|Newsletter |E-mail |Home

Newsletter, No. 1, Spring 2005 


Specialty Food News
 Mas des Barres
 Rombouts
 A l'Olivier

Place to discover
 Vallée des Baux

Recipe
 Grilled red pepper
 with olive oil

Cocktail
 Tom Thumb Juice

Did you know?
 Canola Oil


SPECIALTY FOOD NEWS >> THE MAS DES BARRES OLIVE OIL ELECTED THE BEST IN THE WORLD


The Mas des Barres Olive Oil Elected the Best in the World

Since 1992, in Maussane-les-Alpilles (Provence), the Quenin family has been investing in the quality and promotion of the region. Their extra virgin olive oil has just obtained a gold medal from the International Olive Oil Council.

The Quenin family gladly leaves boasters to others, but there are distinctions that fill one's pride that must be acknowledged.

The gold medal won at the fourth edition of the Mario Solinas prize for quality in Madrid is one of those. This prize, important because awarded by the International Olive Oil Council (90th session) and regarding the strict rules of appreciation of the jury, is the result of a 12-year work.

In 1992, the first liter of olive oil was pressed at the mill of the Mas des Barres, in Maussane-les-Alpilles.

For René Quenin it was mostly to save hundreds of tons of olives produced in the Vallée des Baux de Provence.

Relentlessly, in this mill where a carved stone indicates that it belonged to Antoine Quenin in 1720, the company has progressively increased its production with the support and the necessary help of the entire family (Christiane, Antoine, Charline, and Jean-Baptiste)…

And always with the same rule: "to produce only what we are able to sell!"

Today the mill uses about 500 metric tons of olives (picholine, grossane, verdale, béruguette, salonenque), compared to the 70 tons of yesterday, and after a careful process, offers between 80,000 and 100,000 liters to the market. The few samples sent to Madrid convinced the members of the jury.

In their quest for diverse, mild, very fruity tastes with a touch of aggressiveness, and without any fat, the Mas des Barres olive oil obtained the absolute unanimity. And was declared the best of the world in the "mildly fruity" category, ahead of an Italian and a Spanish producer.

This olive oil, vegetal-tasting to begin (with tastes of artichoke, fresh herbs), then slightly peppery, before slowly revealing the taste of the ripe fruit (walnut, almond, black olive), has made the difference among the 55 extra virgin olive oils in competition.

These were produced in Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and even by colleagues of the Vallée des Baux. The Saint-Michel mill of Mouriès, was also awarded a diploma of honor.



Shared Objectives


The International Olive Oil Council, through this annual competition, wants to encourage producers to market extra virgin olive oils with harmonious organoleptic characteristics corresponding to taste quality criteria.

The council also wants to encourage consumers to acknowledge the sensory attributes of olive oils, and to appreciate their taste and culinary qualities while informing them of their nutritious value.

The whole Vallée des Baux de Provence, and obviously the Quenin family, share these objectives.

The gold medal of the Mas des Barres allowed to put forth a particularly rich region, during the award ceremony in Madrid. "The Vallée des Baux represents a small but extremely interesting “terroir”, the quality and diversity of olive oils depend on the exposure of our olive trees, as well as on all our complementary varieties of olives!".

However, aside from promoting the “terroir” (region), this medal permits to focus on the worldwide ranking of France in the production of olive oil: 0.3% of worldwide production, with olive oil representing 5% of the French consumption. And a title of world champion, in this context: hats off!

Translated from “La Provence” July 3 2004 – Julie Zaoui


Moulin du Mas des Barres products:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Olive Jam



Back







Editor: Audrey Douglas
Contact: audrey@clippertonmarketing.com
Website: http://www.clippertonmarketing.com
Unsubscribe: please send an e-mail at info@clippertonmarketing.com



Clipperton Marketing Inc. 206-5050 Kingsway, Burnaby BC  V5H 4H2  Canada
Tel: (604) 639-3220 - Fax: (604) 648-9275 - info@clippertonmarketing.com

©2004-2010 Clipperton Marketing Inc. - All rights reserved
Website and Design: BF Technic Arts Ltd.