EX-MICROSOFTIES CULTIVATE GOLDEN TASTE OF ITALY
Melissa Allison and Amy Martinez - Seattle Times

This fall during the olive harvest in Italy, Dan McCarthy plans to have about 180 bottles of freshly pressed olive oil shipped by air from the 50-acre Tuscan estate of his former Queen Anne customers, Enzo Schiano and Claire Beliard.

To cover the airfreight, McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants will add about $6 to the regular $27 price of a 500-milliliter bottle of Poggio la Noce.

Last year, customers descended on the retailer's 120 bottles of the "olio nuovo" — new oil — like lovers of French wine greet Beaujolais Nouveau.

Sales of high-end olive oil have slowed, but some Seattleites remain willing and able to pay up for a fresh bottle to drizzle on salads, fresh vegetables and pasta. Read More...

Liquid Tuscan Gold
Fall 2009 - Worthwhile Magazine

Two of the estimated 10,000 millionaires created as fledgling "Micro-soft" lost its hyphen, moved from Albuquerque to Redmond, Washington, and became a global software giant, decided to invest in what Homer called "liquid gold." Enzo Schiano and Claire Beliard discovered Poggio la Noce, a small olive farm in Fiesole, just north of Florence, Italy. The low-acid fruit from the farm's 2,000 organically treated trees is handpicked at ideal ripeness and cold pressed within 24 hours to preserve intensity of flavor. Capacityis an annual 6,000 premium-priced bottles.

Very Special Italian Treats
December 9, 2009 - by Braiden Rex-Johnson

...This year I tasted his "olio nuovo," or "new" oil that had been pressed just a week or so before he returned stateside.

As you might expect of a just-pressed extra virgin oil, it was a vivid green color, redolent of aromas and flavors of new-mown grass, fresh herbs, and a bit of pepper, yet still smooth and satin-y. Yum!

The oil, which sells for $24.99 for a stylish 500-ml bottle, is sold at Whole Foods Market, some Metropolitan Market locations, DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine, QFC, and online at the Poggio Web site, so you should have no problem finding it.