How Olive Oil Is and Isn’t Like Wine
Grapes and olive trees at Lungarotti Tenuta di Torgiano photo credit Lungarotti
Travel through Mediterranean regions where olives and grapes grow, sometimes even side by side, and you'll discover what locals have known for millennia: olive oil and wine have many similarities. Both olive oil and wine are sources of polyphenols with health properties. And as our understanding of each deepens and evolves, our perception of their similarities, from field to table—and their place on it—expands.
Samantha Dorsey, president of McEvoy Ranch photo credit McEvoy Ranch
“Olive oil and wine have been close companions in the fields and on the table for centuries,” says Samantha Dorsey, president of McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma, which grows and produces both organically certified olive oil and wine.
“They complement each other well in the field because olive trees and grapevines thrive in similar conditions but the harvest for olives comes after the grape harvest which allows a nice and natural flow of work through the fall season,” Dorsey explains. “They both play a role in the Mediterranean diet and both hold religious significance due to the sacred nature of these natural products.”
On the Farm
Cultivar
Terroir
Production
Olives and grapes begin in the same place: on the farm. Both, Dorsey points out, are deeply influenced by terroir, and timing.
“The taste of olive oil varies by region, soil, climate and the cultivar or olive variety,” she says, much as wine flavor is “influenced by grape variety and terroir.”
Timing harvest is key too, in both cases. Choosing to harvest early or late will impact the type of flavors, aromas and pungencies found in the finished oil, just as it will affect the sugar and alcohol levels of wine, in addition to its acidity or brightness, and its body and texture.
Both can be produced industrially, or in small, artisanal batches, and both have significant roles in the history and heritage of Mediterranean culture and life, and Christian and Jewish religions. Oil has a place in Muslim traditions.
Harvest to Bottle
McEvoy Cooking Oil photo credit McEvoy
The route from olive to oil and grape to wine—and the manner in which they are then deployed—are notably different.
The initial approach is similar: both olives and grapes are harvested as efficiently as possible, with their production processes kicked off as quickly as possible.
“We harvest early and mill olives within hours to preserve freshness and minimize oxidation,” says Brent Young, director of agricultural operations of Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg. “This approach maximizes the oil’s polyphenol content, contributing to both its shelf life and its anti-inflammatory properties. The result is an oil with exceptional stability, vibrant sensory qualities and high nutritional value.”
The same principles apply to the harvesting and fermenting of Jordan’s wine grapes, to leverage antioxidative properties, but also lock in flavor and freshness at its peak.
Brent Young, Director of agricultural operations, photo credit Jordan Vineyard & Winery
From there, their paths diverge.
“Freshness is key with olive oil,” Dorsey points out. “It is best consumed within 12 to 18 months of harvest and milling. But aging is celebrated with wine, and fine wines improve over time.”
Oil obviously also contains no alcohol, and is generally drizzled, used as a dunking sauce, or cooked with. Wine is uncorked, poured and consumed straight up, generally alongside food, often in a ritualistic way, even if it is informal.
Olive Oil, Like Wine, is Cultural
Lori Jean Levy, photo credit Alexis Kerner
How wine and olive oil are conceived of and utilized is often rooted in a person’s cultural traditions.
“In the U.S. and other places where olive oil was considered more of a commodity, we are starting to look at olive oil through a different lens, similar to the one we might use for wine,” says Lori Jean Levy, founder of My Global Table, a specialty foods and olive oil import company. “And that’s a very good thing.”
While we certainly aren’t at a place where many people are shopping for specific olive cultivars or sub-regions like they’d shop for Pinot Noir or Central Otago, we’re much closer to that place than we used to be, something that Levy attributes to the new penchant for agrotourism and deep regional dives.
“People are discovering small family producers on their travels, and they’re coming home with a new understanding of how diverse and rich the world of olive oil can be,” Levy says. “People are paying more attention to flavor profiles, from robust to delicate, and their preferences. The way different regions may offer different styles, aromas, pungencies and flavors.”
Tenuta di Torgiano photo credit Lungarotti JPG
For Chiara Lungarotti, CEO of Lungarotti in Umbria, which produces olive oil and wine, both olive oil and wine are deeply embedded in her daily life.
“In Umbria and indeed much of Italy, both olive oil and wine are truly part of our culture, history and traditions,” she says. “Most people here make their own olive oil and wine, and even if they don’t, it’s on their tables every day. My meal is not complete without food cooked with olive oil, and my bread drizzled with it. And wine, I spend a lot of time considering which to choose to match with my food. It is part of the ritual and celebration of dinner.”
For anyone looking to make like Lungarotti and seriously expand their olive oil horizons, Levy recommends buying smaller bottles and experimenting.
“Cook with them, use them for dressings, dunk bread in them, compare a few side by side,” she says. “Treat it like a wine tasting, but with olive oil. You’ll find what you like much faster that way. And don’t be afraid to replace butter with oil in baking recipes. The texture and improved nutrition of cakes with olive oil, and even brownies, is just incredible.”
Even more to the point, find your olive oil guru, whether it’s an importer like her that you know and trust, or a small gourmet store owner, or even an olive oil sommelier or journalist online.