Olive Oil From Sebastiano's Is Coming in 2022

Now that’s it’s officially spring, I thought I’d bring you up to speed on something that I learned about this past January. On a very chilly winter day, I stopped in at Sebastiano’s in Montavilla to chat with Dan and Elise about their exciting upcoming olive oil import project. Bottles will have their private label and should be on the shelves by summer 2022.

The story behind Sebastiano’s and their connection to this olive oil goes back to October 2019 (pre-pandemic times, another world), when Dan and Elise traveled around Sicily for a month. As they explored the island—sometimes, with no specific destination in mind—they came upon some olive groves and the farmers who tend them at Asaro Organic Farm, a fifth-generation family-run farm in the Castelvetranos region of the Trapani province, located on the western side of Sicily. After a conversation with the folks at the groves, they had a taste of the olive oil and loved it.

They loved it so much that they decided to import some of the oil for the shop, and are working with export company Oleifici Asara dal 1916 to get this olive oil to the U.S. This olive oil is made with Castelvetranos olives, an important variety in Sicily. It is from a 2021 harvest, and is the first cold pressing; it is extra virgin grade and organic.

I had a chance to get a little taste, too, and it’s very good. Versatile, somewhere between spicy and buttery. You’ll be able to use it for a variety of ways—as a finishing oil, for salad dressing, or for light cooking (not deep frying). It will go very well with, say, Sebastiano’s focaccia. In fact, I can endorse this combination because I ate it. So tasty.

Bottles will be packaged in round 500ml (approximately 16oz) tins—not a glass bottle. This is good because it really keeps the light out, and the tin is easy to recycle. It will become, at least for this year, part of the expanding set of curated pantry goods Sebastiano’s is stocking.

Dan and Elise are super psyched about this olive oil and looking forward to putting it on the shelves. As mentioned before, summer 2022 will likely be the earliest to access a bottle. Just in time for Caprese salad season!

Sebastiano’s
411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland
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