Olive Oil Is the New Wine

(If you missed it, you can still access the story online: vancouversun. com/life.) I'm a big fan of olive oil, and have been, ever since I visited my first Mediterranean vineyard more than two decades ago. Oh no, please, not the "wine people know olive oil too" story. Well, actually, we do. Olives are among the most cultivated fruit crops in the world.

In fact, since the early 1960s, areas of cultivation have tripled to nearly 10 million hectares, or more than twice the number devoted to apples, bananas or mangoes. Most of the production, estimated at 95 per cent, is located in and about the Mediterranean basin.

My first serious encounter with olive oil was in Italy. Each stop at a winery began outside on the property where often there were as many hectares of olive trees as there were vines. Inevitably, the tastings would begin with wine and end with a tour of the olive press and another tasting of the property's extra virgin olive oil. Those on-site tastings were all I needed to understand that not all olive oil is created equal, and that you get what you pay for.

The concept of estate-bottled oil was never lost on me and to this day my preference is for oils made by wineries in Tuscany, Argentina, New Zealand, Greece and Spain. There is something comforting about the scale of production at estate wineries, and the old olive groves that make it all taste just a bit better - ultimately justifying its premium price.

I've often thought that wine shops should be selling olive oils made by wine producers but in British Columbia that would require modern liquor laws, not the current batch written that appear to have been written about the same time the first olive tree was planted in Athens.

Like wine, place is everything when it comes to olive oil and whatever abuses have occurred in the marketplace, most point to dodgy, commercial production and shipping of bulk oil between countries. Again, you see there is a strong relationship to the wine business. Speaking of wine, today's picks are all value-based because, well, we need a deal.

I would love to report that the BC Liquor Distribution Branch and local distributors are rushing to pass on huge savings on European wines due to the downward turn of the euro but, alas, as it's been for decades, they continue to fudge prices and generally ignore the currency when the movement is in your favour and prices seemingly rise when the euro or the U.S. dollar strengthens.

Consumers are not interested in any more baffle gab. Wine prices are artificially high in British Columbia. We are paying up to 25 per cent more for wine than our Ontario counterparts, and we seldom, if ever, get a break.

With imported wine prices in the stratosphere, you would think it would be advantageous for B.C. wine. Unfortunately, local wine producers cite exorbitant production costs and nuzzle up against the imports or, in many cases, just above them in price for wines of similar or less quality.

The only sensible response is to take the matter into your own hands and simply buy the best value wines you can, at any price range.

You can begin with the Paul Mas Viognier 2010 and its beautifully scented ginger, honey, floral, guava, and apricot aromas. The attack is fresh, juicy and crisp with slightly austere lemon, ginger, spicy, green apple, lees and pineapple flavours. It is a bit rindy on the finish but offers solid fruit and balance for the money.

A lighter, breezier version of the same grape is the Fairhills Viognier 2011 from South Africa. Look for light floral, pear, ginger, lemon oil and guava aromas. A round, fresh, light palate with orange peel, lemon, green apple, ginger, spicy, lees flavours. Simple and fresh with a touch of rose petal on the finish. Try this with your favourite fried chicken dish.

It's been sometime since we've seen the Wynns Coonawarra Estate Chardonnay 2009. You will enjoy its fresh, juicy, elegant palate underpinned with flavours of baked pear, nutty, grassy, citrus, green-apple-skin flavours. Its freshness, with notes of baked croissant, attract form front to back on the palate.

Make that two in a row for Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc Charlotte's Home Estate Vineyards 2010. Expect a super fresh, grassy, nettle nose and similar grassy, lemon-lime rind and passion fruit flavours all in a clean, fresh style. Tailor-made for local shellfish. Love the price too. Buy this one by the case in private wine shops, and take advantage of the discount.

I have bit of a soft spot for the juicy, easy-drinking Pinots of Marlborough, such as this New Harbor Pinot Noir 2009. Uncomplicated, but seldom over extracted or over oaked, they are just delicious drinking. They don't require any aging and, in the case of this spicy, soft, red fruited New Harbour Pinot, it simply needs drinking. Love the value and some-one at the LDB must too; there are more than 4,000 bottles in stores across the province.

We end with the 1884 Reservado Syrah 2009 from Mendoza. The attack is fresh, and the palate dry with light, gritty tannins. The flavours mix licorice, mint, pepper, meat, vanilla, cedar, tobacco and blackberry flavours. There's a pinch of acidity poking through the finish but with good fruit to go with a lamb leg.

Paul Mas Viognier 2010, l'Hérault, Languedoc, France

Price: $14

UPC: 3760040420127 Score: 88/100

Remarks: Lemon, ginger, spicy, green apple and pineapple flavours.

Fairhills Viognier 2011, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Price: $15

UPC: 854072003199

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Fresh palate with orange peel, lemon, green apple and ginger flavours.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Chardonnay 2009, Coonawarra, South Australia

Price: $16

UPC: 012354050006

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Fresh, easy style with some finesse.

Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc Charlotte's Home 2010, Sonoma County, Calif.

Price: $17, private wine stores only

UPC: 0087512943056

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Tailor-made for local shellfish.

New Harbor Pinot Noir 2009, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand

Price: $16

UPC: 087000367968

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Juicy, spicy, soft, red-fruited New Harbour Pinot. Good value too.

1884 Reservado Syrah 2009, Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $17

UPC: 007790415130258

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Fresh, dry palate with light, gritty tannins and licorice, blackberry flavours.

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