Alessandra
Zecchini hosted the event at her house, and her open-plan living and dining
rooms were a comfortable setting for an informal tasting session.
Most
of the attendees considered themselves novices to high-quality olive oil,
so I presented some of the information that might be found on an olive
oil label, with some hints on how to decipher it. The trick, in my opinion,
is to look for producers who are honest and transparent on their labels,
providing information such as their address and phone number, the olive
varieties that were used to make the oil, how and when the fruit was harvested
and pressed. A description of the flavour of the oil, and advice on how
to use it are good because they allow you to make up your mind if itfs
oil you would like to try. If oil is labelled gextra virginh it has to
meet certain technical requirements, and good producers will list this
scientific data on their labels too.
Next,
it was on to the tasting. Several producers who supplied us oil attended
the session, so we split into small groups, each accompanied by an olive
oil person, and most people were game enough to have a go at tasting gprofessionalh
style ? slurping olive oil straight from plastic cups.
And
sure enough, they managed to detect a range of fresh, vibrant flavours
in these local oils, for example: apple, artichoke, banana, butter, walnut,
almond, and the signature of New Zealand olive oil; a peppery finish.
The oils we tasted were:
1. Villa Tamahunga Koroneiki/J5/El Greco 2006, from Brett and Margo Schneideman in Matakana
2.Echo Valley Leccino 2006, from Don Windley and Teresa Anderson in Mangawhai
3. Rangihoua Estate Picual 2005, from Anne and Colin Sayles on Waiheke Island
4.River Estate Koroneiki 2006, from Barry Wade in Whitford
5. Lot Eight Leccino/Koroneiki/Barnea 2006 (preliminary blend) from Nalini and Colin Baruch in Martinborough
6.Cracroft Chase Leccino/Frantoio 2006 from Wilma and Alessandro Laryn in Christchurch
If you need more detailed information, you can refer to my book A Buyerfs Guide to New Zealand Olive Oil (New Holland, 2005)
Andre Taber
PS.
Dear
SFW members, what else would you like to taste? Read this for some inspiration
and come back to us with ideas!