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‘
If the cuisine of the Mediterranean could be characterized
by any one flavor—
one element that would change it utterly were it never to
have existed—that flavor would have to be olive oil'—Maggie
Blyth Klein The Feast of the Olive
 Extra
Virgin Olive Oil
Specialty Oil
More about Olive
Oil
This page updated 6/11//08
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France
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Provence
 Jean
Leblanc
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
This popular oil represents the classic Provençal olive
oil flavor profile, a style and taste dictated by the tiny
Callietier olive, which grows in abundance in the
vicinity of Nice. This olive oil is gold in color, light
in body, with a lovely, delicate, ripe olive flavor and a
very perfumed, fragrant aroma. The perfect oil for seafood
stews, grilled fish, pesto, vegetables and all
Mediterranean French dishes, or any time you want a light,
delicious sweet oil. And, not to be missed are the
walnut and hazelnut
oils produced by LeBlanc - no one on earth produces
satiny, aromatic nut oils like a dedicated Frenchman !
Style: mild, light & buttery
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A.O.C.
Castelas &
Seigneurs Des Baux Olive Oils
In mid-July, we visited Jean-Benoit and Catherine Hugues
in the sunny south of France. Located just outside the
restored Village Des Baux, the countryside
surrounding this dramatic valley is influenced by the
rocky,
sparsely-forested mountain chain known as Les
Alpilles. Jean and Catherine's state-of -the -art (and
custom designed by Jean-Benoit ) olive oil pressing mill
sat idle, awaiting the beginning of the olive harvest
which would begin in late October / early November. Right
now the olives are growing, getting larger and plumper by
the week. If you visit the St. Remy area , be sure
to include a drive through la Vallee Des Baux
to see the largest concentration of olive trees in France.
This somewhat harsh, dry landscape is strong and rugged
but beautiful, and is a perfect example of the type of
terroir that olive trees have survived in for thousands of
years in the Mediterranean.
\
 A.O.C.
Castelas
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
Produced by
Jean-Benoit Hugues in la Vallee des Baux, this olive oil
is very skillfully crafted using winemakers’ techniques to
insure purity and fineness of quality. Picked early to
capture a piquant quality, each olive variety -
Salonenque, Aglandau, Grossane, Verdale - is
picked and pressed separately, when each is at the optimum
stage for presenting its best flavor. Afterwards, the
individual oils are blended in the exact proportions
necessary to create the signature style and flavor this
producer wants.
Castelas oil has a fine richness on the
palate, with hints of artichoke and almond and the scent
of fresh cut grass. Castelas is a very sophisticated olive
oil produced by a true artisan.
Style:
medium, fruity and spicy
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A.O.C.
Castelas
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
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Greece
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Crete
 DOP
Sitia
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
It is not
often that a fabulous Greek olive oil comes to the U.S.,
so we are thrilled to have discovered this knockout
selection. Sitia oil is pressed from Koroneiki
olives at the co-operative in Sitia in eastern
Crete, the historic cradle of olive oil in the
Mediterranean. This oil was recently awarded a gold medal
in an international tasting competition conducted by the
International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) for being the #1
best tasting oil in the intensely fruity category. Medium
in body, and blessed with a full, deep fruity olive flavor
and aroma, this oil is a run-away best seller in our
store. Sitia oil is versatile for drizzling, dressing
salads, and for cooking - many of our customers are on
their third bottle.
Style:
full, complex and peppery
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Italy
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Abruzzo
 Casina Rossa
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
Well-balanced, generously fruity and nicely piquant in
flavor, this oil is pressed from Gentile, Intosso and
Ghiandaro olives, a blend with a "just right"
flavor for so many kitchen uses.
Produced in Chiete by the DeLaurentiis family who proudly
use artisan cultivation and harvesting techniques and
press their olives in their own mill. This level of
dedication results in an especially tasty oil from a
rugged, mountainous region of southern Italy. Casina
Rossa oil is not at all fussy but is very delicious and
very reasonably priced for such goodness.
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Apulia
 Badalucco
Current Bottling: 2007 Oil Release
This olive oil has been a customer favorite from the first
day we introduced it. Sassy and full flavored, Badalucco
oil shows its southern Italian roots by the presence of
Frantoio, Leccino, Oliarola, Olivastra and Nostrona
olives. A perfect oil for sautéing or frying,
Badalucco is also wonderful on salads of all types-garden
green, bean, rice or pasta. If you are looking for a
delicious, everyday, use-it-for-everything olive oil,
Badalucco is an excellent choice.
Style: full, complex and peppery
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 Tenuta
Cocevola Terre di Bari Castel Del Monte DOP
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
This rustic oil from Tenuta Cocevola in Terre di Bari
Castel Del Monte, Apulia, has a coveted DOP
designation. This is confirmation that the olives have
been grown, pressed, and bottled in a small, very specific
area that yields olive oil with a distinct character.
Cocevola is made from 100% Coratina olives and has
a bold, rustic Apulia style and a piquant aroma that begs
to be matched with juicy, ripe tomatoes and flavorful,
garden fresh summer vegetables.
Style: robust, assertive & grassy
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Lazio
 Colli
Etruschi
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
100% Cainese olives give this very fruity oil an
impressive, bold and zesty flavor. This delicious oil from
Lazio in southern Italy is perfect for anointing garden
fresh vegetables and sun-kissed tomatoes. Pressed at the
Colli Etruschi
cooperative in the Etruscan town of Blera under the
watchful eye of Nicola Fazzi.
Style: robust,
assertive and grassy
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Lombardy
 Grignano Valpolicella,
organic
Current Bottling: 2007 Oil Release
Few
Italian oils are made from a mono-cultivar ( a single
variety of olive, ) but this oil is a lovely exception to
that rule. Pressed from a very old variety of olive called
the Grignano, this oil is unique to the
Valpolicella region of Lombardy, situated between Verona
and Lake Garda. Softer in style than oils from neighboring
Lake Como, Grignano is light and buttery, very soft and
creamy, with the barest hints of pepper, and is pleasantly
aromatic. This oil is rich, smooth, elegant and
well-structured.
Style:
mild, light & buttery
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Molise
 Colonna
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
One of
our favorite olive oils, this beauty is from the Molise,
an Adriatic province to the south and east of Rome.
Principessa Marina Colonna is descended from a noble
family, and now controls production on the family’s 140
acre olive grove where she maintains 22 varieties of olive
trees, including Coratina, Leccino and Gentile.
Colonna oil is luscious and smooth, with a clear,
distinctive olive flavor that is complimented by overtones
of apples and pears. It has a gentle, spicy bite that is
characteristic of the style of many southern Italian oils.
Style:
medium and fruity
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Sicily
Barbera Olio Novello, 'Nuovo
Raccoloto'
Special early release NOVELLO:
2007/2008 harvest
What began years ago
with a few modest cases of early-harvest oil has turned
into a holiday 'must have’ for our customers.
Olio
Novello is a limited quantity, early release,
first-pressed, new harvest extra virgin olive oil that is
a taste enthusiast’s dream. Very green in color, sharply
defined and seriously fruity in flavor, only a small
amount of this freshly squeezed oil is bottled for
immediate use, and air shipped across the Atlantic.
Celebratory and very 'fresh' tasting, this brash oil
signals the beginning of the olive harvest and our holiday
season !
Style: UNFILTERED, robust, assertive and grassy
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Tuscany
 Badia a Coltibuono
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
Olive oil has been produced at the Badia
since 1058 AD, and their oil has continually been sought
after world-wide. This is a superb, luxurious olive oil,
with a sweet, fruity perfume of grass, fennel and apples,
and a forthright, peppery finish. It is pressed from three
classic Tuscan olive varieties of olives - Frantoio, Pendolino and Leccino. We began selling Badia a Coltibuono extra virgin
olive oil more than 15 years ago, and it still remains the
benchmark of quality for all other Tuscan olive oil
producers.
Style: full, complex
and peppery
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Umbria
 Poggio
Noho
Current
Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
We love Umbrian
olive oil from the Assissi-Spoleto region because it is
un-pretentious and well, just plain good. Hence, we looked
there for a producer who could craft an olive oil that fit
our idea of something luscious and wonderful. Poggio
Noho is made with Leccino and Frantoio olives,
varieties that may be familiar to those of you who know
Tuscan olive oils. But Poggio Noho has a balanced
style and sweetness, qualities often missing from its
Tuscan cousins. Our goal was to find an extra virgin olive
oil that marries well with food and would not shout at you
from the plate. We are thrilled that we have found it in
our Poggio Noho.
Flavor characteristics: Pure, clean, and
blessed with harmonious aromas of fresh herbs and
artichoke. This carefully nurtured olive oil is the
perfect capture of freshly squeezed olives.
Style:
medium, fruity and spicy
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©
2005 Mary Lou Heiss
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Spain |
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Andalusía
La Amarilla De Ronda
Extra Virgin Olive Oils
The fundamental objective of
La Amarilla de Ronda is to obtain extra virgin olive oils
of maximum quality and distinctive style. Time-honored
traditional methods have been combined with
state-of-the-art equipment during milling, decanting and
blending to achieve a very high level of quality. The bold
packaging style created by French designer Philippe Stark
add a strong visual appeal to this Spanish product.
La Amarilla de Ronda produces two distinct expressions of
the oil master's craft. These oils remain true to the
Mediterranean philosophy that different styles of olive
oils combine and taste best with different types of foods.
 La
Amarilla De Ronda, Suave
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
Elegant, well
balanced, fresh and harmonious. Suave possesses a smooth,
buttery nature and a rich aroma that is suggestive of
sweet almond. Suave is as the name suggests-subtle,
delicate and elegant, and is made from
100% Arbequina
olives grown organically in the south of Spain.
Style: mild, softly rich and
fruity
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 La
Amarilla De Ronda, Intenso
Current Bottling: 2008 Oil Release
Named for it's
rich and robust flavour, Intenso also delivers a long
lasting and complex aftertaste. Intenso is a blend of the
oils from the three top olive varieties of Andalusia, the
sunny and spirited south of Spain - Picual, Hojiblanca,
and Arbequina. Perfect for grilling meats or
fish, bread dipping and dressing salads.
Style: robust, complex and hearty
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Our Award Winning
Olive Oil Sampler 2008
Two years ago, we entered our Olive Oil Sampler in a
competition for specialty food retailers sponsored by the
European Union. The marketing and advertising arm of the E.U. works diligently to educate American retailers and
consumers about the particulars of DOP
or source specific, protected food products from Europe -
think AOC Champagne, DOP Parma ham, DOP Parmeggiano
Reggiano and AOC Roquefort cheeses, AOC de la Vallee
Des Baux de Provence and DOP Chianti Classico
extra-virgin olive oils, to name a few examples.
Due to our great love for and fascination with olive oil, each
year we design our olive oil sampler to feature the
authentic, specific tastes of the great olive oils of the
Mediterranean. Because the sampler allows our customers to
appreciate the different styles and flavors of these
unique olive oils, we won the contest .
Our prize
was an expense paid trip to any E.U. country of our choice.
Where did we go ? Somewhere with olive oil, of
course......Provence, France.
Click here to read about our visit to the olive groves and
olive pressing mill of our friend Jean-Benoit Hugues ,
producer of the great Castelas Olive Oil.
 12 varieties of exquisite
extra virgin olive oil
from the Old and
New Worlds and 3 vinegars
We first created
these samplers for an olive oil tasting & seminar that
Mary Lou presented at the International Association of
Culinary Professionals
( I.A.C.P. ) Conference in Montreal, Canada in March 2003.
The samplers were so successful as a tasting tool that we
are now updating them annually, and making them available
to our customers.
What a great way
to taste a selection of the olive oils that we sell,
without needing to purchase a full-sized bottle of each
one. The E.V.O.O. sampler comes with information about the
oils, a suggested order of tasting, and a chart on which
you can jot down your personal tasting notes about each of
the oils. A great party idea!
Included in
the 2008 sampler are:
La Amarilla-Suave,
Jean Leblanc, AOC Castelas,
Colonna, Poggio Noho, DOP Sitia, Casina Rossa, Badia a Coltibuono, La Amarilla-Intenso,
Barbera Olio Novello, Tenuta Cecevola, Katz Meyer Lemon
Oil, José Páez Lobato Gran Capiret '50 Reserva' Sherry
Vinegar, Katz sonoma Trio Red Wine Vinegar, and Cavalli Balsamic
Condiment Vinegar.
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Olive Oil Dipping Dishes
Complete the olive oil sampler gift with a very special
little dipping dish.
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Olive Oil Sampler and Dipping Dishes Gift Set:
Includes the 2006 olive oil sampler and the white dipping
dish pictured above.
©
2005 Mary Lou Heiss
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Specialty Oils
Citrus Olive Oil
Katz
Meyer
Lemon Oil
Meyer lemons
have a superb flavor that is milder and more complex than
our everyday lemons - a cross between a tangerine and a
lemon might begin to get the idea across. Katz’s
Meyer Lemon Oil is a gorgeous oil, evocative in nature,
with a delicate but persistent citrus aroma and flavor. I
find hints of green herbs in the aroma even though none
have been added. You will reach for this oil again and
again. Use it with fresh garden vegetable dishes, grilled
salmon or halibut, and to adorn a simple but perfect baby
spinach salad.
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Infused Oils
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A L'Olivier Collection 1822
Infused Oils
 Elegant designed
packaging evokes the nostalgic feeling of a French corner
grocer circa 1822 when A L'Olivier began their business.
Aromatic and flavor-packed infused oils have always been
used in French cooking to add a boost of fresh flavor to
salads and vegetables or to add richness and depth to
soups and slow cooked dishes. Choose from olive oil
infused with Basil or olive oil infused with
Porcini and Truffle.
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Truffle Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
infused with White Truffles. Produced by De Medici.
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