We recently went on a trip to Napa. Napa is famous for producing wine. It is amazing because it is one of the smallest wine producing areas in the world. We like to go every once in a while and do some wine tasting. It had been about three years since we last were there. The plan was to visit wineries a couple of days and downtown a couple of days. We had a driver so that we could both do the wine tasting at various wineries. We had a good time. When we go, we like to stay close to downtown so that we can walk to it and visit all the shops and also do some wine tasting at the wine shops and tasting rooms. But, I don’t know that we will do that the next time we go because it seems like the quaint little shops are gone and it basically is a bunch of expensive boutiques now. We didn’t even go into any of the stores, except for the one that is a part of the Square One Tasting Bar. There is a counter in the store and you can sip and shop at the same time. In addition to wine and stuff Napa Valley Olive Oil is in there. They have flavored olive oil and flavored vinegar. Ooooooo! So yummy.
We took our time drinking our tastings and so I was popping over to the olive oil/vinegar side and grabbing some bread and oil and vinegar. There were so many, I can’t even tell you. I tasted probably about seven or eight and I didn’t even scratch the surface it seemed. I did find a new oil that I am in love with.
It is Milanese Gremolata Olive Oil. It is so good. I had Milanese Gremolata before at Italian Restaurants. They bring a dish with olive oil and Italian flat leaf parsley, minced garlic, fresh lemon zest in it. When I dip the bread in I try to get some of the Milanese Gremolata on the bread. But this olive oil is infused with the flavors. There is nothing floating in it, but it is so flavorful I just can’t get over it. I have been using it on everything.
I put it on our pasta and used it in my pumpkin soup. I think I am going to have to get a subscription for it. It is so good.
I also got two vinegars from them. It was difficult to decide, but I kept it down to just two. One was one that the wine shop person recommended I try. She was right, it is so yummy. I got Tangerine and Cranberry Pear.
These three things are going to be working their way into all of my cooking.
Do you like flavored oil? Do you like flavored vinegar? Do you have a favorite?
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