Farmstead Olive Oil: Because it makes your food taste better.
Friends,
I got in the car, looked at Elizabeth, and said to her, “Now THAT was an inspiration.”
The moment was around 7 years ago, and it came on the heels of nearly 5 hours together with Marco Zanoni and Giovanna Tantini, zipping around from here to there not far from Lake Garda. There was a little of everything that day--achingly good coffee, a monumental lunch, a fantastic wine tasting, and the real eye opener--stupendously good olive oil.
You see, Elizabeth and I have enjoyed more than a quarter century together working almost exclusively in food and wine, and we're always on the lookout for something different and fresh. Olive oil was always on our radar as a needed kitchen staple, and we considered it widely available whenever we needed a re-stock. I'm guessing many of you interact with it that way to this day. Run out to the store, buy what looks interesting. However...
Following that visit with Marco and Giovanna, and right up to this day, I've come to understand there’s a movement afoot in the olive oil world. I’ve read a lot about the wine business in Europe in the 50’s and 60’s where there were lots of farmers, and very few winemakers, except those employed by the local agricultural cooperatives. That’s how wine arrived on the market–not by way of an independent craftsperson, but as industrial bulk. And by my observation, that’s where the olive oil industry is today. It’s overloaded with boring, flavorless mass-produced junk.
I think that might be changing though, and the high-touch, quality-focused, small family farmer is leading the way. That's what Marco and his siblings are doing outside of the lakeside village of Lazise, not far from Verona.
You could probably consider me in "deep dive" mode on olive oil now. My contention is that the so-called “best” olive oils have been fetishized. Too much oil is dolled up to sell in fancy tiny bottles, packaged in artsy boxes, and with the myth that it should only be used a drop or a drizzle at a time. We’ve all done it I’m guessing– parsing out a 100ml or 250ml bottle over the course of six months, and only getting it out for a special meal, or to “elevate” a particular dish that you’ve cooked. Drip, drip, drip.
Yet this isn’t how I see oil being used in the daily lives of the people and in the places where it’s grown and produced. It turns out that people USE their farmstead oil in ways that might make your eyes bulge–a large pool on the bottom of a plate before arranging a steak onto it; adding it to the boiling water when cooking potatoes; frying your breakfast eggs with it; or even using it to make an everyday salad vinaigrette or pie crust. And guess what? In all those cases…
IT MAKES THE FOOD TASTE BETTER!
I invite you to take a look at what I'm talking about by grabbing a bottle or two of this oil from Marco's family, under their brand name ZF4. You might be familiar with their delicious Syrah, grown on the same farm. With only a little pleading, Marco agreed to send 4 cases along with our last order. It comes from century old trees planted on the hillsides facing Lake Garda, bathed in sun almost year round, and yielding an oil that is wonderfully balanced with pepperiness and just a slight hint of bitterness.
ZF4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2025 Harvest 500mL
And, if you like the sound of this, get ready for something new. That inspiration from 2019 has come full circle, and I'd like to invite you to check out Olivette, dedicated to the business of farmstead olive oil, brought to you by yours truly. Our first shipment will land in the US in late February.
Let the pouring begin!
Big hugs,
Dan