Registration Information

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Location

UC Davis Olive Center
Driving Directions >>

Nearest Airport: Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

Where To Stay

Hyatt Place UC Davis
Pacific Sun Gourmet has negotiated a special group rate for Master Class attendees.
To receive this special room rate, attendees must book before June 29th, 2012.
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Sensory Evaluation Master Class

Pierpaolo Arca and Marzia Migliorini, production experts responsible for the selection of extra virgin olive oils from their respective regions of Italy -- Tuscany and Sardinia -- come to California to share their knowledge of olive oil making and olive oil tasting. Dr. Migliorini and Dr. Arca will present in Italian, with translation provided by Darrell Corti.

As colleagues of the late olive oil expert Marco Mugelli, their approach to tasting is always part of a bigger picture. This includes understanding the different phases involved in the production of high quality olive oils: biology of the olive and its ripening process, harvest, handling of the fruit, milling techniques (and new extraction technologies), filtration and storage. Their expertise provides not only a sense of what the taster experiences, but also why it is so, making the class especially useful for producers and panel members.

Both have a wealth of experience as olive oil tasters and are judges of different olive oil competitions such as Montiferru (the only competition that judges twice: first when the olive oils are released in February and then in September to evaluate product stability as part of quality assurance), the Florence Chamber of Commerce Selection and Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition (LA County Fair).

Their teachings are based on a collective experience of both regions (Tuscany, particularly around the Chianti area and Sardinia, particularly the Oristano region) in terms of producing olive oils of excellence, panel tasting and research for over 20 years.

This intensive class was originally designed to be taught over a three-day period, but circumstances obliged us to organize it to fit into two days. Since we did not want to sacrifice any of the subjects, each session (July 27 – 28, Friday and Saturday) will be a bit longer and more concentrated than average seminars.

This course is intended to acquaint producers with the means to avoid common problems inherent to production: refresh notions of fruit handling and the effects of careful processing, and to define the parameters of production and how to avoid problems of oil instability. If you produce olive oil in California, or intend to, and/or you are a member of a tasting panel, this is certainly a great opportunity to expand your knowledge.

Distinguished Presenters

Dr. Marzia Migliorini Panel Leader, Ph.D. in Chemistry, Director of the Research Department of the Chemical Laboratory of the Chamber of Commerce, Florence, Italy

Dr. Pierpaolo Arca Panel Head Montiferru Olive Oil Competition, Sardinia, Italy, Ph.D. in Food Technology, Olive Oil Consultant

Darrell Corti,Translator

Master Class Schedule

Friday, July 27th

Saturday, July 28th

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Questions?

Contact Pablo Voitzuk or Leslie Stone
(530)385-1475