Study trip to Spain

Exactly one year ago, I went to Madrid, Spain, to visit olive oil producers and to go to a trade fair where olive oil from around the world gathers. The more I learned about olive oil, the more I wanted to import something that I was satisfied with. Five months before that, I had an encounter with the wonderful Arbequina single variety of extra virgin, and I decided to import it because I wanted to buy it at M&m Olive63.??I went to the producer. I asked my fellow sommelier Keiko, who lives in Valencia, to coordinate the outfit and took the train to the rural town of Jaén. The station was a small unmanned station, and the producer came to pick me up on the platform. In the short time from the station to the place where the car was parked, almond flowers were blooming for 5 minutes.(The street tree is an almond tree.)That left a strong impression on me. Get in the car and get going. freeway?We drove for about 20 minutes on a road like this. The producer welcomed our visit and took us to the old big stork church, which is also a symbol of the town. The weather was very nice, the air was clean, and the sky was blue, which was different from Japan. It was a really nice church, and there were countless storks nesting on the roof. The church even builds the base of a cast nest so that storks can easily build nests and so that nests do not fall. My eyes were riveted to the sight I saw for the first time. I feel great. To be continued, see you tomorrow?? LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

We enjoyed the scenery of the stork church and were taken to the olive groves and oil mills of the target producers. We drove for another 10 minutes along the endless road of vineyards and olive groves on both sides. Arrive at your destination? A small oil mill and office in a large olive grove. It's a relatively small company. My Ideal Scale? This is because it is difficult for a large company to import by individuals, and it is difficult to meet our requests. From head to toe, I was dressed in pure white and entered the oil mill. The oil pressing season had long since ended, so I decided to check the smell and cleanliness of the place. And, of course, the storage status of the oil. There was not the slightest smell of oxidized oil, on the contrary, the air in the hall was clear and it was a very clean place. "A~? Perfect.' However, as I asked questions,?? That's what I thought. I said to myself, 'Let's try a good tasting, because last year's oil was Arbequina with a wonderful aroma.' However......... Are. See you tomorrow in LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

[Last night, when I tried to upload a blog, the screen turned blank, and the "3" that I was going to give you disappeared.](^_^;) I'm sorry] After touring the oil mill and workshop, we entered the business meeting room and started chatting in a friendly atmosphere. When we talked about imports, I realized that there was a problem that upset me. I realized how stupid I was. Leaving that aside, the first thing to do is to enter the World Olive Oil Contest at OLIVE JAPAN 2016 in April and win an award. I confirmed various other things and conveyed my intentions. I was grateful to the producers who kindly agreed to do so. The producer said, "I would like to enter the contest?He entrusted us with olive oil to enter in the contest. He asked me to take as many souvenirs as I wanted...... It's heavy. Very. I also want to buy olive oil from other manufacturers. In the end, I decided to go with a few bottles for the contest and a few spare bottles. On the way back, we had a full meal at the best rabbit restaurant in town. In Spain, they often eat rabbits. Even in the market, skinned rabbits are usually sold along with chicken and pork. It resembles chicken. I thanked them again for sending me to the station and welcoming me, and returned to Madrid by train. I said goodbye to my coordinator and fellow sommelier Keiko at the train station in Madrid. She returned to Valencia. A few days later, I'm going to visit Keiko in Valencia. My daughter brought most of the heavy olive oil bottles from the producer's place to the hotel, which was a great help. You can buy whatever you want.? Back at the hotel, my daughter said a few words as she wrapped the olive oil she had brought back with a towel and plastic wrap. "This is delicious, isn't it? I wonder what it tastes like.?I realized on the spot that I had forgotten to taste it. Last... LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

At the producer I had decided to import, I forgot to taste this year's olive oil. I had a very, very ~ bad feeling. It was a new issue that upset me on the spot, and I forgot to taste it, but he didn't recommend it to us either. Did that mean they were immensely confident in the olive oil they made, or the exact opposite? No way, it's the exact opposite??? In fact, the material for thinking this was in a conversation with a producer during a tour of the oil mill. It's kneading time. The olives after grinding are kneaded. The kneading time varies depending on the weather at the time of harvesting, the variety, how the fruit is growing, and what kind of flavor you want to have. And the amount of oil you can take. Well in fact......... The producer didn't give me the answer I wanted. So during the tour???Have become. Please see Part 2. The number of bottles of olive oil I brought home was so large that I couldn't open even one bottle considering the damage. I was so upset by the big problems that surfaced about imports that I forgot the important thing. From head to toe, I was filled with anxiety. But I'm always a positive thinker, and I'm like, 'It's okay! I mean, it's going to happen!' I decided to think. Because he is the producer who made last year's wonderful aroma Arbequina! I don't think it was done by chance! Last... LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

Due to the availability of seats on the plane, Keiko, who took care of me and my daughter who arrived in Madrid early and asked me to coordinate with my fellow sommeliers, invited me to Valencia. The visit to the producer who had decided to import olive oil was over. I have a bad feeling about it, though. I'm going to a trade fair in a few days, and I'll be able to do something about it? Let's have fun!? Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Valencia, but the atmosphere was completely different from Madrid. The street tree is an orange tree. As expected?Valencia?? The orange blossoms were just blooming, but to my surprise, the oranges were still on the tree. It's an inedible orange, so birds and small animals don't eat it. We went shopping at the market, went to eat authentic paellas, walked around the city, went to fashionable cafes, went to an olive oil specialty store, and enjoyed Valencia thanks to Keiko. What was shocking about Valencia was the intensity of orange juice! It was clearly different from orange juice in Madrid! As expected, Valencia ☆彡 Ah~~, I thought that if I added Lucero's "Ascolano" to this juice, it would be ridiculously delicious. From morning to evening, Keiko showed us around Valencia, drove us to the station, and returned to Madrid. Tomorrow we will take a walk in Madrid. With a pleasant tiredness, I fell asleep. Last... LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

I returned to Madrid from Valencia and took a break the next day.?。 The next day, we took a leisurely stroll around the royal palace near the hotel. The crystal clear blue sky was incomparably more beautiful than the sunny sky in Japan. The sky in Japan is probably stagnant due to the effects of PM2.5 and other factors. A few days later, the long-awaited World Olive Oil Exhibition will begin. The seminar by Mr. Tada, president of the Japan Olive Oil Sommelier Association, was also full and there was a lot of standing room. After the president's seminar, we tasted olive oil while going around the venue. As expected, there are no vendors who recommend tasting with bread. What surprised me was that even the olive oil advertised at this venue was full of defective oils. Over the course of two days, we spent a lot of time visiting the olive oil shops in the venue. For delicious places, I was introduced to importers in Japan and asked about poop(I had an interpreter accompanied by an interpreter from the association.)It was a fulfilling two days. The olive oil pictured in this photo is also now available in M&m Olive63 stores? It will also be available at the online shop on the homepage soon. Please wait a little longer. LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

2We enjoyed the olive oil fair for a day. At the same time as I felt a sense of fulfillment, I was even more anxious about the quality of the olive oil I was going to import. "How can you forget about the tasting?" Was it a coincidence that the big problem was discovered at that time?? Or was it inevitable?? I can't forget the taste of that wonderful Arbequina, and there were many delicious olive oils at the fair, but none of them caught my eye. The day after the trade fair, members of the Japan Olive Oil Sommelier Association and an olive oil producer took a bus for a tour. It is not a place that you can go to on a regular trip. I was surprised by the breadth of Mr. Tada's face. An olive grove of an unimaginable size in Japan. A large and magnificent oil mill and storage in the field. From there, I took a bus up the olive grove and saw a mansion that looked like an aristocratic mansion. It is the villa of the owner of these fields and the oil mill storage. We had lunch in the guest room. It was a grand mansion. We walked around the olive groves, saw the entire oil mill, had lunch at a mansion, and finally took a picture in front of the building before heading home. We arrived in Madrid in the evening. Last... LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.

Extraordinary Spain??I returned to reality from the inspection trip to Japan. My biggest worry since returning to Japan. Olive oil that I plan to import, that tasting forgot. As soon as I returned to Sasebo, I was able to successfully apply for the olive oil contest of "OLIVE JAPAN 2016", a world olive oil competition sponsored by the Japan Olive Oil Sommelier Association. Immediately open the surplus olive oil and taste it. ..................。 [Defect] is defective... What if. I did it. My bad premonition turned out to be correct. I have a strong feeling. When I was listening to the oil squeezing process, I heard from the producer that I thought, "What?", which affected the "taste" of the oil. "It's the worst..." The result of the olive oil contest at OLIVE JAPAN was, of course, no medals. Fault(Defects)The kind of "Over cook" after all(It's too much kneading.)。 The mistake you make when you want to extract a lot of oil (intentional act)??) I immediately met with the interpreter of the other party and told him that I had to completely talk about this import. Why, of course. A~~ I'm glad I took the Master Sommelier Qualification Course and the Master Mirror Course~~ The interpreter understood the reason for the blank paper and conveyed it to the producer clearly. This time, we did our best to realize the import of olive oil, but it seems that it was not yet that time. Now, I am working hard every day to get as close as possible to the god-like sense of taste and smell of Mr............ Tada, president of the Japan Olive Oil Sommelier Association of, planned. End. LanguageThis page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original content.