286948 Wed Feb 21 20:42:17 -0800 2001 18 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1540753 Does anybody know of a reliable website where I can buy truly excellent olive oil online? Thanks in advance Wed Feb 21 20:42:17 -0800 2001 0 Joan Winston 1 1540754 See link. This olive oil is almost drinkable! pat Link: http://chowhound.com/writing/donalfonso.html Wed Feb 21 21:03:34 -0800 2001 1540753 0 pat hammond 2 1540767 Pat's link goes to my web site, which is still down. My old ISP (OneMain, which, based on my experience since they took over the local provider that was hosting my site, I would urge everyone to avoid) still hasn't released my domain to my new ISP. You can send me an email for more info about Don Alfonso. Jim Thu Feb 22 10:09:28 -0800 2001 1540754 0 Jim DIxon 1 1540764 Chefshop.com has an excellent selection of olive oils, including many vintage-dated, single vineyard, etc., at reasonable prices. The descriptions are very useful, too, for discovering olive oils you don't know. It's a very reliable site I've used many times; they used to ship any order for a flat fee of $5.00--great if you're ordering heavy stuff like olive oil. (I don't know if they still have that shipping deal.) They have lots of other great products, too by the way--amazing organic blood orange marmelade from June Taylor in England, pink sea salt, a wide array of artinsanal dried pasta from Rustichella d'Abruzzo and others, etc. In fact I was asked by Yahoo Internet Life Magazine to pick the best food e-commerce site for 2000, and that's what I picked. Thu Feb 22 09:25:51 -0800 2001 1540753 0 Leslie Brenner 2 1540765 I can't resist adding that it's a testament to the power and efficacy of Chowhound that when my own mother wants to know where on the web to buy olive oil, she posts a query here rather than asking her daughter, who writes about food and e-commerce for three different magazines! Hee-hee! Thu Feb 22 09:36:46 -0800 2001 1540764 0 Leslie Brenner 3 1540792 Leslie The last post was great for a laugh and a smile! Chow!!! Thu Feb 22 16:26:39 -0800 2001 1540765 0 Brandon Nelson 1 1540821 Here is the first of two links: Sciabica's varietal olive oils are wonderful. Also, their citrus oils and pepper oils are amazing -- the fruit or peppers are crushed with the olives! Link: http://www.sciabica.com Thu Feb 22 22:40:15 -0800 2001 1540753 0 Nancy Berry 1 1540822 Here is the second of two links: Da Vero Olive oil is in a league of its own! It's really wonderful. Link: http://www.davero.com/ Thu Feb 22 22:42:08 -0800 2001 1540753 0 Nancy Berry 2 1540869 I second the DaVero recommendation! If you can still get the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, BUY IT! It's incredible. Sat Feb 24 16:48:18 -0800 2001 1540822 0 gini 1 1540846 Here's one more link for truly excellent olive oil on-line. Nan McEvoy's olive oil is world-class. Link: http://www.mcevoyranch.com/ Fri Feb 23 10:49:02 -0800 2001 1540753 0 Nancy Berry 1 1540932 Badia a Colitbuono is a "truly excellent" olive oil without gimmick. I think it is as good as anything I tasted in Italy. It is named for an Abbey in the Chianti foothills. Several stores in NYC have it, or just go to to citarella.com. You will not be disappointed. Mon Apr 16 17:15:28 -0700 2001 1540753 0 chuck 2 1540933 Their oil is good, but what annoys is that their bottles are not dated. How long ago were the olives pressed? It doesn't say, and for this reason we avoid them. Their increased popularity also could mean that they buy up olives from other places and blend it all on the estate. There are plenty of equally decent Tuscan oils around and dated too, to have to settle for this one. Mon Apr 16 19:50:49 -0700 2001 1540932 0 Allan Evans 3 1540934 Give me some names, I would like to try them. And, what do you mean by dated? The bottles I have bought have said "Harvested Fall of _____". Do you look for a more specific date? I realize date is important, but taste is paramount. Maybe my tongue/nose is getting old. Tue Apr 17 09:29:00 -0700 2001 1540933 0 chuck 4 1540935 Always check for the date by which it must be used, then subtract 3 years to see when it was pressed. I generally search out Tuscans (or those from Puglia) which seem to be small producers (little English on label/s) and have an expiration date of at least one year or more in the future. Can't give specific brands other than Coluccio (they bring it in bulk to their Brooklyn shop from Sicily and bottle it here). This oil, made from Sicilian Biancolilla olives, is exceptional and costs half of what the touted Tuscans are. Tue Apr 17 21:54:46 -0700 2001 1540934 0 Allan Evans 5 1540936 Allan, Thanks for the tip on Coluccio. I still don't understand what's wrong with Coltibuono dating their bottles by date of harvest. For instance, the oil available now probably says "Harvested Fall 2000". (I'm using the last liter I bought in Nov that says fall 1999) Wed Apr 18 13:12:17 -0700 2001 1540935 0 chuck 6 1540937 Nothing wrong as they now label the harvest date (they hadn't for years and years). My worry is that their property is not large and the demand for their oil has notably increased, possibly obliging them to get 'outside' olives from North Africa, South Italy, Greece, Spain, and 'assembling it all at their pressing plant. Again, as a contrarian I avoid 'brand' names and seek smaller producers who have greater control over their results. Wed Apr 18 13:15:56 -0700 2001 1540936 0 Allan Evans 5 4789526 Actually, the experts say not to use it after 18 mos from harvest, which is in Sept-Dec in most cases each year. Sat Jun 20 02:47:27 -0700 2009 1540935 1082387 riverwalk 1 4825457 Also see http://www.fairwaymarket.com/shop/home.php?cat=103. Thu Jul 02 14:38:16 -0700 2009 1540753 36166 surman 1 4929739 Jaon, I have done my research, communicated with the major award-winning growers, and ordered my bottles for taste-testing. The winner is Apollo Olive Oil, out of California. They are not only the only grower in the USA to use vacuum extraction, but only one of five in the entire world. Their polyphenol levels for health benefits far, far exceed others. Not only that, but it tastes fantastic!!!!!!! I found them soley because of the many, many international and national awards they received. We have ordered 6 bottles of all 3 varieties since then. Oh and guess what? I had a constant problem with acid reflux and indigestion for over a year that was un-fixed from medicines from doctors or anything, I couldn't even sleep through the night, for over a whole year. One week taking a tablespoon of the Apollo oil a day, and I have never had any single problem with it again! It's amazing. Sat Aug 08 20:18:10 -0700 2009 1540753 1082387 riverwalk