© Denis Bouvier
A new world awaits when you walk through the door of Vancouver Olive Oil Company (VOOC). First you’re taken in by the beautifully arranged dark-stained shelves made of pine beetle wood and filled with cylindrical stainless steel containers called fustis. The fustis have spigots which dispense exotic olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Lower shelves contain tasting utensils and empty, labeled bottles waiting to be filled. The central table in this photo is made from reclaimed acacia wood and sits atop wheels from India. On the surrounding walls are framed photo prints by Robert Doisneau, a French photographer who took the famous 1950 photo of two lovers kissing near the Town Hall in Paris. The VOOC photos are of Italian villagers harvesting olives and producing olive oil.
You’ll also discover facts that you probably didn’t know about olive oil. I never realized that there is such a thing as an olive oil sommelier, but owner Michaelanne Buckley has been trained by one. Not only that, but olive oils and vinegars receive awards like wines do. In Modena, Italy where the vinegars here come from, Italian law dictates that traditional balsamic vinegar must go through a certification agency that oversees all phases of production.
With this in mind, you’ll find the highest standards are adhered to at VOOC. All the oils and vinegars are purchased from their supplier, Veronica Foods, in Oakland, California. Veronica Foods buys their oil directly from the producers and is familiar with each particular farm and farmer. The only olive oils VOOC sells surpass international standards for quality and freshness and are high in anti-oxidants. The optimal time for consuming such superior oils should be within a year. Consequently, VOOC switches their oils twice a year based on when the olives are crushed for production in northern or southern hemispheric countries. Balsamic vinegars, on the other hand, last indefinitely and some of the best are aged for 18 years.
Do you know what determines a quality oil? Can you detect the difference between mild, medium and full-bodied olive oils? Have you ever tasted an olive oil infused with blood orange or Persian lime? How about a balsamic vinegar infused with expresso? What about pairing oils and vinegars with different food dishes?
All these questions can be answered and multiple tastings are offered by VOOC’s friendly and enthusiastic staff, like Trisha LeVatte, the mother of owner Michaelanne Buckley. Both mother and daughter hail from Nova Scotia where Michaelanne discovered her passion at an olive oil tasting room in Halifax. They will soon be celebrating their first anniversary in January 2013.
You can find VOOC at 2571 W. Broadway between Larch and Trafalgar.
www.vocc.ca
Don Richardson
