Where are places/web sites to find fresh (within 2-3 months of production) Italian oil in the US, or that ship to the US at a 'reasonable' rate?
I am aware of olio2go.com as one source. Of course, many here swear by the Costco Toscana oil, and the 2009 production has recently arrived. I have also read here of Le Case Gialle's oil in Umbria being shipped to the US (although the 2009 crop reportedly wasn't as productive as usual). Others? Thanks.
Although we like the Costco olive oil, we buy our special olive oil from The Rare Wine CO., in Sonoma, (800) 999-4342. They go to Tuscany every year and make a selection of around 6 oils. The prices range from $24 to $25 for a 500ml. bottle. They are currently out of their first shipment from 2009 but expect a new shipment in March. You can get on the mailing list or e-mail list for the newsletter. They are very nice and accommodating.
Hi Duane, Barbara at Terra Umbra ships anywhere in the world. She has Trevi oil and another brand of which I can't remember the name but it's fabulous. If you tell me how much you would need I can ask her for a quote. Costwise this is only worth if you need a largish amount 5 to 10 lt at least.
Some of the wine producers in the area have olive oil too, e.g. Sportoletti
Our Mary of Genius loci in Montefalco also produces olive oil but I have no idea if they ship
Thanks to all for the recommendations. I will follow up on these.
Letizia, Nan and I would have to drink a large glass of olive oil every week night and two on weekend nights to get through 5-10 liters in a timely manner. But, if we can round up enough interested friends, it might be feasible to make a large order. I will let you know. Thanks.
I would have to drink a large glass of olive oil every week night and two on weekend nights
The secret to long life around here is a small glass of olive oil straight up first thing in the morning...
Of course, this only works with the very best of oils - add no extra points for guessing where the best is to be found... how's that for risking a major provocation !!
as Letizia already suggested, the best way to save money for the shipping is to buy a tin of a certain amount (5 lit. for ex.) instead of glass in order to avoid to pay the weight of the glass.
The best suggestion I can give you, it is to involve some friends of you to buy for ex. together 2 tins of 10 lit. More oil you order, more discount you can have from the oil producer and you can share the cost of the shipping.
I have some clients from Japan who order every year 15 lit. They are 3/4 couples.
The best way is to write directly to the oil producers and ask. They know everything about how to ship their product overseas, and especially to the US. where sometimes can be some problems because of "Food&Drug Adm". policies, but if you ask to producers they know how to deal with it.
For years now, I have been buying my fresh olive oil from Casa de Case, an importer that ships the oil out of SF. The oil is from Umbria and it is excellent. The shipping costs are very reasonable.
Ditto Vik's recommendation for Casa de Case. I ordered a 5 liter tin of their Frantoio Olivestri Olio Nuovo for the first time in November and it is eccellente! But I am using it sparingly to make it last until vado in aprile a Italia.
I own a wine/high end Italian products store in Idaho. We direct imported really fresh oil last December (all sold out now) and I just got a bunch of new 2009 oils from importers.
Try calling this company http://manicaretti.com/ to see if they sell to anyone in your area.
We produce our own extra virgin biological olive oil from our lovely 80 tree olive grove (you can see photos on my FB page) and sell the excess to friends. This year the harvest was magnificent and done during those lovely warm November days. Cost of production -thanks to free labor of our friends whose average age is 70 yrs!! and really experts-is 8 euro per litre. Since we have so much extra we are selling it to friends and neighbors for the same price..They usually buy a copy of Fulvio's new book,"Olio e Ricordi in Cucina" full of recipes using the olive oil . Half the recipes are also in English, but not those difficult to reproduce outside of Italy: like Wild Boar and chocolate or olive marmelade. My sister came to help with the harvest and relax from the stress of work and city life. She returned to Boston with 10 litres in different sized tins wrapped well in a cardboard box and plastic security wrap they do at the airport. Result: Christmas gifts for the entire family, delicious oil from handpicked olives, a week's vacation...much cheaper than shipping it back, which doubles the cost of the oil.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: TourMama,
I bought a bottle of Sicilian oil from the October 2009 pressing through Olio 2 Go They have a variety of price points and the purchase went very smoothly.
I know of a great producer in northern Umbria. She doesn't sell any oil commercially (meaning no stores or distributors), she only sells direct to clients.
Her oil is top notch gourmet grade extra virgin olive oil. I am not sure how much she is currently charging, but I think it is about $200 for 6 1-liter bottles with shipping included to the States.
If you are interested, her email is: giuriati @ g mail . com
I found that sometimes there is a mistake in offering olive oil shipping. It falls into the fast UPS/Mailboxes shipping charges of wine. Wine is expensive as customs follow up is complex, there is a need of signature for minor protectin etc. Maybe you should check shipping regular airmail. Also Olive can be shipped in 3 or 5 liters tin cans with less waste of space and safety of shipment.
But, if we can round up enough interested friends, it might be feasible to make a large order. I will let you know. Thanks.
