It's now been over two decades since I first fell in love with Alziari, the old shop in the historic center of Nice, on France’s Côte d’Azur. Their oil is exceptional and typically Niçoise — light, flowery and elegant but still full of character and charisma. I could use the same phrase to describe the tin it comes in, it's such a beautiful package that it makes one of the best gifts from our catalog; it needs no wrapping.

The oil is perfect for a traditional Salade Niçoise made with potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, Niçoise olives, basil, green beans and good tuna. Gourmet and Fine Cooking have both written about how they love Alziari; it’s been one of our most popular oils for years.

Full disclosure: this oil is not made from 100% French-grown olives. The Alziari's also source olives from Spain and Italy.

The latest harvest from fall 2008 has a very pleasant, comforting aroma of mild grass and olive. The flavor is big, with a wild ride of flavors from vanilla to green tomato to freshly baked bread. Excellent.