Is Olive Oil the New Wine?

As we researched the production, sensory evaluation, blending, bottling and marketing of extra virgin olive oil, we came to the same conclusion that growers, producers, distributors and the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) have all reached: California extra virgin olive oil is about to explode as a category.

Insiders (many of which are also stakeholders in the California wine industry) have told us over and over again that the olive oil industry is poised at the same stage in its evolution as the wine industry of the 1970’s. There are many similarities, both in terms of domestic positioning against imports, as well as increasing consumer awareness and discernment within a rapidly growing U.S. market.

Olive oil that is milled within three hours of the olives being taken from the trees on California ranches and that hasn’t had to be transported once or twice across oceans to get to market is, by definition, fresher than imports. And the COOC seal (we have it) on members’ bottles assures the consumer that this is, indeed, "extra virgin." COOC members are held to a higher standard than the FDA presently imposes upon imports. (See The Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2004, Business Section, Page One, "Pressing for Greater Olive Oil Oversight," by Jerry Hirsch).

A truly delightful aspect of tasting olive oils in the same way that we have wine tastings is to discover the similarity in methods and terms. Noting the look of the oil (green, yellow, brown, glossy), the aromatics (grassy, hay, fruity, perfumy, rancid, fermented) and taste (green leaves, butter, peppery, bitter, artichoke, apple, tomato) from the front of your tongue to the back of your throat can give you quite an education in identifying first-rate oils versus the bland or—horrors!—the chemically refined, which means that the oil cannot possibly be “extra virgin.”

So, read the labels, do the tastings. And choose among our wonderful California extra virgin olive oils. You’ll find your own preferences in style, just as you have them in wine, and you will be most pleasantly rewarded!