IYE: Education and Eats at We Olive & Wine Bar

Jeni, Kim and Matt hosted an intimate event for around twenty of us at We Olive In San Juan Capistrano. Upon entering we were greeted by Kim, the owner of the SJC store. Kim was warm and welcoming and with the assistance of Matt, the sommelier, taught us about wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegars and how to pair them. It was very educational with the occasional treat for us to enjoy.
We were given tokens to cash in for samples of the wines that Kim hand picked herself to sell in her shop. She chose wines from local wineries and definitely proved to have great taste in wine. I enjoyed the whites the most. Matt provided samples of a variety of olive oils and balsamics. We had basil, jalapeño, pineapple and another I can’t seem to remember. Of the olive oils the garlic stood out the most and was amazing. I could definitely see myself cooking everything with it. As we tried the oils and vinegars Matt and Kim through out some suggestions as to which dishes we might add the different oils and vinegars to to enhance their flavors.
Of the many appetizers we were presented with the mozzarella and pepper flatbread was one of my favorites. It was simple yet delicious. We also had a gruyère and duck confit flatbread that I enjoyed as well. The best appetizer of the night was the peppadews stuffed with goat cheese and served with salami. These small hors d’oeuvres packed a ton of flavor and were so good!
At the end of the evening we headed over to the different oils and vinegars that were available for sampling in barrels. Kim allowed us to try out the different options and take a sample bottle home of one of them. This selection process was difficult as they were all delicious. The blackberry balsamic was a close second but I decided to go with the white pineapple balsamic vinegar as it was nothing like I’d ever had before.
Jeni, Matt and Kim put on such a fun and educational event for us and I can’t wait to head back over to We Olive for some garlic olive oil and olive tapenade. There were so many different salts, oils, wines and vinegars to try and explore in this small shop for which I’ll definitely be back!

Thank you Jeni for inviting me to this intimate event. After finding parking close to the spot checked in at We Olive & Wine bar. We were given 5 tokens (3 red and 2 white) for the drinks. Mathew was behind the bar pouring over samples of Olive oil and vinegar to sample the dressing combinations by the time I got there next to my friend Gabby. I’m in love with the Jalapeño Olive oil and pineapple balsamic vinegar combination!
Mathew did educate us passionately about each oil on how it can be used for what kind of cooking with recipe tips out in the air. I tried to note down most of his tips on making quick simple cooking recipes. During the sampling we were served with Cheese charcuteries, stuffed peppadews (love this name =D hehe), flatbreads.
After sampling several types of Olive oil (light, medium, heavy, mineric) we guzzled down Reds and Whites.
I enjoyed Syrah, Rose (rosey), Super Tuscan, Moscato and two other. Then I moved around and tried some of the Olive oil/​balsamic vinegar samples placed on one corner of the bar.
We got to take home 2 fl. oz bottle of olive oil/​balsamic vinegar oil of our choice. Thank you Kim for this precious gift and I cannot wait to bring my friends over to enjoy at this rustic Olive and Wine bar.

I overdosed on olive oil.
My life could pretty much end as long as you gave me wine, cheese, charcuterie, olives and Luxardo cherries. The only thing we were missing was Luxardo cherries. So life did not end, even though I was 10 steps from the Mission San Juan where the good Lord and the swallows could have taken me if he wanted.
Instead, I stayed wide awake, feasting on goodies at We Olive and got schooled on olive oil, pairing olive oil with flavored balsamic vinegars and then pairing those with wines. Matthew, the sommelier, doubled up as host for the olive oils. He explained variations of olive oil, how to tell if an olive is fresh (Does it taste like pepper when it hits the back of your throat? If so then you’ve got good stuff…) and how to properly and easily mix your balsamic vinegar with your olive oil.
One of the ladies kept on bringing out flatbreads, finger foods and dips for us. I started talking to her and found out that she’s the owner. Kim was such a fan of the We Olive in Paso Robles that one day the light just clicked and she said, «I love food, wine and We Olive’s olive oil, I wonder if there’s any way they’ll let me get into this…» So birthed We Olive of San Juan Capistrano.
What’s interesting is that even though We Olive stores are franchised out, each store is set up a little differently. A store can choose to emphasize the store side of it, the food side, the wine side, or mix altogether a little. I liked how this location has the store area in the front half, while the back half is more of a tasting, hang out area, a perfect place to grab something to eat after taking a tour the of the mission across the street or just a glass of wine after work for happy hour.
I loved the Smoked Albacore dip. Their flatbreads are amazing. Each flatbread had many complex layers to it. There’s the cheese, the meat, the veggie, but on top of or inside of that, they will drizzle it with an olive oil and vinegar to match. That is what really adds an extra level to the dish. My favorite flatbread was the Duck Confit, Gruyère and Sweet Balsamic Mustard. The Stuffed Peppadew Peppers look like cherry tomatoes but are stuffed with Genoa salami and goat cheese and have a little kick to them. Their cheese and charcuterie plates have a good mix of different items along with full accoutrements… nuts, mustard, jam, honey.
If this was an IYE, I couldn’t tell the difference from this and a regular Unilocal Elite Event. Jeni C. had everything organized as well as any YEE event. Most of the people in the room (from what I could tell) really enjoyed the olive oil tutorial portion of the night the most. Wine is always good too, but to be able to learn what we can do with olive oil, that’s something we can take home and apply at our house parties.
The hardest part of the night was deciding which complimentary bottle of olive oil or balsamic vinegar I should take home. For me it came down to the olive oils… Meyer lemon? Blood Orange? Jalapeño? Nope, I went with the very rich garlic olive oil. My love for garlic comes before all else. I’m a faithful olive oil lover. Now kiss me.

What a spectacular event and my first time attending an IYE. The session was extremely informative about the different types of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We got to meet Kim, a new business owner to the We Olive franchise, and sommelier Matt, a veteran to the restaurant industry of 20 years with a depth of knowledge about olive oils and wines. They are the people behind the magic!
Sitting barside, Matt gave us some back story to olive oil. We learned about the cold press process, how to properly taste olive oils and its balsamic vinegar pairings, and how to measure freshness based on the peppery finish that lingers at the back of your throat. As we absorbed the information, we got to experience hands-​on the different flavor pairings.
Because the balsamic vinegar sinks to the bottom much like liquid to oil, you have to master the swirl. Much like wine, the technique is very similar, but the result is different. For the tasting, you place the taster cups on your palm and swirl the two elements together. The heat from your palm and the friction from the taster cup helps emulsify the pairing. Once you start to see small bubbles forming, it’s prime for tasting.
There’s even an art to tasting. You sip it and allow the flavors to roll over the tongue, similar to that of a wine tasting. The olive oil pairings were interesting and at times, seemed as if they were on the opposite side of the spectrum. We had basil infused olive oil with blackberry balsamic vinegar, jalapeño infused olive oil with pineapple white balsamic vinegar and fresh garlic olive oil with aged balsamic vinegar.
After the tastings, we were free to roam the store and indulge in wine tasting. We all received a total of five poker chips to redeem for wine, your choice of two whites and three reds from the wine list. I started with the Meritage wine blend. Extremely full-​bodied, dry, earthy, heavy on the tobacco flavor and a bit of spice at the back of the throat. It was kind of intense, so I switched to whites instead. Although not a fan of whites in general, decided to try the Chardonnay from Paso Robles per Kim’s recommendation. Unlike the chardonnays I’m used to, it was light, fruity and on the sweet side. It was great! The next one I had was the Viognier, which had a strong acidity comparable to that of a Pinot Grigio.
With two options for reds left, I used them to try the «Alias» Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. These were fruity, full-​bodied and slightly dry, which was more favorable to my palate.
As for the food tasters of the night, I didn’t act fast enough as they rushed the plates out of the kitchen, so I only got a chance to try the prosciutto/​asiago flatbread, peppers/​mozzarella flatbread, stuffed peppadews and meat/​cheese plate. Very small bites!
Overall, the event was informative and I walked away with a small sample to take home. With your choice of olive oil or balsamic vinegar to bottle, I selected the fresh garlic oil because of its versatility and my love for garlic. I can’t wait to start cookin!

Last night, we Unilocalers experienced an intimate event in a beautiful setting. It included delicious bites, handpicked California wines, and learning about olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Our hosts were gracious, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. It was great!
Though I arrived a little late (damn you insane ⁴⁰⁵⁄₅ traffic!), I was welcomed into a warm and cozy environment by the owner Kim as well as Jeni C. Matthew was already underway with olive oil and balsamic vinegar tastings. Though he was talking fairly in depth about the specifics of the oils and vinegars, he was still approachable and kept it fun and lively. The samples were unique while still being well balanced and tasty.
Meanwhile, there were lovely cheese and meat plates, hummus and veggies, and stuffed peppers in several spots to nosh on. Kim later brought out a beautiful flatbread topped with arugula and another meat. She offered me a piece and when I told her that I don’t eat meat (yup, I was probably the only vegetarian there), she kindly offered to make a vegetarian flatbread as well. Wow, what a sweetheart to be so accommodating! The veggie flatbread was as delicious as it was beautiful: roasted peppers with mozzarella, artichoke, and drizzled with lemon olive olive. Creative and scrumptious! I also enjoyed the cheese plate and all it’s complimentary components like sake mustard, honey, marcona almonds, and fig paste. The cheese plate was almost too pretty to eat. Yeah, almost. ;)
The wines complimented the food quite well. I was impressed by the variety of styles and that all the wines were from California. I particularly enjoyed the rosé and super Tuscan. I had a chance to glance at their beer list which looks nice as well.
I have been to other We Olives in the area but this one felt quite different. The space is cozy, warm, and welcoming. There are plenty of seats to relax on while sipping wine, eating tasty food, and enjoying great company. But it’s Kim and Matthew that really make this We Olive shine above everything else. Thanks to both of them for hosting us, Jeni C for organizing such a great event, and the staff at We Olive for a lovely night!

This was my first Intern Unilocal Event and without our fearless leader Ryan C., I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I see Unilocalers swinging from the ceiling? Chaos personified? The decay of civilization?
Nope. Just a well run event!
Fortunately for the better half and I, we are regulars in the Los Rios Historical District and knew exactly where We Olive & Wine Bar (
) was located. We were fashionably late (damn traffic), but check in with Nica was a breeze and Jeni greeted and gave us the rundown on the event. Next the owner Kim (or Kate) introduced herself and gave some information on We Olive & Wine Bar. The bar area (
) was where resident Sommelier Matthew was providing Unilocalers with information on the various olive oils and balsamic vinegars sold by We Olive. They also provided samples (
) of some of the most popular combinations.
With no seats available at the bar, we grabbed a table with Gabe P. and started sampling the food:
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In addition to the food, each Unilocaler was given five chips (3 red and 2 white) to sample wines from their listing. Here are the wines I sampled:
Grenache — 2011 Jaffurs, Santa Barbara Country
Sangiovese — 2011 Stolpman Vineyards Ballard Canyon, Lompoc
Moscato — 2012 «Dream Catcher» Tobin James, Paso Robles
Viognier — 2013 Lucky Dog Winery, Santa Ynez Valley
Super Tuscan Blend — 2009 Le Vigne «Cuore Della Vinga» Paso Robles
Overall, I thought the food and wine was excellent. Some of my standouts would be the Gruyère and Duck Confit Flatbread Pizza (the sweet mustard balsamic really complimented the gruyère), the Stuffed Peppadews Drizzled with Aged Balsamic (nice heat from the peppadews to go with a pleasant sweetness from the balsamic) and Super Tuscan Blend (get a glass while it last because when it is gone … it is gone forever). I believe Laina was a huge fan of Viognier as well, so much she decided to have a second glass.
If this wasn’t enough, you were able to get samples of all their oils and vinegars to determine which you liked the best, so they could offer a small bottle of your favorite to take with you. One more perk from the event, anything you purchased during the event was discounted by 10 percent. So my better half immediately targeted a large bottle of the Garlic Olive Oil.
Rohlinism: No woman can resist a good discount!
I decided I might as well take this opportunity to try something and grabbed a jar of Spiced Sour Cherry Spread (
) to complete our haul.
The only drawback was the space to Unilocaler ratio. For a good part of the evening, I had someone hovering right over me and moving around the wine bar was difficult. I think there was about 20 Unilocalers at the event and perhaps 15 would have been a better number. Did I mention the wine bar was very small? The décor is very nice and there is more for sale than just the wine, oils and vinegar.
One other small note: There was a contest for the best picture hash tagged and sent to either Twitter or Instagram. Since neither the lovely wife nor I have an account with either (and don’t want one), we were sadly excluded from any prize this evening.
With our frequent visits to the Los Rios Historical District, I can see us becoming regulars here. Thanks to Jeni for setting up this event and Kim and Matthew for being awesome hosts!

Wine! Specialty Balsamic Vinegar and Specialty Flavored Olive Oils! Amazing Appetizers! Chocked Full of Goodness Charcuteries! Scrumptious Dessert!
All of the above is what us lucky Elites got from We Olive & Wine Bar. Thank you Jeni for putting on a fantastic IYE (it was my first, I was a virgin again!). Nica, thanks for being there and helping Jeni out! Thank you to the sommelier Matt for your knowledge and your recommend of what turned out to be my favorite wine taste of the night, Viognier, with a bouquet sniff and taste of blood orange olive oil. And thank you to the owner, Kim (not Kate :) inside joke) for your hospitality and terrific knowledge and the extra 10% discount for the fabulous items we bought.
Some faves: Gruyère & Duck Confit Flatbread, Stuffed Peppadews and the Viognier wine.
Every lucky person also scored a large bottled sample of a take-​home oil or vinegar. I chose the blood orange olive oil:
Rohlin and I also bought a fab garlic olive oil, guess there will not be any kissing. We also bought a jar of spiced sour cherry spread as Rohlin love, loves, loves cherries!
I had a great time and it was nice to see fellow Unilocal friends Gabe, Sandya and Sidney and also meeting and chatting with Jamie N.
Give We Olive & Wine Bar a shot, they have a lot to offer.

The key word here is «Education» because we learned sooo much about all kinds of olive oil at this awesome event! Didn’t know I had o emulsify it before tasting it, didn’t know you can pair it with different kinds of wine and smell it before you drink. I didn’t know there are so many flavors out there (got a bottle of Habanero Olive oil to experiment with, most likely cooking eggs, since that’s pretty much my top level of cooking skills. Also got a free sample bottle of Garlic Olive Oil to experiment with, I’ll probably cook some eggs). Then I would say that the key word here is «Eats» since the food was sooo good, my favorite was my Olive Oil Lemon Cake (yeap! tasted like olive oil. lemon and cake, it was great!). But probably the key word here should be «We Olive & Wine Bar» in San Juan Capistrano because these guys are amazing! Both Kim and Mathew put their heart and soul into this and you could see their passion and knowledge going through the roof! That’s how restaurant owners should be, they have everything put together and ready, mixed stuff that complements each other and make a powerful whole entity! They only opened a few weeks ago I understand but this place looks like they had years to iron the kinks and straighten it up, that’s how their attention to detail is. Tasted a few glasses of wine but I have to come back and learn more about pairing everything. Who am I kidding, I’ll come because I liked it so much here!

Every now and again a certain Unilocal event comes along that really makes you thankful for being a Unilocaler and this was definitely one of those times. I would have to definitely say that if I had not come to this event I would have never had known that such a place existed. Gotta give some love to our girl Jeni for putting together a great Unilocal experience also to the owner Kim and the bartender Matt who were great hosts and very knowledgeable and passionate about the products they sell.
Looking forward to eating my salad for lunch, drizzled some of the peach white balsamic vinegar that I got last night!

Super super awesome Unilocal event. I had such a wonderful evening at We Olive SJC learning about olive oils, balsamic vinegars and wines, socializing with other Unilocalers and sampling everything.
I really enjoyed the idea behind this event. The night started off with an educational portion where Matt talked to us about different types of olive oils and balsamic vinegars and paired together a couple samples for us to try. He and Kim also gave examples of how each product could be used in meals which was awesome as I love to cook. My favorite from this portion was the pineapple and jalapeño oil balsamic combination — very unique and tasty!
After the sampling portion we were dismissed to sample wine, explore the retail portion of the shop, sample food items and socialize. I really enjoyed that this was a less structured event and allowed everyone to move around a participate where they felt comfortable. Wonderful event and introduction to the new We Olive in SJC.
Matt and Kim were great host — thanks for having us!

Fantastic Unilocal event! Jeni, Matt, & Kim — you all planned and hosted a wonderful evening that I thoroughly enjoyed every second of.
I learned so much during the educational portion of the event thanks to Matt and Kim! My favorite part was definitely learning to swirl and heat up the samples at the beginning as well as the kick in the back of the throat being what you use to determine freshness of the olive oil. So many fantastic combinations of balsamic vinegar & olive oil — my favorite being the jalapeño oil with pineapple vinegar with it’s spicy kick that tastes tropical at the same time.
Each Unilocaler was served beautiful plates of appetizers and charcuterie (MY FAVORITE!) and given five poker chips to turn in for samples of delicious white or red wine. Each dish had olive oil or balsamic vinegar infused into it wonderfully and also gave us Unilocalers an insight when how much it could be used for! Perfect for making a simple meal feel extravagant. Thank you to Matt for educating us on each wine we sampled, especially since I am not a huge wine person, what I was told will hopefully guide me in that direction.
Instead of sitting down at a table and only interacting with the people next to you, this event and location allowed for lots of socializing and mingling with other Unilocal attendees while browsing the rest of the store. Best part of an already amazing event.
We Olive SJC was a beautiful location to spend my Tuesday evening. Will be coming back soon for more olive oil and balsamic vinegar once I finish my Pineapple White Balsamic. Hopefully I am able to attend more events like this in the future, thanks UnilocalOC!

Moment of admittance here: the last time I was in San Juan Capistrano was in 4^th grade for our educational field trip to the Mission. I am really glad I made it here again as this event, as this event was also educational, but with the added bonus of having tasty treats and wine.
Located right across from the Mission, this tiny, quaint little shop is a great fit in old town San Juan Capistrano among the other little boutique shops. Moreover, the owner, Kim, was a very charismatic and accommodating host, and bartender Matthew was very knowledgeable both olive oils and wines. Since this event was smaller and intimate, we all got to socialize with fellow Unilocalers and have a learning session. I liked the demonstration at the beginning on different types of olive oils and how to emulsify the blends. What is interesting is the types of blends here: blackberry and basil balsamic, for one: that’s something I never seen or tasted before. I appreciated the fact that both Matt and Kim are passionate about what they do. Hey now… they make a great team… haha get it? No? Indie fans anyone?
The little appetizers were all very delicious, and all incorporate some sort of olive oil or balsamic vinegar. I could eat that hummus all day. So yummy! I also liked the poker-​chip concept to choose which wines we would like to sample from the wine menu, which had a decent variety and something for everyone.
At the end we each got to take home a mini bottle of an olive oil of our choosing. So generous! Everything here was just so great: I can’t wait to come here again to sample some more olive oils or find some unique gifts.

This small Unilocal event was so much fun! I didn’t know what to expect from the title but I became more wiser about olive oil at the end of the night. I would like to thank Jeni C. for putting this amazing event together and to the lovely host of the establishment Kim and Mathew.
Our night started out with Mathew walking us through the many kinds of olive oil pairings we were going to sample that night. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about fresh olive oil and how to use it so that was great. Each olive oil pairing was amazing. I had never tasted such flavorful olive oils before so I was completely blown away. I really learned a lot about the freshness of olive oil and how it can make a big difference in dishes.
Next came the wine tasting part which was also amazing. We each had five poker chips for five tastings of whatever we wanted off their wine lists. I really enjoyed their Super Tuscan blend that was the winner for me, but all their wines were pretty amazing such as the rose and grenache.
During the entire night the host was bringing out different types of yummy appetizers,
I really enjoyed all the flat breads they were delicious. At the end of the night we got to take a bottle of any olive oil that we liked so that was really generous of the host. It was a hard choice to make I really enjoyed all the different olive oils. I really want to come back now and buy all their olive oils!!!

Owner Kim and sommelier Matt helped Jeni put on a great Unilocal event.
Matthew preached the gospel of California-​based olive oil, serving us endless combinations of oils, flavored oils, balsamic vinegars, flavored vinegars, oh, and wine too. Did you know that local California oil is prized for its low acidity, and is now a regulated food product? Did you know that the Italian and European olive oils have been tainted with scandals over the past few years? If you’re looking for a guy who is passionate about his message, Matthew is it.
Kim is a new business owner – her franchise of We Olive in downtown San Juan Capistrano just opened – and I think she will be very successful. She worked endlessly to serve us Unilocal Elites, serving us beautiful plates of charcuterie and flatbreads (drenched in olive oil, naturally), all with a smile on her face. She was also a well of knowledge, and I really appreciated how her recommendations to me changed as the night went on and she saw how I reacted to previous tastings.
Logistically, everything was smooth. Scheduling was great. Fun crowd of fellow elites. Convenient parking, although this was probably the first Unilocal event where even taking Amtrak/​Metrolink would have been convenient.
Five stars all around, cheers!