We invite you and your taste buds to join the UC Davis Olive Center, the UC Davis Good Life Garden, Department of Food Science and Technology and the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (RMI) for an afternoon of sensory evaluation.  Tantalize your tongue with a tour of extra virgin olive oils, nibble on some chocolate and go cuckoo for cacao, or get organoleptic with organics.  Admission is free, but limited to 70 participants for each session.  Tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis at the UC Davis Olive Center tasting booth outside Freeborn Hall, and at the RMI Sensory Building.  All tasting classes will take place in the Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theatre, located directly inside the RMI Sensory Building.  Come early to get you tasting tickets, and stick around to stroll through the Good Life Garden and visit the beautiful new facilities housing the UC Davis Olive Center, Department of Food Science and Technology, and Department of Viticulture and Enology. 

Tasting Schedule

• 11am            Olive Oil Tasting
  This 30-minute class will provide participants with an introduction to sensory evaluation of olive oil.  UC Davis Olive Center staff will demonstrate the proper technique to taste olive oil, as well identify and describe some of the positive and negative attributes of the product.  This class will feature three oils to taste and explore.
  - UC Davis Olive Center Staff

• 12pm            Chocolate Tasting
  This tasting will highlight the history of chocolate, looking at the domestication of the cacao tree to the product’s early use during the colonial times, the California Gold Rush and its contemporary usage today.  The lecture will most importantly include a tasting of 4 diverse styles of chocolate.
  - Dr. Louis Grivetti, Professor Emeritus, Nutritionist in Agricultural Experiment Station
  - Dr. Howard Shapiro, Global Director Plant Science and External Research MARS, INCORPORATED

• 1pm              Organic Produce Tasting
  Sal Genito of the UC Davis Good Life Garden will lead participants through an organic versus conventional taste test challenge, using fresh local produce.  Can you tell the difference?
  - Sal Genito, Director Buildings and Grounds, UC Davis Good Life Garden

• 2pm              Chocolate Tasting
  “Second verse, same as the first” --- Just in case you missed the first session, we are offering an additional opportunity to learn about the history of chocolate, and to taste a variety of chocolaty treats.
  - Dr. Louis Grivetti, Professor Emeritus, Nutritionist in Agricultural Experiment Station
  - Dr. Howard Shapiro, Global Director Plant Science and External Research MARS, INCORPORATED

• The UC Davis Olive Center will also be offering tastings of their new line of Sicilian-style table olives on Picnic Day at the entrance to the UC Davis Bookstore and under the olive trees at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.