Olive Oil Tasting

RUSTIC VERSION:

Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co.

835 Charter Oak Ave., (707) 963-4173. Daily 8-5; in summer to 5:30. Cash only.

Everything needed for a picnic is available inside this 100-year-old barn: cheese, sausage, olives, bread sticks, focaccia, biscotti. And if you’d like to eat on the spot, a tree-shaded picnic area with tables is provided right outside the Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. This Old World-style Italian deli also offers a variety of pastas, sauces, and dried mushrooms, plus very good housemade cold-pressed olive oil and red wine vinegar--all placed helter-skelter in barrels and on makeshift tables. Prices are reasonable, tabs are tallied on the shopping bag, and a cigar box holds the change. It's really quite unusual.

exterior of Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. in St. Helena, California

picnic area at Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. in St. Helena, California

interior of Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. in St. Helena, California

housemade olive oil at Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co.
in St. Helena, California

REFINED VERSION:

Olivier Napa Valley

1375 Main St., (707) 967-8777.

Specializing in olive oils, you’ll find a variety here at Olivier Napa Valley that you can taste and then pour into bottles yourself. You can also sample many of the olive oil-related food and gift items, and the gorgeous olive-wood cutting boards just might end your souvenir search.