[September 05, 2011] First Annual SJV Award-Winning Olive Oils and Vinegar Festival Sept. 10 in Modesto Tweet Sep 05, 2011 (Merced Sun-Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The First Annual San Joaquin Valley Award-Winning Olive Oils and Vinegars Festival will be held on Sept. 10 at the McHenry Mansion on the south lawn in Modesto. The McHenry Mansion is located on the corner of 15th and I streets and the event will be from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. This will be a chance for the public to meet eight olive growers and taste their award-winning olive oils and vinegars. Visitors will also learn how to cook by replacing butter and other saturated fats with olive oil, along with flavored olive oils. All products will be available for purchase, organizers said in a news release. Some of the participants include: -- Bava Family Grove of Escalon with olive oil tasting -- Bozzano Olive Ranch of Stockton with one olive oil for tasting with Kani Jahnke -- Bray Vineyards of Plymouth with one olive oil along with wine tasting with John Hoddy and Robin Bray -- California Gold Olive Oil of Oakdale with one olive oil for tasting with Kevin Tazalaar -- Coppetti Olive Oil of Modesto with one olive oil for tasting with Holley Coppetti -- Nick Sciabica and Sons of Modesto will bring six of their most popular olive oils, including basil, garlic, jalapeno for tasting, and lavender olive oil, along with cookbooks. -- Parenti Olive Oil of Valley Springs will have one olive oil for tasting with Luca and Linda Parenti. -- Sonora Gold of Sonora with one olive oil for tasting along with lavender oils and sprays from Rancho Torales with Joy and Sandy Severin -- Sparrow Lane of Ceres will have 16 domestic vinegars (from blackberry to walnut), two imported aged vinegars from Italy, and four olive oils (three will be flavored) for tasting with Tony Fillicelli -- The Olive Oil Pantry & Tasting Room of Manteca with several olive oils and vinegars for tasting with Arnie Kaufman Author Richard Calhoun will have his "California Olives, Olive Oils, and Vinegars" book available for signing, along with two other books, "Breakfast Around the World" with more than 500 breakfast recipes, "The Butterfield Messenger," an adventure ride from Missouri to California in 1858. ___ (c)2011 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) Visit the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) at www.mercedsunstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]