Magnifico!

Last week I got myself invited to an olive oil tasting. Not to brag, but I was an olive oil junkie way before it became haute cuisine. While some people tour wineries in their travels, I swoon over olive orchards. I fantasize about taking my empty gallon tin to a little Greek family mill for a refill from the newest pressing. Some of my favorite haunts used to be olive oil sample bars in the aisles of gourmet food markets. But that won’t happen much anymore, now that I know what I know. 

People of the Mediterranean, who buy a month’s supply of fresh-pressed olive oils by the gallon, must get a chuckle over the fact that the typical American buys a month’s supply in wimpy little 7- to 12-ounce bottles. But that is changing, because as a society, we’re thinking healthier, savoring flavors more and learning from aficionados like Marie Heiland.

Case in point: This private tasting at Marie’s chic little olive oil gallery is—how do you say it in the language of the growers?—“Magnifico!” There are artisan olive oils in shiny stainless steel fusti (casks) and custom-labeled bottles. There are ceramic bowls featuring golden pools of oil paired with gourmet balsamic vinegars and zesty spices. There are silver platters of ripe strawberries and other fruits to be drizzled in rich, dark balsamics. A professional chef is presiding over a table laden with crusty breads for dipping, artful appetizers and wondrous dishes made with olive oil. The crowning jewel is a platter of bite-sized cakes labeled “Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake with Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Frosting.”

In attendance are a dozen or so Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters from Old Naples, North Naples, Estero, Marco Island and Fort Myers, or wintering here from around the country. Some of them are dabbing their lips with olive oils and marveling at mega-polyphenols (antioxidants). Others are giggling as they massage the fragrant oils into their elbows and bare toes. Marie, newly minted “olivologist” and owner of Naples Olive Oil Co., is keeping the giggles going with education-laced anecdotes.

“We’re going to taste some oils today that will make you forget those memories of your mother giving you castor oil [for a stomachache]. I’ll tell you what makes a ‘good’ olive oil and explain how labelers can get away with cutting their olive oils with canola and other useless oils without having to say so. I’ll explain why high quality olive oil is extra virgin, but why most extra virgin olive oils are not high quality. And just for fun … what country do you think grows the most, or best olives? (Surprise! It’s not Italy!)”

While the Pi Phis are still exclaiming over the new softness in their lips (“Definitely makes you more kissable,” says Marco resident Pam Shudes), Marie is talking marriage in the tones of a woman in love. The union she speaks of is the marriage of artisan olive oils and balsamic vinegars. And in love, she is. Her story—the short version—is like that of many entrepreneurs. Circumstances, plus an “aha!” moment, equal the birth of a business.

“I was selling real estate. I broke my ankle and couldn’t work. Besides, the market had tanked. I went to Wisconsin to recuperate (applause here from the Wisconsin sisters), and discovered this wonderful olive oil boutique in Green Bay. I was immediately hooked on the concept. Once I got involved, I couldn’t get enough. I studied everything I could, talked to the growers and tasted, tasted, tasted. Which is what I want you to do today. I’ve learned a lot these last couple of years, and what I tell you about the quality of olive oils, you can take to the bank. But only your unique palate can choose its favorite intensities, flavors and pairings.”

Marie shows us the flavored oils first, from the fusti with spigots. On another table are dispensers of dark, almost honey-textured artisan balsamics. I’m already a huge fan of the strawberry balsamic, and the dark chocolate balsamic intrigues me. But today I’m all about olive oil. I start with the most delicate, Natural Butter. Smooth, nice, tastes like butter. No real kick to the taste buds. Might as well just have butter. 

The Wild Mushroom & Sage is earthy and delicious. Worth a second taste. “With good infused oils,” Marie tells me, “the flavor essences like mushroom are extracted at the same time as that of the olives. It’s a single spinning [centrifugation] process involving water, oil and mush. No chemicals.”

A real favorite among the ladies is the Tuscan Herb. I prefer the fragrance of Herbes de Provence. There’s Basil (really fresh tasting), Tarragon and Chipotle (superb!). Garlic is my least favorite. I’d rather control my own quantities of garlic.

Marie demonstrates the method used by serious olive oil aficionados. Like wine, one first swirls it around in the glass to unleash the aromas. Tasting is a large percentage olfactory, Marie says. If you can’t smell the fragrance, you’re missing most of the experience. 

“After swirling and breathing, you kind of roll your tongue like this, slightly slurping, and let it slide to the back of the tongue,” she says.

I tend to go for the ones with a smooth, grassy first taste on the tongue, followed by a pleasurable, peppery “bite” at the back of my throat. I tell Marie that I haven’t quite found that yet this morning. 

Marie nods. “Come with me.” She leads me to a collection of bottles against the back wall of the shop. “I used to love the fused ones best, but as my tastes have evolved, there’s no contest. I have to have these.” She chooses one labeled Pictuline.

“I think you’ll like it.”

I swirl, I breathe, I slurp. The golden, fresh green taste is exciting. A second later, there it is: that wonderful peppery finish. Score!