OLIVE OIL TASTE PANEL BEING FORMED: The UC Davis Olive Center is recruiting for an olive oil taste panel.

The director is Jean-Xavier Guinard, a professor of sensory science in the
Department of Food Science and Technology. He said olive oil producers
asked for the panel.

He described the panel's three-part mission:

• To allow olive oils to be certified as extra virgin following the official sensory evaluation criteria and procedures of the International Olive Council.

• To provide a full sensory profile of the olive oils to their producers following standard descriptive analysis practices.

• To act as a descriptive analysis panel for research projects conducted at UC Davis or collaborating institutions.

Once tasters have been recruited, screened, trained and qualified, UC Davis will seek to have the tasting panel officially certified by International Olive Council. "Our goal is to obtain this certification within a year of the inception of the panel," Guinard said.

Interested people are invited to an information meeting and initial tasting at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 4 in the Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

Training and screening sessions are scheduled for Dec. 11 and 18. "At the conclusion of this process, we will be selecting 15 to 25 members for the taste panel and up to 10 apprentices," Guinard said. "Our goal is to draw from existing olive oil taste panels in California for our initial membership and to open this opportunity up to newcomers as well through an apprenticeship program."

Guinard said the first tastings are planned in early 2010. Panel members but not apprentices will be compensated for their services, he said.

People who wish to be considered as a taste panel member or apprentice must be willing to travel to UC Davis during regular weekday work hours, and to spend as much as four hours per week participating in tasting sessions.

If you can make this commitment, contact Nicole Sturzenberger, the Olive Center's assistant director, by Dec. 1. She can be reached at (530) 754-9301 or ndsturzenberger@ucdavis.edu.

EUROPEAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS: In Italy, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is likely to be accompanied by a crisp pinot grigio. In Spain, your holiday meal of jamon, queso y chorizo is likely to be accompanied by a smooth rioja. This month's Wednesday Night Wine Flight will feature four wines that fit the season. 5-6:30 p.m. Dec. 2, Gunrock Pub (south side of the Silo). $10; no reservations needed. Co-sponsored by the pub and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Vintage Aggies Wine Club.