Major U.S. olive oil conference coming to University of California-Davis

California has led the way in the development of an olive oil culture and industry that's unique to the United States. And the folks at the University of California-Davis have been helping to support the industry for about two decades now.

So, it comes as no surprise that UC-Davis, and its new Olive Center, are planning the first major international conference of its kind for the U.S. The three day conference is scheduled for June 21-23 at UC-Davis, a short distance away from prominent wine-growing regions (Napa, Sonoma) that are also starting to experiment with olive oil production.

Dan Flynn, executive director of the UC-Davis Olive Center, told me the event is the first of its kind for the center and the largest of its kind in the U.S. geared toward exploring excellence in olive oil. For those familiar with Napa gourmet, the event will be closely tied with the Culinary Institute of America.

Foodies and food opinion leaders are expected to attend, such as chefs, journalists, restaurateurs, retailers, producers, and food buyers. The speakers' list is a good mix of U.S. and international experts (including a few from Greece!)

Who knows? Maybe a certain olive oil blogger will be there. :-)

The conference costs $495. You can see more details andthe conference schedule here.

1st Annual California Olive Oil Council competition results

The California Olive Oil Council stepped up to the plate and launched its own annual competition. There have been a smattering of olive oil competitions in California, but the COOC is recognized as the authority on olive oil, and the protector and enforcer of standards.

In olive oil, standards are a good thing.

In the COOC's first annual competition, we recognize a number of familiar producers, some of whom have been featured on this blog and others I personally have tasted but have not yet written about.

For someone who is unfamiliar with California olive oil, you can start by sampling oils from this list of winners (or do some reading of my reviews here).

The top winners are below. Hit the jump for the rest:


CALIFORNIA OLIVE OIL COUNCIL
FIRST ANNUAL COMPETITION 2009

BEST OF SHOW-
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: LUCERO OLIVE OIL ASCOLANO

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS
o
APOLLO OLIVE OIL-MISTRAL BLEND
o
BELLE VUE
o
BOZZANO OLIVE RANCH-A2
o
CALIFORNIA OLIVE RANCH-ARBEQUINA
o
CALIFORNIA OLIVE RANCH-ARBOSANA
o
CALOLEA
o
ELIXIR OLIVE OIL-ALLEGRA
o
ELIXIR OLIVE OIL-GRAZIA
o
HILLSTONE OLIVE OIL-ARBEQUINA
o
JAEGER FAMILY OLIVE OIL
o
JOELLE OLIVE OIL-BAROUNI
o
JOELLE OLIVE OIL-MISSION BLEND
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-ASCOLANO
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-MISSION
o
MILAGROS OLIVE OIL
o
PACIFIC SUN-TEHAMA COUNTY BLEND
o
PACIFIC SUN-PROPRIETOR’-S SELECT-ASCOLANO
o
PEPI’S OLIVE OIL
o
QUINTA DO SOL-SINFONIA UM
o
STONE EDGE VINEYARDS
o
STORM OLIVE RANCH
o
TERRA BELLA VISTA
o
TRES OSOS
o
VILLA MILLE ROSE

SILVER MEDAL WINNERS
o
ALLURE ESTATES
o
APOLLO OLIVE OIL-BAROUNI
o
APOLLO OLIVE OIL SIERRA BLEND
o
BARI OLIVE OIL-FRUITY
o
BARI OLIVE OIL-TRADITIONAL
o
BAVA FAMILY GROVE
o
BELLA SUN LUCI-MOONEY FARMS
o
BOZZANO OLIVE RANCH GENERATIONS
o
BOZZANO OLVIE RANCH TOSCANO
o
CALIFORNIA GOLD-ESTATE BLEND
o
CALIFORNIA OLIVE RANCH-KORONEIKI
o
CALIVIRGIN-COLDANI OLIVE RANCH
o
CARNEROS OLIVE OIL
o
CARRIAGE VINEYARDS-ARBEQUINA
o
CARRIAGE VINEYARDS MANZANILLO
o
CALIFORNIA KORONEIKI
o
CORTO OLIVE OIL
o
DEERCREEK BLEND
o
DUTCH HENRY WINERY
o
ELIXIR-CALIFORNIA
o
ELIXIR-FORZA
o
EGG RANCH
o
HARRIS RANCH NAPA VALLEY
o
HAWK’S FEATHER OLIVETO
o
INK GRADE FARM
o
JOSEPH PHELPS VINEYARDS
o
JOVIA GROVES
o
KALAMATA QUEEN-OLIVE GROVE NURSERY
o
KATZ’ CHEF’S PICK
o
KATZ ROCK HILL RANCH
o
LONE OAK OLIVE OIL
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-ARBEQUINA
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-FRANTOIO
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-SEVILLANO
o
MONTEMAGGIORE WINERY
o
OLINDA RIDGE ESTATE- MISSION BLEND
o
OLIODESSA OLIVE OIL
o
OLIO BELLO D’OLIVO FILTERED
o
OLIO NUEVO ESTATE ARBEQUINA
o
QUARTETTO VIOLA
o
QUINTA DO SOL-SINFONIA DOIS
o
QUINTA DO SOL-SINFONIA TRES
o
REGINA-DICKSON NAPA RANCH
o
ROBINSON ROAD OLIVE RANCH
o
ROUND POND ESTATE-ITALIAN BLEND
o
ROUND POND ESTATE-SPANISH BLEND
o
RUBICON NAPA ESTATE
o
SALTONSTALL ESTATE
o
SISTER JULIE’S-STARCROSS MONASTERY
o
SORELLE PARADISO ESTATE
o
TABER RANCH
o
TEMPLAR-NAPA VALLEY
o
TERRACE HILL ESTATE RESERVE
FLAVORED OILS
BEST OF SHOW FLAVORED OIL: ROUND POND MEYER LEMON
GOLD
o
OLIODESSA EUREKA LEMON
o
ROUND POND ESTATE BLOOD ORANGE
o
ROUND POND ESTATE MEYER LEMON
o
TERRACE HILL-TUSCAN SUNSET
o
TIBER CANYON RANCH-YUZU CITRUS
SILVER
o
DRY CREEK BLOOD ORANGE
o
LUCERO OLIVE OIL-MANDARIN

Online Olive Oil Tasting: Our next event!!

Vom Fass USA, a gourmet purveyor of fine olive oils, will be leading our next online olive oil tasting over at Olive Oil Tasters. Check it out! Become a site member! (It's free and takes a minute to join.)

David Eisner-Kleyle, of Vom Fass, will be leading an online tasting of three oils. David has been so thoughtful as to customize the selection with smaller samples, so us olive oil aficionados can sample without spending tons of money on larger bottles. He put together a sampler set that is about $12 -- but with a 20 percent discount.

To get the discount, sign up for the event at Olive Oil Tasters, and you'll get a link to a coupon code that you can use when you order.

Then, on March 22nd at 4 p.m. EASTERN, join us at Olive Oil Tasters for a live online tasting. David will use UStream, an easy-to-use live-video-streaming website, to lead us through the tasting, answer our questions, and interact with us. It's a fun format, especially for those of us who are foodie geeks. :-)

Let me know if you want to participate! Don't forget to sign up over at Olive Oil Tasters!

Review: Trader Joe's Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Trader Joe's is generally a well-respected chain grocery store in the United States, with good fresh products and often healthy packaged and frozen foods. Their prices are very appealing to budget-conscious consumers. Their olive oil offerings are no different: affordable and somewhat diverse. You can get Italian, Spanish, Greek and California oils there. (I reviewed one of their California oils a while back.)

At a store recently, I noticed how most of their olive oil selections -- which has more than doubled in the few years I've regularly shopped there -- are below $10. That said, they offer a good selection of entry-level oils for the consumer who's not yet ready to make the (price) jump to true gourmet olive oils.

I tasted the Trader Joe's Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain on Sunday, Jan. 11, as part of a group online tasting I organized over at ILoveOliveOil.ning.com for the Olive Oil Tasters network. As I promised those folks, my review will incorporate not only my impressions, but theirs as well. And at the end of the post, if you're curious, you can read the transcript of our olive oil tasting. (Gotta love the Web!)

So, hit the jump for the rest of the show!

Some quick facts: The Trader Joe's organic extra virgin olive oil claims on the bottle that it is a product of Spain. It gave a "best before" date of 2010. It did not list any varietals that might have been pressed into making the oil. In short, TJ's did a decent job with disclosing some info about the oil, but not others. All of us tasters agreed that we want to start seeing the date when the oil is pressed, produced and/or bottled.

It's important to note that during the tasting, myself and Olive Oil Taster member Susan O'R. both were having similar negative experiences, while Jeff and Cathy's tasting was more pleasurable. We figured out that Susan and I had a bottle that was probably at least a year older than Jeff and Cathy's -- so their newer bottle was fresher and that's probably why it tasted better to them.

Per my own methodology I use during these tastings, I judged the oil on Aroma, Taste and overall Harmony.

For Aroma, I smelled a tinny, metallic and/or chemical undertone. There was little hint of "freshness." It was neither floral, grassy or herbaceous -- just a flat, monotone aroma. I called it average in the Aroma category. Score: 3 out of 5.

Some other taster's noted:

* Susan: "I find this oil to have a chemical odor."
* Jeff & CathY: "like a mild herb."


For Taste, the oil was thick and viscous. It was also nearly immediately peppery and induced a cough if I breathed in some air with my sip. But it wasn't a pleasing taste, and it was dull. Not vibrant or fresh-tasting. Score: 4 out of 8.

Some other tasters' notes:

* Susan: "i find the oil to be greasy with a peppery finish."
* Jeff & Cathy: "it has an thick texture, but I like how it cleans up towards the back of the tongue pretty quickly"

For overall Harmony, I have to say that I believe this oil was past its prime by the time I decided to pluck it off the store shelf at the Trader Joe's. So, next time, if I do buy more oil from there, I will take a much closer look at the bottle labels and make sure I buy an oil whose "best before" date is as far out into the future as possible. I think the aroma and taste elements of the oil had fallen apart: I was smelling metal but tasting pepper and then, flatness. Score: 6 out of 12.

Total Score: 13 out of 25.
Rating: Average

I suspect when the oil was fresher, it might have been pretty good overall. But as I tasted it, it was mediocre. I would not use it as a finishing oil on soups and salads or even toasted breads. I would use it for light sauteeing and maybe some baking. 'Tis a shame, because some of the other olive oils I bought from Trader Joe's in the past were quite good, including a Greek and a Californian.

Interested in our group tasting experience? Take a peek at the transcript below. If you're interested in online tasting events and discounts on olive oil, you should join the Olive Oil Tasters network at ILoveOliveOil.ning.com!!!

Scattershooting around the world of olive oil

Arnold, a faithful reader, sent me a bunch of emails a few days ago where he shared tons of great info and sparked my imagination.

For one, after writing a little bit about the goodness of "olio nuovo" -- that first pressing of olives at the beginning of the harvest and production of olive oil -- Arnold sent me a list of how the term is translated across some countries in Europe. Here it is:

France: l'huile d'olive nouvelle
Northern Italy: Olio Nuovo
Southern Italy: Olio Novello
Spain: Aceite Nuevo
Catalunya (Barcelona Region): Oli Nou

Arnold told me he got the info about how it's called in Spain from the owners of the Mothers Garden Farm in Catalunya Spain. Here is the link to his website: www.mothersgarden.org (It's a spot popular now with Brits, Arnold learned from the owner.)

Arnold also mentioned a recent conversation he had with Darrell Corti -- of the famed Corti Bros. store in Sacramento, California -- where Mr. Corti suggested that "olio nuovo" hadn't taken off in the U.S.A. because it was too strong for American palates. While that may be true, I still think the notion of the freshest of the fresh olive oil is a notion that will catch on with Americans. But many don't even know it exists.

Arnold also pointed me to Corti Bros.' holiday newsletter. For true olive oil lovers, you can find rare implements for enjoying olive oil. Check out the very sleek Pianogrillo olive oil server and the official tasting glasses (the little blue ones) of the international olive oil tasting community.

In other news, here's an update on California olive oil industry, specifically in the Napa and Sonoma regions. Apparently, the term "extra virgin olive oil" was the phrase during one contest on the Wheel of Fortune. (It's about time!)

And you know it's olive oil season in California when reporters flock to the bigger producers to write romantic features about making olive oil. Round Pond, of Napa, got featured in this San Francisco Chronicle story. (Round Pond makes very fine olive oils.)

What else is going on in your world of olive oil?

Our First Sunday Social

We held our first Sunday Social today and it was a lot of fun (at least for an olive oil geek like yours truly.)

Steve, from Washington, was my co-host. I tasted an unfiltered organic Nunez de Prado, a Spanish oil that I had hoped would be better than it was. Steve tasted a MacEvoy Ranch 2007 blend of a bunch of olive types.

Rick Petrocelly of The Olive Tap stopped by for a chat. So did Jim Preston, a lucky man who's able to taste a lot of both California wine and olive oil. Kathleen C. also paid a visit, tasted some Stew Leonard store-brand oil with us, and joined our little club, Olive Oil Tasters over at ILoveOliveOil.ning.com. A lady named Sue also paid us a visit.

The socials are meant to be a free form hour of tasting olive oil with aficionados. Hope you can stop by for our next one. Check our schedule at ILoveOliveOil.ning.com.

Our next tasting event is on Jan. 18, (Sunday) at 4 PM (Eastern). We're tasting two rare, hard-to-find Italian olive oils and the two small business owners (Rachel Black of Amelia Oil, and Anthony Nicalo of Farmstead Wines)who bring them to North America will be leading our tasting.

They're also kind enough to give us a 20 percent discount on their oils (and Anthony offers free shipping for his oil). So, order soon -- because only 20 "Olive Oil Taster" members can get the discount! Come taste with us!

In the meantime, here's a transcript of our social from today.

The Sunday Social TODAY!!!

Today is our first SUNDAY SOCIAL! woohoo!

Join us at Olive Oil Tasters at 4 PM (Eastern) for an online hour of tasting and chatting with fellow olive oil aficionados about whatever oil we all happened to be tasting on a (hopefully) lazy Sunday afternoon.

No need to do anything special. Just grab an olive oil in your kitchen, a tasting glass (a wine glass will suffice) and meet us at Olive Oil Tasters at 4 PM today. Tell us your taste!

Olive Oil Tasters! Come join us!

I've been writing about olive oil here for nearly two years and it's been a wonderful experience. I love the social aspect of tastings, whether it's olive oil or wine or cheese.

Unfortunately, as a blogger/reviewer, much of what I do is done on my own or with my wife, whose palate is not too dissimilar from mine. So, for awhile now, I've been kicking 'round ideas on how to weave the power of the web and social media into my passion for olive oil. And I came up with "Olive Oil Tasters."

Visit Olive Oil Tasters!

It is a network over at my other site -- ILoveOliveOil.ning.com -- where members are joining because they share a common passion: olive oil. Some are producers or retailers of olive oil -- hailing from different parts of the world. Others are consumers: writers, chefs, and big-time fans with a serious hankering for good olive oil.

The idea is to organize online tastings every few weeks, led by a few "experts" and/or the producers and sellers of the oil. Limited discounts will occasionally be available for oils selected for tastings. And, I'm encouraging producers/sellers to offer their own discounts whenever they see fit, to others in the network.

Our first online tasting will be in the third week of January. Stay tuned for more details later this week.

So, why not join? It's free. You could end up discovering some great olive oil -- and the interesting people behind their production.