The Volpi family has invested decades of knowledge, passion and dedication to their craft in order to achieve the highest quality throughout their entire brand.  It is through meticulous attention to detail starting with a concept, moving next to recipe development, time investment searching for the best possible raw materials, product testing and evaluation that they are able to consistently provide products to honor the family traditions.

In the world of extra virgin olive oil there are certainly similar parallels that a producer follows in order to achieve perfection within their products.

The art of the craft begins with choosing the right olives to process for olive oil.  There are thousands of olive types or cultivars; in fact Italy has documentation for at least 300 different cultivars, however only a small amount of these are grown for oil processing and table olives.  Olives are a fruit and because of this each varietal of olive thrives in specific climatic environments, thus lending itself to the ‘style’ of olive oil produced in each region and country of the world.

Virgin olive oil is defined as oil produced by mechanical or physical means with restrictions to temperature that doesn’t alter the oil, thus providing the term ‘cold pressed’.  The process by which olive oil is made can only involve washing of the fruit, crushing, decanting or pressing, centrifuge and filtration.  The ‘extra’ virgin olive oil category is established by scientific and certified taste panel evaluations.  The science involved only allows for free acidity less than 0.8 percent.  The taste panel confirms there are no defects and the positive attributes are present in a balanced and harmonious profile.  The oil should display characteristics from which the fruit it was made, fruit maturity, growing region and complexity of the fruit itself.

Professional olive oil tasters like myself are certified through extensive taste tests and follow guidelines established by the International Olive Oil Council.

There are three positive attributes that we search for in olive oil:

●  Fruity – determined by smell and taste which show characteristics of an olive.  It can be either ripe or unripe fruit and be perceived fresh and clean.  A few of the other characteristics found might be: green apple, artichoke, tomato leaf, nutty, banana and floral.

●  Bitter – Characteristic found in the taste from unripe or green olives.  This is perceived on the back of the tongue.

●  Pungency -  The pepper or ‘picante’ sensation certain olive varieties deliver when oil is produced.  This sensation is perceived in back of the throat, sometimes causing a cough reaction.

There are six prominent defects that we search for in olive oil:

●  Fusty -  Flavor characteristic found in oil where olives have been stored in piles causing a type of fermentation.

●  Musty – A moldy flavor that develops in the fruit where fungi have developed because the olives were stored in humid conditions.

●  Muddy Sediment -  A flavor of vegetative or dirty water flavor which occurs because of excessive contact with olive sediment from processing.

●  Winey – Vinegar -  Flavor profile reminiscent of wine or vinegar.  This is another form of fermentation because of improper processing.

●  Rancid – Oxidation that occurs from expose to heat and outside air.

● Burnt or Heated – Flavor caused in the oil from poor manufacturing and exposure to heat during processing.

As with the various salami profiles offered by the Volpi family where each has its own character, flavor and place in your cooking repertoire, so goes olive oil.  The high quality artisan olive oils are perfect compliment to Volpi Prosciutto w/ mixed greens or fresh melon.  Grilled Figs wrapped with Volpi Pancetta, New Press Olive Oil and Pecorino makes a perfect Italian appetizer for a summer barbecue.  Food is an adventure and a little exploration can uncover wonderful treasures.