I’m going off piste to share another delicious liquid, Olive oil. Read anything about healthy eating and the Mediterranean diet will come up, but the Med is a big place, what they eat on a Greek island won’t be the same as in Northern Africa, the South of France or Sicily. But they all have common threads, lots of fresh, local veg, Olive oil and usually wine. We know all about wine, wineand2veg is the go to for veg info but what is it about Olive Oil?

 Olive oil consumption is said to have anti-ageing benefits, protecting against everything from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer to brain health. But not any old olive oil, the magical elixir is Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Olive oil contains healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, of which oleic acid, accounts for up to 80%. Research shows that this fatty acid has positive effects both cardiovascular and neurodegenerative and in controlling normal blood LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations compared to saturated fatty acids diets.

Polyphenols – again

 It’s not only the fatty acids, the health benefits of Olive oil are also due to polyphenols. I bang on about polyphenols a lot in The Drinking Woman’s Diet. Polyphenols are bio-active anti-oxidants found everywhere in the plant kingdom, created as protection against pests and diseases. Kale, beans, tea, coffee, spinach, and broccoli, tomatoes, apples, oranges, pears, olive oil, wine and many more are particularly good sources. We all need more plants on plates. 

It is estimated that olive oil and olives provide around 11% of the total polyphenol intake in a typical Mediterranean Diet. Oleocanthal seems to be the most interesting phenolic, its whose health claims are recognised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It appears to reduce the abundance of pathogenic bacteria and stimulating beneficial bacteria in the microbiome

Fruit oil or seed oil. Extracted from the flesh of a fruit, rather than a seed, Olive oil is higher in polyphenols. Seeds need less protection from bugs, fungus, etc. so they produce less polyphenols to fight them off. 

Bitterness and the cough test 

Polyphenols also make good olive oil taste great.  I’ve talked about bitterness and polyphenols on the wineand2veg website. Really good olive oil is often so bitter it can catch in the back of the throat making you cough. This characteristic is known as the cough test, the back of the throat is so sensitive to oleocanthal that top extra-virgin olive oils are rated on a scale of one, two or three coughs!

Wine and Olive compare and contrast

 Both wine and olive oil originate in Mediterranean climates, from plants with an ancient history. Their concentrations of biologically active polyphenols vary depending upon the variety and the ripeness of the fruit, where and how it is grown, how it is extracted and stored. 

Transformation Olive oil is less transformed than wine, it is simply the squeezed olive juice, separated away from water content to leave the oil. Wine is made by fermenting grape juice, the advantage is that alcohol produced during fermentation helps extract polyphenols from grape skins and seeds. Table olives have less polyphenols as the processing to make them edible (less bitter) destroys most of them, however the valuable oleanolic acid remains. Unlike wine that can improve with age, olive oil really needs to be used as fresh as possible and stored in a cool place away from light to avoid oxidation. 

Taste test Tasting methods and notes for wine and olive oil have lots in common, involving swirling, sniffing, slurping and swallowing. Wine doesn’t normally make you cough though! 

Synergy The synergy between Olive oil and food isn’t new,  foods interacting to create a sum greater than their parts is a characteristic of the Mediterranean diet and it seems to centre around Olive Oil. Fat soluble vitamins and polyphenols from food are easier to absorb and digest served with oil that helps preserve and absorb bio active polyphenols. The polyphenols in olive oil also protect food from oxidation during preparation and cooking.  For meat eaters, marinating meat in olive oil and herbs before cooking may reduce the impact of carcinogenic compounds formed when meat fats burn and caramelise. Drenching your steak in Olive oil before you pop it on the BBQ can help prevent some of the negative effects associated  with over cooking meat.

Burn point controversy Despite popular myths around smoke points, olive oil is good for cooking. The smoke point is higher than most domestic kitchens reach – if black acrid smoke comes off the pan – it’s too hot! 

Wine and olive oil

The magic of food and wine pairing goes a lot deeper than just the pleasure of making both the wine and the food taste better. We know oil reduces the perception of astringency in wine.  Research at Bordeaux university shows the interaction between oil and catechin, an important and astringent grape tannin, prevents the proteins in saliva binding with tannins. The most effective oil? Olive oil.

As well as wine and food matching making both taste better, it may also be better for us. Eating fat slows gastric emptying and slows alcohol absorption more than carbohydrates. When consuming wine with Olive oil laden dishes blood alcohol levels remain steadier. The synergy is even more interesting, research based on the interaction of the antioxidants in red wine and Extra Virgin Olive oil shows that consuming them together increased the absorption of the anti-oxidants from both. Both Olive oil and ethanol make polyphenols more bioavailable to the body. Never has the saying if it grows together, it goes together seemed more appropriate. 

Olive Groves in Bordeaux? 
There’s a few experimental olive plantings in Bordeaux, but it’s early days and I need to go taste them before recommending them to you, but some Bordeaux properties also own or work with olive groves further south. 

Some to try.

Château Lestrille in Entre deux Mers sells a delicious artisan olive oil from The Domaine Oulivie Montpellier, family run and sustainably farmed, just like Chateau Lestrille. My favourite is made from 100% Lucques olives, she also sells the delicious Lucques Olives themselves in her boutique in the village of saint germain du Puch.

Chateau Fleur de Fleur de Lisse in Saint Emilion, sells a delicious, single varietal, olive oil they grow in the South, it has its own AOP ‘Les Garrigues’ they also have an Elixir which is made from olives that have had the stones removed before pressing.

The Cazes family that own Château Lynch Bages in Pauillac also own a property in the south of France, Ostal Cazes, in the Languedoc where they produce Olive Oil as well as a range of wine.

Neighbouring Château Pichon Baron belongs to the Axa group, they also own Quinta do Noval in Portugal, that produces a delicious Olive Oil alongside their port vines. 

As well as Chateau Giscours in Margaux, the Albada family also own Caiarossa  in Tuscany with 6 ha of Olive trees spread across the estate alongside the vines and forests all cultivated to biodynamic principles. They produce just 700 half bottles of Extra Virgin organic olive oil each year. Some of it makes its way to Chateau Giscours where you can buy it along with the Margaux wines. 

These Olive oils might not be from Bordeaux but they are a perfect and deliciously healthy summer seasoning to serve alongside them.

If you enjoyed this post, please  sign up here  to receive future blog posts or share with a friend. Learn more about Bordeaux with Bordeaux Bootcamp, and explore Wine and Wellness, with  The Drinking Woman’s Diet . You can read more of my stories from Bordeaux at Decanter  or say hi  here.

Search for: Search