Varano’s New EVOO
When I travel to Italy, my main focus is food and wine, I love to discover a new wine for Varano’s, one that is available in the United States and that fits into our format. I love driving through wine country and seeing all the vineyards, planted in perfect rows. The scenic vistas that vineyards provide are almost mesmerizing as you travel across Italy.
Having traveled from one end of Italy to another, one thing I’ve noticed is how many olive trees there are. I never realized how hand in hand, olive trees and vineyards went. Almost every winery produces their own olive oil, some mass produce it for sale, while others produce small quantities and use it at the winery only. I love watching the locals prepare for the olive harvest, they string netting from tree to tree, and cover the entire grove. On weekends, two and three generations come to the olive groves and spend the entire weekend picking olives. Everyone in the family has a job, the men typically climb up into the trees and pick the olives, being careful not to damage the trees themselves. The women make an amazing picnic and provide food for the family, and the children scoop up the olives from the nets and put them in baskets. Families have been doing this for ages, the olives are then pressed and the families get half of the olive oil that is produced.
At one particular winery, they have fifty gallon terra-cotta urns, the families olive oil allotment is stored at the winery and each week, a family member goes to the winery with their jugs and fill them with olive oil. The idea is to pick enough olives to produce enough olive oil for the year. I’ve been infatuated with this allure to extra virgin olive oil. I use it exclusively in my house, and at Varano’s our goal is to provide a premium olive oil that will complement our ciabatta bread.
It’s now my distinct pleasure to announce that Varano’s is now importing our own private label, all natural extra virgin olive oil. We will have it on all our tables and we will be selling it to our guests for their home dining pleasure as well. This is part of our continuing effort to provide our guests with the absolute best dining experience possible. In response to our guests requests, we are working on offering our Marinara Sauce for sale this spring as well. Stay tuned, we will keep you posted with all the upcoming surprises Varano’s will be offering this season. It’s our tenth year anniversary and we want to celebrate with our guests all season long. Don’t forget to check your e-mail, you don’t want to miss out.
Dick Varano
