romesco Sauce Though we have published recipes for romesco sauce in the past—this iconic sauce is awesome with vegetables, especially the calçots we have enjoyed in early spring in Barcelona—we had never thought to pair it with seafood. Ingredients For the romesco: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for coating the vegetables 1 red bell… view recipe
• Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms Eggs are indisputably popular in Spain, with each Spaniard eating 237 eggs per year on average, according to the latest statistics. Here is a keto-friendly recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a tapa. My wife, Meghan, and I like to give the eggs a final drizzle of extra virgin olive… view recipe
• Spanish Tuna, Potato and Green Bean Salad Similar to a classic French niçoise salad, this Iberian version uses fresh tuna steaks rather than tinned tuna. Enjoy it for lunch or a light supper. We wouldn’t say no to a glass or two of txakoli or other dry Spanish white wine. Ingredients 2 tuna steaks, each about 6 ounces Extra virgin olive oil,… view recipe
• Spicy Cabbage and Chorizo Soup Cabbage is ubiquitous in Portuguese vegetable gardens and on Portuguese tables. This flavorful soup reminds me of the wonderful meals I’ve enjoyed at Filipe Madeira’s table, nearly all featuring cabbage in some guise. Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced 8 ounces cured Spanish… view recipe
• Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts While fresh spinach is preferred in this popular Catalonian dish, which can be served as a side dish or appetizer, feel free to use frozen leaf spinach. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds fresh baby spinach (stem, if the spinach is more mature) 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons pine nuts 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2… view recipe
• Zucchini with Onions, Garlic, and Oregano Zucchini was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs and is a specialty of Murcia. The following recipe, though simple, makes a great accompaniment to roasted chicken or grilled meats. It is important to keep the heat low to achieve a soft, delicate texture. You can turn the zarangollo into a meal by the… view recipe
• Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Skillet Banana Bread We love the unexpected combination of dark chocolate, ripe bananas, and olive oil in this visually-appealing skillet dessert. Top, if desired, with whipped cream or a scoop of premium vanilla ice cream, the latter drizzled with a bit of olive oil. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, regular or Dutch… view recipe

Presenting Three Fantastici Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Family Farms in Southern Italy

• These delightful just-pressed olive oils, chosen expressly for you by the Olive Oil Hunter, are from award-winning producers in Sicily, Abruzzo, and Apulia.
• All were rushed to the US by jet to preserve their extraordinary flavors, aromas, and healthful polyphenols.
• All three are Club exclusives and are available nowhere else in the US.
• An independent lab has certified all three to be 100 percent extra virgin olive oil.

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When my phone rang recently at my Asheville, North Carolina, home, it was my friend and colleague, world-renowned olive oil expert Duccio Morozzo della Rocca. He was calling to report that, moments before, he and olive oil producer Claudio Di Mercurio from the Abruzzo region of Italy had concluded a delightful meal at a local restaurant, the food drizzled with just-pressed extra virgin olive oil from Claudio’s farm. How I wish I could’ve joined them for our traditional celebratory post-harvest meal.

The call prompted me to reminisce about all the incredible moments (food-related and otherwise) I’ve enjoyed in Italy, and made me “homesick” for the country that launched my career as the Olive Oil Hunter. I calculate I’ve spent more than a year of my life there. It’s the most olive oil-centric place in the world, home to nearly 550 varieties of olives—an olive oil lover’s paradise. Italy’s relationship with Olea europaea is thousands of years old. It permeates the culture in ways I’ve never seen anywhere else.

Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome

Though it started later than usual in some regions, the current Italian harvest is well underway. The incomparable oils you have received were among the first to be pressed. As a Club member, you know I have always had a strong preference for the vibrant, nuanced flavors and aromas of early-harvest oils. The producers I work with know this and alert me when the moment is just right for the olives. (The “magic window,” I like to call it.)

The last few quarters have been professionally challenging. When it was clear the pandemic would restrict international travel, my team and I adopted an almost militaristic mantra: “improvise, adapt, and overcome.” We marshalled our resources on four continents, ensuring the timely arrival on your doorstep every three months of the world’s finest, freshest extra virgin olive oils.

This quarter, my invaluable “boots on the ground” were Tjeerd Beliën and the aforementioned Duccio. Let me introduce (or reintroduce) them to you.

My dear friend Tjeerd—we met as teenagers in 1996—is a Dutch citizen and an inaugural member of my Merry Band of Tasters. (We hope the Band will be reunited in early 2022!) His beautiful black-and-white photographs have animated the pages of the Pressing Report since 2005. Behind the scenes, he does much, much more: I treasure his help and resourcefulness. This quarter, he put his Europe-based RV at the disposal of the Club, interfaced with prospective and selected producers—he speaks six languages—and went above and beyond to put these extraordinary oils into your hands.

The mellifluously named Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, a much sought-after olive oil sage and master miller based in Rome, has been steering me to some of the Mediterranean’s best producers for over a decade. It was his tip back in 2019 that eventually led to one of this quarter’s most unexpected discoveries—an amazing Coratina from the Di Martino family, whose clan has been in the olive oil business since the 1600s. (Here’s context: the ink was barely dry on Shakespeare’s last plays when this clan, originally from Emilia-Romagna, established a vast olive grove in Apulia.)

Three Distinct EVOOs From Family Farms

And speaking of families, I want to emphasize that all three oils in this sensational trio were produced on family-owned and family-run farms. As Duccio says, we’re talking about Italian families. With brothers and sisters and sons and daughters and aunts and uncles and cousins. With nonne bustling in the kitchen, making fresh pasta, baking bread, and pretending they’re not listening intently to the conversation at the dining room table. People who are passionate about everything in their lives—especially their familial olive oils.

You can read more about these families and their awesome oils below. But for now, know they are from Abruzzo, Sicily, and Apulia. All thrived in a year that brought disappointment to many Italian olive growers. And all their oils are excellent, clearly potential award-winners. (Competitions for this year’s harvest are not yet accepting entries.)

As always, I anxiously monitored the growing season from afar. Early on, it was clear Central Italy was victimized by a late frost that delayed flowering on the trees. The nascent flowers then wilted in the early, unrelenting heat of summer. An extreme lack of rainfall—zero—exacerbated the problem. I surmised my favorite Tuscan growers would not be in the running for the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club this year. (Last year, some Tuscan oils were superlative, and won big in the New York International Olive Oil Competition. Such is the caprice of Mother Nature.) So I began to focus on southern Italy. And I found gold! “Liquid gold,” that is.

I am especially pleased with the distinctions between the Mild, Medium, and Bold oils I have selected for you, each with different characteristics. Though I always recommend food pairings in the Tasting Notes (see below), I encourage you to experiment in your own kitchen. If you can bear to part with these exclusive olive oils, throw a small tasting party! (Find a guide below.)

I hope these stunning extra virgin olive oils and their accompanying background stories bring joy to you, your family, and friends.

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson 
The Olive Oil Hunter®

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This Quarter’s First Selection

• Producer: Salvatore Cutrera Exclusive Signature Selection, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy 2021
• Olive Varieties: Tonda Iblea, Nocellara del Belice
• Flavor Profile: Mild

This season, Frantoi Cutrera unveiled a spectacular new olive oil producing center. To call it a “mill” seems utterly inadequate: at more than 85,000 square feet, this visionary structure houses a state-of-the-art olive mill, bottling line, warehouse, food production facilities, classrooms for community education and olive oil tasting, and a central gathering area. More than forty years of sweat equity, sacrifice, and internationally award-winning innovation by Salvatore Cutrera and his family have culminated in what could be appropriately characterized as “a cathedral of olive oil.”

You could also call it The House That Olive Oil Built. In 1979, Salvatore’s father, Giovanni, established the family’s first olive mill (frantoio) in Chiaramonte Gulfi, in southeastern Sicily. In time, Giovanni entrusted the day-to-day management of operations to Salvatore and his sisters, Maria and Giusi. Today, Frantoi Cutrera is one of the most decorated olive oil producers in Italy and across the globe. When I first visited Salvatore in Sicily, in 2017, I was astounded to see that the main office was literally plastered with awards: in addition to plaques and statuettes on display, the intricately designed paper on the walls was composed of replica certificates won by Cutrera olive oils. I can only imagine how extraordinary the new office must be!

Frantoi Cutrera is truly a family affair: Salvatore reports that his son, Giovanni, and nephew, Giuseppe, have joined the team, which also includes Salvatore’s wife, his two sisters, and their husbands. “It takes the strength of three families” to produce the finest olive oil, Salvatore notes. The Cutrera mill is always abuzz with creation, noisy and extremely efficient, with round-the-clock hyperkinetic activity during the harvest. Salvatore’s mother, Mary, lives in a house attached to the former mill (only 600 yards from the new workplace), and I wonder how strange it must be for her, now, to have peace and quiet.

The substantial Cutrera groves, which comprise about 250 acres over a patchwork of small farms, nurture just two olive varieties: Tonda Iblea and Nocellara del Belice, both “table olives” (the plump, zesty drupes that, when brined, may make an appearance on an antipasto platter). I am exceedingly fond of EVOO pressed from table olives because the fruit is so flavorful, and so are the resulting oils.

The weather this season, however, had me concerned that there might be no olives at all in Sicily, table or otherwise. First, it was the hottest summer in a century, with no rainfall for five months. According to my trusted colleague Duccio Morozzo, who was on the ground in Italy for the harvest, the slight humidity that accompanied the heat helped to protect the olives from withering on the branches.

Then, a hurricane hit, bringing two weeks of heavy wind and rain. Olive crops in the eastern part of Sicily were destroyed. Thankfully, the Cutrera groves were shielded by Monte Iblei (the Hyblean Mountains, in English), which span the southeastern provinces of Ragusa, Syracuse, and Catania. The rain was welcome, even if overly intense, as the increase in the olives’ water content allowed the fruit to finish developing, and the blustering winds shook off some defective olives from the trees, effectively “pre-selecting” for the harvest.

Technological advances at the new mill take selection further, as close to perfection as possible. As one of several high-tech experiments of the past few years, Frantoi Cutrera has implemented a system with a sensor that scans the freshly picked fruit as it enters the mill. A targeted blast of air dismisses any substandard specimens at lightning speed. The team can set parameters based on size, shape, coloration, and more, ensuring that only the finest olives make their way to the crusher. Each detail of the milling process has been intentionally planned for optimal quality control. The project was also designed to minimize environmental impact: solar panels generate energy, and water is purified after production for reuse.

Longtime customers feel a sense of collective pride in what the Cutrera family has achieved. “We have grown up together,” Salvatore agrees. The mill could have stayed where it was; the company is world renowned, and they would have continued to excel. But Salvatore and his family do not rest on their laurels. They are always striving to improve, to perfect, to create oil of even more exquisite quality, and to engage more directly with the community.

“This is either an arrival or a new starting point,” proclaimed Salvatore. My response was, “I think it’s both!”

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

A blend of Sicilian Nocellara del Belice and Tonda Iblea olives, this is the mildest oil in the trio. On the nose, it evokes tomato leaf, lettuce, celery, mint, baby spinach, walnuts, and a whiff of pear, complemented by wheatgrass, Belgian endive, and white pepper. Expect a lush, velvety mouthfeel and distinctly green, grassy flavors with spinach, celery, lime, green tomato, and green apple peel in this well-balanced oil, which also features a bitterness akin to Belgian endive and walnut skins. On the finish, you’ll notice a fresh ginger- and white pepper-like spiciness.

Pair this genial oil with salads, such as those featuring tomatoes, fruit, walnuts, or spinach; chicken and turkey; shrimp, scallops, and lobster; mild fin fish including cod, whitefish, halibut, or sole; fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella, ricotta, or burrata; yogurt; simple pasta dishes; potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, and carrots; risotto; focaccia or white pizza; and quick breads or biscotti.

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This Quarter’s Second Selection

• Producer: Frantoio Mercurius, Penne, Abruzzo, Italy 2021
• Olive Varieties: Dritta
• Flavor Profile: Medium

“IT’S THE YEAR OF THE ARTICHOKE!” Claudio di Mercurio exclaimed in a recent social media post announcing this year’s harvest. The savvy producer of Frantoio Mercurius described the eagerly awaited pressings from his olive mill and led with the delightful aromatic profile that had taken him by surprise.

“Sometimes it’s green almond,” he told me, describing the preeminent aroma of the Mercurius oils, when we spoke on a Zoom call during the harvest. “But this year, it is artichoke.” About 70% of the Di Mercurio family’s groves are planted with Dritta, an olive varietal indigenous to the Abruzzo region and, as far as I’ve been able to gather, one that is cultivated nowhere else on earth. (When asked if Dritta grew in other parts of Italy, Claudio said no. Then, after a pause, he mused, “I think there is a cousin, San Felice, in Umbria.” It seemed to me quintessentially Italian to conceive of the related olives as cousins.)

The Italian word dritta means, alternately, “dependable,” “trustworthy,” and “sweet” (genial). The olive Dritta lives up to its name: in all my years as the Olive Oil Hunter, I don’t think I’ve encountered another variety as consistent as this one. Dritta trees produce fruit every year, in contrast to many biennial olive cultivars. To my astonishment, I had never even heard of Dritta prior to the fall of 2018, when I first introduced Claudio’s EVOO to our Club. Now, I’m thrilled to be sharing a dazzling Dritta from Frantoio Mercurius with you for the fourth year in a row. Talk about dependable!

The Mercurius team began producing olive oil in 2010, debuting as Frantoio Hermes, a clever play on the surname Di Mercurio—avid readers of mythology might make the connection between the Greek messenger god, Hermes, and his Roman avatar, Mercury. (Last year, the influential fashion house Hermes—apparently concerned that an ultra-premium olive oil might be confused for a silk scarf—forced the name change.) In its very first pressing year, the producer’s oils won top regional awards and brought the mill to international attention. Ten years of hard work paid off, when its Dritta—the very same oil that you, my lucky Club members, experienced last winter—took highest honors at the 2020 Sirena D’Oro competition, an historical first for Dritta.

I asked Claudio how he had managed to increase production this year, when many other Italian producers have struggled.

“It is the microclimate of Penne,” he confided. The Appenine Mountains divide Italy along its length, he explained, and serve as a protective shield for the ancient city of Penne, which lies in the Abruzzo region to the south. Cradled by the smallish mountain peaks, and with the Mediterranean Sea to its east, Abruzzo typically experiences a very mild spring and is protected from the blistering heat waves of the sort that destroyed many olive crops in the northern half of the country this year.

Location just sets the stage, though—the Frantoio Mercurius team works year-round to facilitate and maintain this kind of consistency. Two years ago, Claudio and his crew experimented with some light pruning of the trees, which increased fruit production. They’re also in the process of building a greenhouse near the mill as a nursery for tiny trees, with the intent of cultivating new varietals on the farm. This season they debuted improvements to the mill that enable accelerated crushing of the fruit, with a cooling system to keep the temperatures low inside the mill.

Aromas—the perfumes of the olive oil, or what we call “the nose” in the tasting notes below—are created in the crusher, when oxygen briefly comes in contact with the aromatic oils released by the fruit. Keeping the crushed olive paste cool is imperative for heightening and preserving those perfumes.

Dritta reflected a different facet of its aromatic profile this year: artichoke. Similar to hazel eyes that look blue, green, or brown in different light, olive varieties manifest different aromas and flavors depending on the variables of the season. Often, of course, one note may be predominant, but many others come into play as well. Claudio cited the cool autumn and a bit of rain right before the harvest as likely influential factors in creating the soft, beguiling artichoke-forward scent of the exclusive oil you have before you. We can’t wait for you to try it.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings 

The nose of this elegant oil captures perfumes reminiscent of shaved raw artichoke, fresh-cut grass, green almond, lime, green banana, kiwi, and escarole, with black pepper and cinnamon. Flavors on the palate include artichoke, almond, and pine nuts balanced with the bitterness of radicchio, arugula, and celery leaf. A protracted, slightly mouth-numbing finish was noticed—“Feel the polyphenols dancing on your tongue,” said one taster.

Pair with hearty salads, such as an Italian chopped salad; charcuterie platters; beans; soups; lamb; veal; duck; salmon; roasted vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, brussels sprouts, and winter squashes, like pumpkin; tomato-based pasta dishes; eggs; crusty breads; vanilla ice cream or panna cotta.

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This Quarter’s Third Selection

• Producer: Di Martino, Trani, Apulia, Italy 2021
• Olive Varieties: Coratina
• Flavor Profile: Bold

Because to love a land also means sometimes to clash with it, it means to take on the difficulties and also to value the fruits.

—Maria Francesca Di Martino

Meet the dynastic Apulian family that has had a deep and abiding connection to their land and olive groves since 1647. Their vivacious matriarch, olive oil producer Maria Francesca Di Martino, comes from a long line of oil traders who emigrated from northern Italy and settled near Trani, an active port on the Adriatic Sea.

When asked if she was the first woman to run the award-winning farm, Maria Francesca demurred. Family lore, she said, suggests a female ancestor was likely the first, assuming the role when Napoleon imprisoned her husband for revolutionary leanings.

The family’s more recent ancestral history is represented in the company’s official name, which combines the surnames of Maria Francesca’s father and mother. I am reprinting it here in its entirety so you can marvel, as I did, at its length: Aziende Agricole Di Martino – de Luca di Roseto Tupputi Schinosa delle sorelle Di Martino.

The family’s land holdings were once vast, encompassing some 7,400 acres. Eventually, the farm was divided among the family’s surviving heirs. Maria Francesca astutely acquired contingent pieces of the original property and now manages over 400 acres of monumental centuries-old olive trees, including a grove of gnarled 350-year-old trees fondly called “Oliveto La Dote.” The name roughly translates to “the olive dowry.” Though old photographs on the walls of the family’s stunning antique-filled home picture a vintage mill, most of the olive crop from the 28,000 trees was sold commercially when Maria Francesca took over the business. In 2015, she commissioned a beautiful state-of-the-art mill with a stained-glass ceiling.

The Coratina our Club members received this quarter is an unexpected find, the first single-varietal Italian Coratina I have selected in more than a decade. Originally from Corato, near the ankle of the Italian boot, this sometimes irascible cultivar (the most popular olive in Apulia, which produces 50 percent of Italy’s oil) requires a skilled miller to summon its best qualities. How did I discover this intersection of olive and producer? Acting on a tip from olive oil expert Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, I first visited this historic farm in 2019. Unfortunately, the region’s harvest was not yet underway, so I was unable to sample their oils.

But this year, the planets were in alignment! Several developments put the estate’s Coratina in my sights once again. A chance meeting at a food exhibition between Maria Francisco’s 22-year-old son, Paolo, and olive oil expert Nicolangelo Marsicani set the chain of events into motion. Paolo, then an agricultural student steeped in the nearly 400-year olive oil legacy of the family farm, was fascinated by Marsicani’s more modern approach to olive oil production. (Coincidentally, Nicolangelo is a friend of Duccio’s, an example of how small the world of quality olive oil really is. And how invaluable good connections are!)

Paolo then invited the detail-oriented master miller to the farm to assess the mill and the farm’s agricultural practices. By implementing what Paolo characterized as small changes, such as daily deep-cleaning of the milling equipment and the installation of a filtering system, the next harvest was transformed; the oils were more refined, more elegant. An “ugly duckling to swan” story.

At first, Maria Francesca was a bit resistant to the changes young Paolo insisted on making, citing the family’s long history with olives. But Nicolangelo’s influence has subtly but dramatically shifted this farm’s trajectory. He worked closely with the farm’s miller of three years, Michele Siniscalchi Montereale. With Duccio translating, Michele poetically compared olives to a sculptor’s raw chunks of marble: “You have to find and bring out the beauty in them.” To his credit, Michele has certainly brought out the best in this exquisite, polyphenol-rich Coratina.

The Di Martino family is exceedingly proud to share this extra virgin olive oil with the discriminating palates that populate the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. (I’ve tried to train you well!) They will be so eager to hear your comments. As will I.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings 

Pressed from 100% Coratina olives, this intriguing oil is intensely green—bold, but not overwhelming. On the nose, it presents arugula, basil, kale, artichoke, fennel, rosemary, and golden apple, with bass notes of hazelnut and black pepper. On the palate? It’s like pesto in a bottle.` You might detect chicory, artichoke, watercress, wheatgrass, spinach, lime zest, Tuscan kale, and fresh green almond, with the spiciness of black pepper and the astringency of green tea. It crescendos to a sensational, nuanced finish.

We suggest pairing this muscular yet remarkably food-friendly oil with steak or grilled meats; game meats or birds; hearty soups, stews, and braises; tuna, swordfish, or oilier fish like mackerel; aged cheeses (it could even stand up to blue cheeses like Gorgonzola); grilled radicchio or eggplant; caponata or ratatouille; grains and beans; cruciferous vegetables; dark chocolate, including baked goods like cakes or brownies; and chocolate mousse.

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Olive Oil and Health

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Kudos from Club Members

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Recipes

• Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce Nearly any kind of mild fish can be enhanced with salmoriglio, a centuries-old sauce with uncertain beginnings that is popular in southern Italy. We also love it on potatoes, chicken, and shrimp or other shellfish. Ingredients For the Fish: White vinegar2 pounds fish fillets, such as trout, halibut, or wild salmon, with or without skinCoarse… view recipe
• Oven-Roasted Eggplant I enjoy multiple variations of this yummy recipe. Some of my finishing options: 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves; a drizzle of fresh lemon juice; parsley, chives or green onions; a drizzle of honey and chopped, fresh rosemary; a drizzle of good quality aged balsamic vinegar; a dollop of yogurt. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds eggplant (2… view recipe
• Lemon and Olive Oil Panna Cotta This classic Italian dessert (panna cotta translates to “cooked cream”) is simultaneously rich-tasting, yet light. For a festive touch, substitute orange zest for lemon zest, then garnish with candied orange peel and/or fresh pomegranate arils. We used an olive oil of medium intensity. Ingredients 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin 1 tablespoon cold water 2… view recipe
• Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta Though sold year round, brussels sprouts are at their best after the first frost. (Near the holidays, you can sometimes find them still on the stalk.) Diced pancetta and balsamic vinegar make these an unforgettable side dish. Another plus? The sprouts can be braised on the stovetop, freeing up valuable real estate in your oven.… view recipe
• Lentil Soup You likely have everything you need in your pantry to make this hearty and filling soup. Feel free to use green French lentils or the more common (and less expensive) brown variety. Blending a portion of the soup gives it a creamy texture. Ingredients 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1… view recipe
• Orecchiette with Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale The sweetness of butternut squash makes the leap to savory when paired with fresh-pressed olive oil, sage, and kale. Of course, butternut squash can be notoriously difficult to peel and cube. We’ve found it’s easier if you slice the top and bottom off with a sharp knife, then microwave the squash for 3 to 4… view recipe
• Sicilian-Style Meatballs Sicilian-style meatballs can be distinguished from others by the unexpected but delightful addition of currants and pine nuts. While many traditional cooks fry their meatballs on the stovetop before simmering them in tomato sauce, we prefer to bake ours on a wire rack positioned over a rimmed sheet pan. (The meatballs retain their shape and… view recipe
• Italian-Style Porchetta Loaded with flavor, this fancy version of a pork roast looks stunning when served whole on a platter, or it can be sliced thinly for sandwiches. Olive oil keeps it moist as it roasts. (Be sure to buy the larger loin roast, not pork tenderloin.) Ingredients 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped 1/4 cup… view recipe
• Garden Pasta Alla Di Mercurio My colleague, master miller Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, and I created this dish during a visit to the Di Mercurio farm and mill. The tomato puree we used is called passata. Find it at larger supermarkets or online. Or use another premium tomato puree, such as one made from San Marzano tomatoes. Ingredients Coarse salt… view recipe
• Italian Chopped Salad Like an Italian deli in a bowl, this salad combines colorful greens with crispy roasted chickpeas, salami, and provolone. The original recipe was heavy on radicchio and endive, both of which can be bitter. We tamed them with the addition of romaine hearts and added tangy pepperoncini as an option. Substantial enough to serve as… view recipe