NEW IN STORES
Australian olive oil makes inroads in American gourmet market
Just up from Down Under: Yellingbo Gold, an extra virgin olive oil made of olives grown in a single estate -- the Three Bridges Olive Grove in Yellingbo, Victoria, Australia.
Company owner Jeremy Meltzer was in town recently introducing the family olive oil, which is available at Times supermarkets and R. Field. He said the family got into the business 10 years ago, thanks to his father, Howard. "We left Dad alone for the weekend, and he planted 2,500 trees. He's that sort of guy."
Two years ago they had olive oil, and Jeremy began promoting it to gourmet shops, eventually getting it into the Whole Foods markets on the mainland.
The oil is available in a regular version and a limited-release unfiltered version, in 16.75-ounce bottles for $16 to $19.
Side note: The family has established the Jasmine Foundation Australia to benefit children orphaned by the southern Asian tsunami of 2004. The company donates 5 percent of all profits to the foundation, which was borne of Jeremy's work in relief camps in India and Sri Lanka. Visit www.jasminefoundation.org.