For all our adoptive tree parents, this time of year is one of great anticipation, as the due date for the precious new arrival approaches. Any day now, a stork will arrive carrying your bespoke bonnie bundle – a package of divine extra virgin olive oil from your very own Italian olive tree.

There are a few things you should know about the new addition to your family. Just as with grapes, there are hundreds of varieties of olives, each producing a different tasting oil. In addition, the olive oil from a leccino olive grove in Umbria will taste quite different from leccino oil from a Le Marche grove. Even adjacent groves can produce very different tasting oils, depending on the terrain, the care of the trees and how quickly after picking the olives are pressed. The differences are so great, in fact, that even within our Nudo family of producers, there is more than a generous drizzle of competitiveness. Naturally, every grove owner believes their olive oil is the best. But who is right? Along with your olive oil you will find a tasting card, which you can send back to us, or fill in the online tasting card at http://bit.ly/96KRa0 and we will announce which grove wins the popular vote.

To help get you going, we’ve compiled some tasting notes of our own.

Aleandri

This year the oil taste profile was affected by the dry summer. The oil is medium fruity, with a herbaceous leaning and the smell of almonds and artichoke. Overall it’s very well balanced with a leaning towards the sweet end of the scale. The taste profile diagram is shown above. Around the edges, clockwise from the top are the different internationally recognised type of flavours you find in olive oils – fruity, green, bitter, peppery, sweet, almonds and artichoke

Ardelio

This oil has a delicate golden yellow colour. It has a light flavouring and sometimes a peppery after-kick, which is indicative of a high concentration of polyphenolic antioxidants and freshness. It has an acidity level of less than 0.5% (it needs to be under 0.8% to be classed as extra virgin).

Dell’Orso

This is a very high quality oil (though not quite as good as the exceptional 2008 pressing) from an organic grove. All the groves in the region were affected by ‘mosca’, an olive fly this year; what this means, is that the olives have to be picked as early as possible which has the effect of producing an oil that is slightly more peppery. This year, the oil is green with a golden hue. The smell is fruity with a hint of cut grass and the flavour is fruity with a slight bitterness and a spicy tip. The acidity is 0.5 (it needs to be under 0.8% to be classed as extra virgin) and it hits 6.8 on the peroxide scale.

Fiorano

This year the oil is light to medium on the fruity scale. Although the colour isn’t a reflection of quality the oil this year is yellow with a hint of green. The ‘nose’ is strong with hints of almonds, leaves and artichokes. The acidity 0.16 (it needs to be under 0.8% to be classed as extra virgin, so this is really low). Overall the quality is high and this years oil is sweeter and less peppery than from the previous harvest.

Fonte Carella

The colour of the oil is straw-like with a tendency towards green. The aroma is intense and fruity with hints of freshly cut grass. The taste is peppery and spicy due to the early harvesting of the olives by hand (the longer you leave the olive on the tree the milder the oil is, but the higher the oil content is – so it a balance of quality versus quantity and we go for quality). It is one of the best years for oil from Fonte Carella because the trees didn’t produce great quantities, and so a tonne of quality was pumped into each and every fruit.

Il Professore

Again, a great year, though not as great as last years. The acidity is pretty low 0.34  (it needs to be under 0.8% to be classed as extra virgin) and the peroxide level is 7, which means that the olives were in a good condition when they were pressed. It is a medium fruity oil with a green nature and almond flavour. The oil is overall sweet, with a peppery note and a medium intensity of bitterness. There is also an aftertaste of almonds. It has a beautiful yellow colour. The polyphenol level is around 500 (these are the cardioprotective compounds in the oil, so the more the better).

Il Taccolito

As Rita says, this delicate oil should be treated gently, like you should treat a women. It is well balance, medium fruity, with a very low acidity (i.e. very high quality) of 0.02% (it needs to be under 0.8% to be classed as extra virgin). It has a grassy nose (i.e. smell) with hints of grass and tomatoes. And it has a almond flavour with slight peppery aftertaste. At pressing the oil was rather green, but we have noticed it is becoming more yellow.

La Morla

This oil is very well balanced. Its colour is yellow with a green hue. Its nose is medium fruity with hints of almonds and artichokes, whilst its taste is again well balanced with a hint of bitterness and a medium intensity of pepperyness. All topped off with an aftertaste of almonds. Yum. It’s polyphenol count hits the highs at 445 (these are the cardioprotective compounds in the oil, so the more the better).

Lina

This is a light subtle oil with a fresh fragrance of artichoke, tomatoes and green apple. There is a peppery after-kick which you should watch out for, which is a sign of the healthy antioxidants in the oil. The acidity level is less than 0.3% and the colour is a lovely golden yellow.

Rosalio

The oil has a beautiful golden green glow. The smell of this oil is evocative of freshly cut grass and a hint of artichoke. In taste oil is well balanced but milder and more delicate than in previous years. It has a buttery textures followed by a herbaceous, cut-grass flavour. This oil is at it’s prime now, so drizzle with impunity.

DO you want to adopt your own olive tree in Italy? Click here to become an adoptive parent today.

Anyway, I mention this because last week I went one better and was thinking ‘Chrimbo’ even before my old buddy. Why? Well we’ve got a wicked range of gift sets planned for this festive season and I’m seeking out the best artisans, growers and bakers to work with. Last week I was off talking to balsamic vinegar producer Bruno and his colleague Franco. They produce a beautiful balsamic which they age for up to 50 years! That’s what I call taking the long view. Fresh and inspired from the visit, I thought I’d give you some insights about  the different types of balsamic vinegar instead of my usual recipe.

Four Fast Balsamic Vinegar Facts:

#1 Like in wines the names of balsamics are strictly controlled and will tell you a load about it’s quality.

#2 ‘Traditional balsamic vinegar’ or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is the pukka stuff. It’s the juice from grapes (called ‘must’) boiled down till it’s thick and sweet and then aged for at least 12 years in a specific mix of wooden casks. It’s pricey and flavoursome so use sparingly.

#3 ‘Balsamic Vinegar of Modena’ was invented in the latter half of last century to supply the more money conscious amongst us. The producer can use red wine vinegar mixed with colouring and sweeteners to make this. Check the ingredients and use for dressing and marinades.

#4 ‘Balsamic condiment’ or Condimento Balsamico is a mix of the two vinegars above and so is somewhere in between in quality. Not too pricey, not too cheap. And that’s the one I’d go for.

Jason tells me the clear water isn’t necessarily a good sign. (He has a way of puncturing romantic notions about the sea.) Apparently the Mediterranean is actually one of the most nutrient-poor seas in the world – and the consequent lack of life further up the food chain is the main reason for the clarity of the water. Personally I don’t get it – there seemed some perfectly delicious looking seaweed around in reasonable abundance, so I don’t know why the grill or whatever those bitty fish things are called are so choosy.

Sardegnans, we were told by Guido and Claudia, have a history of being terrified of the sea. The Sardegnan people, in contrast to most islanders, are typically shepherds rather than fishermen – and the island famously has more sheep than people. Everywhere you go inland, you hear the pastoral tinkling of a passing goat or sheep and some of the finest food finds like their potato, mint and pecorino filled pasta called culurgiones have nothing to do with seafood. Most people still live in towns perched on hilltops inland and the courage to set up shop on the coast is a very recent phenomenon, inspired mainly by the need to service tourists.

We were lucky enough to be there with friends who have a sailing boat, so we had some gorgeous trips up and down the coast exploring hard to reach beaches and coves. Four children under the age of five in a space as confined as a prison cell meant the joy when we could anchor down and swim out was unbridled on all our parts.

Sardegna is one of the very most fragrant places I’ve ever been. Everywhere are amazing smells – of juniper, rosemary, mint and the local herb called ‘mirto’ (which I suppose is myrtle) growing in huge wild bushes. In great Italian (and maybe world) tradition, mirto is most used culinarily to make the delicious post prandial headache-inducer of the same name. It’s evilly good.

If you are thinking of going there, I’d recommend the less-trammelled parts on the South and east of the island rather than the Prada-store filled North (where Berlusconi and cronies hang out). But of course it depends what you’re looking for. Luckily, you can get mirto wherever you go. So that’s alright.

But that’s probably not much help for anyone trying to plan a holiday!

So on to a couple of specific gems we found. Fermo, balanced on a hill near the Adriatic Sea, has breathtaking 360° views of the surrounding countryside and the coast. Its main piazza is one of the oldest and best preserved in Italy and I’d defy anyone not to get bliss’ed out with an hour’s people watching in one of the piazza’s cafes. The Fermo theatre is also a classic of its kind, highly ornate with a column of vertiginous boxes, and seeing an opera there is really a must. The opera season favours quality over quantity so there are maybe only a handful of shows a year, but they are excellent. And you can get very cheap tickets if you are prepared to stand at the back of one of the boxes (from where you get a perfectly good view).

Ascoli Piceno has a piazza made entirely from travertine, a very particular kind of Italian marble. If anyone has visited the Getty centre in Los Angeles, they might be interested to know that the whole place is made of the stuff, shipped over especially from Italian quarries, and chosen for its gorgeous texture and the way it plays with light. I don’t technically know how to describe it, but I’ve always loved those book covers which are somewhere between matt and gloss in finish – and travertine is the stony equivalent. It looks even more beautiful if it has just rained – so rush there if there is a shower and enjoy the sheen as you sip an unfeasibly thick hot chocolate (its basically chocolate, heated) from the lovely art deco bar on the corner.

This time of year is also when Castellucio, a tiny village perched in the middle of the mountains, boasts a display of flowers that would make the Dutch blush. The whole valley – a flattened bowl which is all that remains of an ancient lake – is filled with flowers of every colour as far as the eye can see. The whole fantastic display only lasts two or three weeks but the memory lasts forever. And even if you thought it was impossible to be excited by a lentil, Castellucio is famous for them and one sip of a lentilly broth in one of the humble but excellent village eateries is sure to have you beating at the door of their ever-growing fan club.

“Part memoir, part recipe book, even part business plan, ‘The Dolce Vita Diaries’ is seriously engrossing, with a huge personality.”

- Zoe Perrett, Foodtripper.com

“The book is written in a charming, breezy style and was a quite enjoyable read. There’s a good balance between the travails and the joys and there are some nice portraits of people they’ve met along the way.”

- Kelly Rossiter, Treehugger.com

“When you have had a bad day at the office or are staring out at buildings all around, pick up this book. Read and imagine…. you never know where it might lead!”

- Penny Ritson, FreshTies.com

The first thing to say about learning a new language is don’t believe anyone, any advert or any product that tells you that you can learn a language in a few week. Or in ten tapes. Or in a course of sessions in your sleep. All this is untrue. In a few weeks, if you are committed, you can learn enough to get by with holiday basics and a stab at a conversation other than with and about someone servicing you. But if you want to really understand a language and speak it, you are in it forever. I still consider myself a student of English. So cast out the myth of the miracle and get used to the disappointment.

On the plus side, when you start learning a new language (or indeed anything new) you enjoy the halo effect of an obvious mathematical truth. If you start from zero, anything you achieve is an infinite improvement. Going from no nouns to ten, or no verbs to one are momentous achievements, the first chords in your new guitar. You feel you are making huge strides and great leaps. You feel invincible. And you are. Enjoy this phase. Adding the 81st verb to the 80 you will soon know won’t have the same thrill.

In terms of how to do it, we found a mixture of ways was the best approach. Lessons are pretty indispensable  as even the best books will leave questions unanswered and its good to converse. Getting into the habit of talking out loud even when all you can say is ‘my name is Cathy, i like pizza’ is a good idea. We are all embarrassed about sounding like idiots and we all just need to get over it. And also to remember that people are generally kind and encouraging.  If you are in London and someone with a strong French accent asks you for directions you don’t think ‘what an idiot’. Well if you do you need to take a long hard look at yourself.

Watching films in the language you’re learning is a good idea. I used to watch a whole film then watch it again with the subtitles on to see how much i’d understood the gist even when the words had passed me by. There’s a lot about learning a language which isn’t about vocabulary lists. Watching TV is sometimes helpful but don’t be put off Italy by what’s on TV. News is quite good for two reasons – there tend to be pictures to help you with the words and there is a teensy bit lower prevalence of bikinis. There are also some great books you can get hold of with tapes/dvds attached; i’m sure there are digitial equivalents too now. You listen to a story then have the words there to help you. The better ones will then ask you comprehension questions which you can attack neat, having only just listened, or with the help of the written word when you’re setting out. But ‘getting your ear in’ and listening to as many voices as you can early on will really help you as in the real world no-one speaks as generously as your teacher. There are loads of free language exchanges that you can organise through social networks and sites like craigslist and gumtree. Its a simple arrangement – you want to learn Italian, they want to learn English so you meet up and do an hour of each. Its worth spending a bit of time finding someone you actually like and have something in common with as it turns to make the chat flow more freely.