Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil

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Thank you to Nina’s Olivar for sending me her organic extra virgin olive oil, for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

 

When Nina contacted me about collaborating together, her story intrigued me. Because behind every product, every shop, every invention, there is a story and a journey. And it’s those stories in people’s lives, and their unfolding journeys, that inspire me.

Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil…an organic extra virgin olive oil produced by her farm in Spain…has a beautiful origin and an extraordinary ongoing story.

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil title meme

Nina’s Story

Several years ago, a fun family outing became a life altering event for Nina. Captivated by the beauty of Spanish olive groves, Nina bought her own small farm.

Her plot of land, in the Almeria Region in Spain, supports 900 mature Spanish Arbequina and Manzanillo olive trees. The land is classified as organic and every year it undergoes inspections for the renewal of the EU Organic Farm Certificate.

This means that Nina does not use insecticides, pesticides or herbicides on her olive grove. The abundant sunshine and the caressing winds sustain the olive trees, naturally.

Fun tangent story: actor Clint Eastwood once walked this land where Nina’s trees thrive. The desert hills of nearby Tabernas provided the location for Eastwood’s film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil grove
Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil – Nina in her olive grove. Photo from her website

A Different Way to Farm

Due to the drying out of the ground aquifers in the Almeria region, Nina chooses to adapt to different ways of farming. Glenn French, Nina’s farm manager, introduced permaculture farming…a way of achieving high yields and productivity by working with nature in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way.

Permaculture farming possess three core tenants:

  • care for the earth – help all life systems continue to exist and thrive
  • care for the people – allow people access to resources they need to survive
  • fair share – only take what you need, reinvest any surplus and return waste products back into the system so it’s useful again

Glenn and Nina also collect rainwater using huge swales dug at intervals across the farm. This helps the collected rainwater to sink into the earth.

They plant nitrogen fixing trees such as Robena, Paulina and Acacias throughout the farm to enrich the olive trees. Additionally, lavender is a companion plant for the olive trees and in the fall barley serves as a cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil.

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil
Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil – the olives. Photo from Nina’s website.

Producing Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil

Hand harvesting of the green olives occurs during the third week in October. The olives go to the cold press mill the same day they are picked. At the mill, the olives are centrifuged to separate the oil. The entire process takes two to four hours. And the resulting green gold oil is never stored for long in tanks before it’s bottled.

The early green olives produce an extra virgin olive oil with a phenomenal flavor profile and very low acidity. The flavor is classified as fruity and lively, and also grassy, peppery, herbaceous and minty.

Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil is the recipient of the New York International Olive Oil Competition Gold Award for 2020.

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil close up
Limited 2020 bottle

My Experience with Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil

I felt excited to receive my bottle of Nina’s olive oil. My first experience with an exceptional olive oil occurred while I toured Tuscany, Italy in 2017. Dipping fresh, warm, gluten free bread into that olive oil, I realized what I’d been missing with cheap store brand versions. Those grocery store brands taste oily….but lack flavor.

I was not disappointed when my bottle of Almeria Gold Olive Oil arrived.

One taste of this fragrant, pungent olive oil instantly transported me back to Italy…or more accurately, to Spain! The quality and flavor are both exceptional.

And I knew exactly how I wanted to savor this olive oil.

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil dipping oil
Dipping oil

Dipping Oil with Roasted Garlic

Remembering my Italian experience, I created a dipping oil using Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil.

The recipe is simple. Add a small amount of Nina’s olive oil to a hot skillet. Add two finely chopped fresh garlic cloves and pan roast until garlic is golden. Stir in one teaspoon dried thyme, one teaspoon dried rosemary and one teaspoon dried parsley. Cook with garlic until herbs are fragrant. Add garlic bits, herbs and a teaspoon of sea salt to one cup of Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil.

Serve with warm, toasty bread and a pasta dish.

I used gluten free loaves, toasted in the oven. And oh my! How delicious dipping chunks of warm crusty bread into the dipping oil. Although I paired the bread and dipping oil with gluten free rotini and sugar free marinara sauce, the bread and oil make a wonderfully satisfying snack…or meal!

Nina's Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil pasta
Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil – dipping oil, warm bread and pasta

Get Your Nina’s Olive Oil

Nina’s olive oil is perfect for stir fries, sauteing, cooking, baking, drizzling on salads…or my favorite, dipping oils.

Visit Nina’s website, for more information about her olive oil and more of her inspiring story.

And then click HERE or on the photo below, to order your own prized bottle of Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil.

 

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

44 Replies to “Nina’s Olivar Almeria Gold Olive Oil”

  1. What a cool story to share. I love using organic, and really admire all the hard work it takes to get that organic label on products! And it never hurts to follow Clint Eastwood 😉

  2. I love how you shared the story behind the bottle! And even more love that no insecticides, pesticides, or herbicides are used!
    And how fun that Clint Eastwood has walked her land!

  3. Love cooking with olive oil but this one seems more like an addition to the meal. Loved the history and background of this olive oil. Made for an interesting read. The food looks divine. Can’t wait to try this oil. Thanks for sharing.

  4. Great review! I have always admired permaculture methods of farming, and it’s so great that there is an olive oil that honors these mindsets. Permaculture is really what we need to move forward sustainably with everything we grow. The upside is that the food is usually top notch, as you experienced with Nina’s Olive Oil.

  5. Sounds delicious. I love fresh clean olive oil. I especially love dipping bread into it too with some yummy balsamic and oregano. Mmm… I’m going to see if I can get my hands on this stuff too. Thanks for sharing.

  6. What a great review! This olive oil looks delicious and the sustainability aspect is definitely a winner for me!

  7. I love the permaculture farming tenants! It’s so great how you share the stories and not just the product. I love that connection. And of course, this looks delicious too!!

    1. Thank you. It’s important to me to share the story behind a brand. I won’t collaborate otherwise.

  8. I have not heard of this brand, but I totally love olive oil! Both in Italy and in Greece, we devoured plates of bread and olive oil! Yum!

  9. Such an informative & interesting post.Learnt so much .A big fan of Olive oil .Will definitely check out Nina’s brand soon. Thank you, for sharing

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