Olive oil is made all over Italy, but no region produces oils as singular as those from Tuscany. Mannie Berk, the president of the Rare Wine Company in Brisbane, Calif., is a connoisseur who has had Tuscan extra-virgin olive oils bottled for his company since 1995. Lately, he has found them lacking their customary verve and intensity, a shortcoming he attributes to global warming. But not those made in 2020. He raves about the vintage. Though his company imports 22 different oils, some are worth knowing, like leccino oils by Pruneti, a classic; and Sàgona, more forceful, $59.99 for both. A new oil for his company is the herbaceous Fonte di Foiano 1979 from the Bolgheri region, sold as part of a set of six from areas in and around Chianti for $157.50. Also in that set is the Volpaia from the Classico district, a blend of several olives that’s deep green, minty and viscous with bracing bitterness. The oils, all sold in half-liter bottles, are to use for finishing, not sautéing, to elevate a bowl of pappa al pomodoro or grilled fennel, or to trace over slices of rosemary-scented pork roast.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oils, The Rare Wine Company, rarewineco.com.
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