Imagine drinking balsamic vinegar. Or maybe not. But add some sparking water to a white balsamic vinegar, either Strawberry Peach or other fruit mixtures, and it becomes a delicious, refreshing drink that would be perfect out on the patio on a warm summer day.
Ask Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, who sampled a Balsamic Blast (non-alcoholic) at last week’s opening of a new OLiV location at 360 York Road.
Add it to a white sangria, suggests Rick Jorgensen, and it’s even better. If you want to give it a try, there are recipes for both white and red sangria on OLiV’s website at olivniagara.com
It can also be used as “an infused flavour” in cocktails, Jorgensen says — bitters added to drinks has become a popular trend. “It elevates a cocktail to a level people don’t expect,” he says, “pulling out the natural flavour of fruit.”
People expect a drink made with balsamic vinegar to be sour, “but it isn’t. You can make it to your own taste. That’s the experience we’re trying to give here.”
Jorgensen and his wife Colleen Cone hosted an open house recently to welcome family and friends to the new OLiV production and bottling facility, which also includes office space, a retail store and tasting room, now consolidated in one place. The store front in the outdoor mall looks small, but as Cone says, anyone touring the interior for the first time is surprised at how large it is — including her, when Jorgensen said he had found the perfect location, and took her through it, all 5,200 square feet.
OLiV made its name in Niagara in 2013, and continues to with a retail store on Queen Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Until recently their premium extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegars were flavoured with all natural products and bottled in Niagara Falls. That now occurs in their new facility on York Road, and in addition to the move comes another change — Rick and Colleen are easing into retirement, having created a partnership that will take the business into the future, says Jorgensen.One of them is Matt Smith, a young man Jorgensen has known since he was six years old, and has worked at OLiV since 2016. “He’s going to be the next generation of OLiV,” and with him and Bianca Silvestri, their friends Taylor Whitty and Olivia Carovillano will also be involved.
“Colleen and I are going to be sitting back providing some mentorship,” he explained. “Our kids are out west. We moved here at a time when they were deciding what they wanted to do with their lives, and we came here to start our own new adventure.”
Travelling to spend time with their family is a key part of stepping back from the business and letting the next generation take over, says Jorgensen, and they still have a store out west, so he can check in when they go to visit.
The retail store is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for anyone who wants to stop by. To organize a tasting, including for a community group or a group of friends, contact OLiV ahead of time to book at [email protected], call 289-686-1470 or DM @olivcellar.
