If you've never done an olive oil tasting before, you owe it to yourself to sign up for a tasting…read moreat The Olive Press. It is easily one of the most unique tasting experiences I've experienced in my life. If you thought you knew olive oil, think again!
My wife and I stopped by on a Monday afternoon and we were thoroughly impressed with how many different types of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars were freely available for visitors to try out in the shop. As we worked our way through the store, we stumbled upon an olive oil tasting flyer. Curious about how we could sign up for the tasting, we asked the staff member at the desk and found out they were done with tastings for the day: we'd have to come back tomorrow when more staff were available. Lucky for us, we had plans to stay another day in Sonoma: we signed up right away for the olive oil tastings the next day at 11:00 a.m.
When we showed up the next day for our tasting, we were brought to the back room with a staff member. She was friendly, personable, and extremely knowledgeable and organized walking us through the olive oil production process. For each of the olive oils and balsamic vinegars we tried, they were described in meticulous details: from how they were made, what we should be looking for as we tasted them, as well as the chemical composition. Near the end of the tasting, we were also guided to mix different infused olive oils with flavored balsamic vinegars to change things up. This was my favorite part of the whole experience.
If you're like me, you'll walk out from the tasting wanting to buy 10 bottles. 10/10 would recommend this experience if you're passing through Sonoma.
