Tonight, in the midst of reducing ~10 lb of home-grown pomodoros to sauce, I ran out of our standard issue Sicilian olive oil and so opened a bottle of Occhipinti Olio Extravergine di Oliva 'Pantarei' that had been placed in my hands by VLM on a recent visit. What an oil! Green, with floral aromas and a tasty, green note on the palate. Made from the heirloom olive variety Tonda Iblea, hand harvested and dry farmed (if I'm reading the Italian correctly), this is a sensational olive oil and yet anther achievement of the multifaceted Ariana Occhipinti. The Monkey knows what he's doing.
Mark Lipton
p.s. I love the name, too. Ms. Occhipinti is either displaying Sicily's Greek heritage with a nod to Heraclitus or making an oblique reference to Hungarian Prog Rock.
Mark Lipton
p.s. I love the name, too. Ms. Occhipinti is either displaying Sicily's Greek heritage with a nod to Heraclitus or making an oblique reference to Hungarian Prog Rock.