Olive Oil Tasting

Olive Oil Tasting is an art and a science, just like wine tasting. One can refine perceptiveness to olive oil flavors with practice over time, but it's over the course that one makes the most from the olive tasting. 

Portugal is currently the World's ninth-largest producer of olive oil. In 2022, producers in the country expect a record harvest of 140,000 tons.

A fruity, slightly thick aroma, golden or greenish yellow color, bitter, spicy or sweeter, mild or intense Portuguese Olive taste is worth focusing on during a Food and Wine trip.

What is Olive Oil Tasting?

An Olive oil tasting is identical to a wine tasting - wine and olive oil are juices obtained by pressing fresh fruit! There are hundreds of varieties of grapes and olives; varietal and region of origin are just two factors influencing their flavors. 

One may be pleasantly surprised by the range of flavors found in extra-virgin olive oils. Comparable to wines, olive oils have diversified tastes and aromas. An Olive Oil tasting can both sharpen one palate and allow one to identify what kind of oil one prefers. When tasting olive oil, the three primary classifications are delicate, medium, and intense.

An olive oil tasting can be fun and educational. One doesn't have to be an expert to pull it off, either! Nevertheless, it requires expertise in selecting the best olive oil producers offering the best Olive Oil Tasting experiences.  

Contact our Travel Advisor to assist you in planning an ultimate Olive Oil tasting journey.

Where can you taste Olive Oil?

Portugal is characterized by diverse traditions and wine and olive oil production methods, yielding various products based on this 'Portuguese art of blending. Hence, these products are a translation of the regions that originated them and our historical and cultural inheritance. Therefore, Olive Oil Tasting in Portugal can take place anywhere from the North to the South of Portugal with specific notes from the major production areas.

The southern region of Alentejo is leading the way in Portugal. Alentejo takes up roughly a quarter of the country's landmass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish border and is responsible for slightly more than three-quarters of Portugal's olive oil production.

After the Alentejo, Trás-os-Montes, located in the far northeastern Porto and North of Portugal, produces the most olive oil in Portugal. In a land made of mountains and schist plateaux, which is harsh but has great beauty, such as in the valleys where scenic rivers, such as the Douro, flow, Olive oil production has been important since at least the 16th century.

How to taste Olive Oil?

An Olive Oil tasting is a sensory and fascinating experience. Its main attributes are its fruity aroma and subtle or absent bitter and pungent sensations with predominating apple, nuts, tomato, grass, or leaf notes. Unripe or ripe? Very intense or only slightly? 

Tasting is the best way to familiarize yourself with Olive Oil's flavors. During technical tastings, one uses dark blue glasses with a glass lid. The idea is not to see the color of the olive oil so that it does not influence the taster's perception.

Holding the glass in one left hand and covering the top with the right-hand warms up the olive oil and causes it to release more aromas.

Gently swirl the glass around to coat the sides of the glass and further release aromas. Notice the viscosity (or lack thereof) of the oil.
Raise the glass to your nose and remove the hand covering it. Inhale the olive oil's aromas with your nose, and note what it smells. Is it fruity? Bitter? Pungent? 

During an Olive Oil Tasting, take a small sip of the oil while inhaling, heightening the flavor even more. Make sure to sip enough oil to coat your tongue thoroughly. Let the oil sit briefly, noting any flavors, as you stated the aromas in the previous step.

Close your mouth and breathe through your nose to activate your retronasal perception. Because your mouth and nose connect, this will open up new aromas and flavors.

Swallow the oil, paying attention to what tastes and sensations you feel on the way down. High-quality olive oils cause a sharp feeling and intense sensation and flavor. The spice can be strong enough to trigger the coughing reflex in certain olive oils. You may also notice some bitterness, a common note in olive oils, especially those made from younger, greener olives.

Finally, look out for fruity notes, including vegetable and herb tastes. The intersection of these three elements — pungency, bitterness, and fruitiness – gives each olive oil its distinctive taste.

To move to different olive oil, clear out your palate with either plain or sparkling water and some slices of Granny Smith apples, which is the traditional palate cleanser during pro olive oil tastings. When ready, move on to the following olive oil.

Olive Oil Tasting with Portugal Deluxe

In Portugal, we are fortunate to offer a collection of some of the best extra-virgin olive oils in the World. To learn how to appreciate the oils best, at Portugal Deluxe, we recommend Private Lectured Olive Oil tastings at some of the largest and top producers of olive oil in Portugal. 

In a country strongly influenced by a Mediterranean climate, the olive tree has been a feature of the Portuguese landscape since time immemorial. The quality of the soil and the climatic variations determine the varieties of the olives and, consequently, the quality and diversity of the olive oils produced.

In Portugal, part of the Alentejo's ecosystem (cork oak forests) displays extraordinary agricultural conditions. With approximately 700 hectares of vineyards, olive groves, and other crops, our preferred olive oil-producing company grows using organic methods and integrated production. They have around 40 grape varieties, four types of olive, orchards, and kitchen gardens.

The production of this company's olive oils comes from the will to apply the knowledge obtained in producing wines to producing high-quality olive oils. All oils, exclusively extra virgin or virgin, are produced using natural methods and entirely traditional processes, preserving the pure juice of the harvested olives.

Discover the top producers in Alentejo, Trás-os-Montes, and Beiras with Portugal Deluxe and marvel with ultimate olive Oil Tasting.