One Day Course

Switching from Olive Oil to Table Olive Production

Saturday 25th of Febuary, 2012
Melbourne, Australlia

For many reasons most producers have concentrated on extra virgin olive production. Sales of olive oil are currently difficult with low prices and slow stock movement.

Switching to gourmet table olive production is a possibility that merits attention. The returns from table olives can be as much as three times higher than for olive oil – even taking into account increased labour and processing costs.

Gabriele Kinsley of The Essential Olive in Cobble Hill in British Columbia has become the first Savante participant to achieve Associate Savante status.

Gabriele and her partner Dave Waddell are Canadians on a quest to bring quality olive oil to Western Canada. They are investigating the feasibility of importing olive oil from small scale organic farmers and marketing through an olive oil tasting business.

They participated in Savantes in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2011 to increase their knowledge of quality olive oil, develop a discerning palate and establish business contacts.

They live in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada.

Gabriele Kinsley (right) and Dave Waddell (far left) taste and discuss olive oils at Savantes Melbourne with Christine Ashcroft (second left)  from the Hunter Valley in Australia and Linda Costa (centre) from South Africa

Emerging as one of the main attractions of the full Savantes three-day programme is the session ‘Testing Your Skill as a Taster’.

The one–hour ‘personal evaluation’ takes participants through a series of exercises:

1. Triangle tests which have sets of three oils, two of which are the same and one is different – the trick is to pick which one is different.
2. A rancidity ranking test where the oils need to be placed in order of the degree of rancidity.
3. Intensity ranking where oils are placed in order from the most delicate to the most robust.
4. Fault detection where 8 oils are presented to participants who must describe the fault in each oil.
5. Variety and Region Identification – six classic varietal extra virgin olive oils are presented from regions around the world, such as Arbequina from Catalunya, Taggiasca from Liguria, Picual from Jaen, Koreneiki from Crete, Biancolilla from Sicily, Hojiblanca from Priego de Cordoba etc. The challenge is to identify the region where each of the oils is from.
6. Pick your own extra virgin olive oil. Participants are presented with a series of oils in which the oil they have brought to the programme is included. They need to pick their own oil – more difficult than one thinks!

The total possible score is 30 points and those that achieve 24 out of 30 are presented with the much coveted Savantes status. This status and accompanying certificate is one of the few personal recognitions of one’s ability as a taster. Few have achieved it but many are close.

Certificate for those that achieve Savantes Status by scoring 24 or more in ‘Testing Your Skills as a Taster’