News from España

Our friends from the Marqués de Valdueza olive oil estate in Spain let us know that that their estate olive oil has just been named a finalist in the "Mario Solinas" Quality Award competition, organized by the International Olive Oil Council, in which the best olive oil producers from around the world participate. The oil is pressed from four olive types grown on the estate: hojiblanca, arbequina, the rare morisca and the picual. Congratulations, guys, and big ups from GoodStuff!

John Cancilla, who along with his wife, Ana, was the subject of a previous entry, sent along a photo from a lunch they attended (John is in the center) with Penelope Casas, a cookbook author renowned for her books on Spanish cuisine, and her husband (on the right). On the left is Juan, the capataz who runs the Perales estate, and next to him is the Marqués de Valdueza himself, Alonso Álvarez de Toledo y Urquijo. John suggests googling his name if you want to see what lineage is all about.

And John says that if you're planning on attending the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco from Jan. 21-23, look them up at booth 452 and taste their new harvest!