My name is Sarah Wolferstan, and I am the English half of Alivu. At a culinary retreat I heard the phrase liquid landscape to describe a wine. The speaker was referring to wine's terroir - the special quality of a food or drink that makes it unique. 

 

When we eat olive oil we are tasting a particular cultivar - or a blend of several. We are also tasting a liquid landscape: the soil, the air, the sun, the plants that surround that tree. Terroir encompasses the work that has gone into making the oil; the journey it's made from field to plate over several seasons, but also the thousands of years' worth of farmers' decisions that have made olive trees what they are today. 

 

I am fascinated by the long-term view of food-making traditions, and the social and economic context of farming, as well as its ethics. One of the UK's highest qualified tasters - I completed my Level 1 Certified Taster course in 2015, and the advance course with ONAOO (the oldest and most famous professional school for training professional tasters in the world) in 2025 - I am a member of London's International Olive Oil Competition jury. 

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Please get in touch if you would like advice on which oil to have in your restaurant, or would like me to run a tasting event for your staff or clients, or even give a talk on the archaeology of the olive tree and the history of olive oil.

Photo: Ash Naylor Photography