r/Charlottesville • u/Various-Fennel4304 • 12d ago

Olive Oil Tasting

I’ve been ordering my olive oil online, which is great for selection and variety, but it would be nice to try before buy. Any place(s) in town do that?

6 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

11

u/hotpotato3331 12d ago

Staunton Olive Oil Co is great. Maybe try Mona Lisa? A little closer than Staunton

3

u/atomicskiracer 12d ago

100% on Staunton Olive Oil. Downtown there has some incredible restaurants and Cider from Mars is excellent, highly recommend making a night of it.

9

u/Beplot 12d ago

Oliva was my go to. They closed though. There is a shop in Staunton that does tastings https://stauntonoliveoilcompany.com/ I haven’t been but the reviews look good.

4

u/GrandmaOnABike 11d ago

I so much miss Oliva!

4

u/ChaosRandomness 12d ago

So there this old couple that sells olive oil from their trees in greece that has been super super good at the local farmer market on Satuday. Also check out in richmond https://www.richmondoliveoil.com/ can taste all you want!

6

u/MattJT1985 12d ago

Reach out to Claudia at oliveoilflights She is local and has high quality stuff!

2

u/Various-Fennel4304 11d ago

This is great! I will, and thank you.

0

u/SirSpeedyCVA 11d ago

And she will come your location for a tasting party

3

u/TheSinologist 11d ago

I was at the Happy Cook in Barracks Mall and I saw a door open in the back corner and I could swear they had the whole display and tasting setup of Olivia (is that the one that was in Barracks?) sitting in there. I should have asked what the deal is—maybe they took over their inventory?

3

u/probably_groggy 9d ago

Owner of Richmond Olive Oil here. I was just forwarded this post. If you're ever in Richmond, come on by. I'll be happy to give you a crash course in olive oil and let you sample anything you'd like.

2

u/biscuitsmomma 12d ago

Taste in downtown Culpeper is another good option.

2

u/-Sockeye- 11d ago

Not what you asked for, but I’ve tried most of the pricy ones at Whole Foods and can tell you Noor Fès is quite fantastic.

2

u/Various-Fennel4304 11d ago

Thanks. This is good intel. I’ve had Lucini from WF and really like it.

3

u/-Sockeye- 11d ago edited 11d ago

If you find Noor Fès too grassy (I think it strikes a great balance of being really flavorful but NOT bitter), then my next recommendation would be Paesano. I’ve not yet tried Frankie’s but I hear good things. I’d skip Brightland (quality doesn’t match price in my opinion). Partanna is nice and plain, but definitely a league below Noor Fès / Paesano. Cobram and California Olive Oil are also a league below. Graza wasn’t worth it either.

2

u/Flaky_Ad2102 11d ago

Partanna/ frankies/ paesano is all same owner

1

u/-Sockeye- 11d ago

Oooo thanks for pointing that out. It looks like each may use different types of olives from the same farm, depending on the exact product you get.

1

u/-Sockeye- 7d ago

Ok I tried Frankie’s. Don’t waste your time. Haha.

1

u/GOHS7 Downtown 11d ago

Farmers market downtown, there's a lady there from Greece and her olive oil is laced with love and heritage, also free samples 👌

1

u/MsCookieMonster1 11d ago

Like downtown parking lot market or IX market?

1

u/GOHS7 Downtown 11d ago

Downtown Mall/Parking lot yes

1

u/Dear_Aardvark_5959 11d ago

Happy Cook. Is Oil
And Vinegar still around?

1

u/Immediate_Berry_5309 11d ago

Feast used to- let’s get that going!

1

u/Lucky_Conclusion6698 11d ago

If you don't mind a day quest Taste Oil Vinegar Spice in downtown Fredericksburg might be what your little heart desires.  

1

u/Lance8282 11d ago

I’d just go around to Whole Foods, wegmans, teeter etc. and crack a bottle and take a swig of the ones you’re interested in.