For Tasting Tuesday on July 2nd, 2019, the Taste Winchester History Food Tour team visited Flavor Pourfection down on the Old Town Walking Mall in Winchester, Virginia; a wonderful artisan olive oil and vinegar tap room (and so much more) with regular tastings and a wealth of education, including the incredible health benefits that can be derived from top quality olive oils and vinegar.
From the website:
Flavor Pourfection is independently owned and operated by Allison and Kevin Blahut, together this married couple bring their joy of cooking,love of eating good food and passion for a healthy diet to this unique specialty store…Â Our lives changed forever while on vacation two years ago when we walked into a similar store and fell in love with the concept of tasting oil and vinegar and learning the outstanding health benefits of quality extra virgin olive oil and vinegar. After months of research and connecting with an excellent source, we opened our labor of love in August 2014.
It’s really quite the surprise to have such an amazing shop, among many, right down on the Old Town Walking Mall. The walls are lined with both craft, artisan olive oils (specialty, infused, and others), vinegars (white & dark balsamics, infused, more). And it’s not just oils and vinegars; they have specialty seasonings and rubs, honey, nuts. Better still, like so many of our wonderful small businesses down on the walking mall, whenever and wherever possible local sourcing! Did we mention daily tastings? Each day something new and fresh is paired for tasting right in the store! On this day we were able to try a specialty olive oil (Herbs De Provence) with a peach balsamic vinegar. It was delightful! The Herbs De Provence describes as having notes of savory thyme and bay leaf. “Our all-natural Herbs de Provence is a show stopper when drizzled on chicken, rubbed on turkey before roasting, for bread dipping and aioli.”  Kristie even had some bread-dipping garlic olive oil that Anthony would probably drink straight from the bottle! (More photos and our Tasting Tuesday video continue below…)
That’s right, you’re not left to fend for yourself in here. You get to try before you buy to ensure that you are getting the flavor profiles that you specifically seek. You don’t have to risk picking something up on a “hope” only to take it home and find it isn’t quite what you were expecting! Even before we went live today, we observed our gracious host, Kristie, helping patrons get just the right oils and a choice balsamic vinegar with information and background on the selections and their intended use. So you will learn whatever it is you need to know to make just the right purchase for your plans. And they also carry certified-organic extra virgin and infused olive oils.
And the more? Locally-sourced peanuts of which we were able to try the dill pickle seasoned and jalapeno seasoned varieties. What we found was great about these is that the flavors are applied in appropriate amounts. Nothing we tasted was “overpowering” in their flavor profiles; you truly get a perfect level of whatever flavor it is you’re trying.  We can’t recommend this place highly enough, and if you’re not an “expert” of sorts in the oil and vinegar realm, you’re going find a much bigger world of flavor in each as we talk about the fruit flavor infusions, there’s an espresso and a dark chocolate balsamic that, can you imagine, you can spruce up even ice cream! Vinegar on ice cream!?!? Why, yes! Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry… Watch our short video:
Link: Flavor Pourfection Artisan Olive Oil & Vinegar Tap Room
Like & Share on Facebook:Â Flavor Pourfection, LLC
17 South Loudoun Street
Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 662-7687
And if you ask about nothing else, do ask about the incredible health benefits of high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegar at Flavor Pourfection. Also from their website: “High quality EVOO is the most nutritional oil to cook with and new studies have shown that using an EVOO high in phenols (antioxidants) for cooking & baking applications leads to a significant reduction in oxidation and the inhibition of harmful byproducts over other vegetable oils or olive oils lower in phenolic (antioxidant) content! The majority of the oils we offer are high in phenolic content, high in oleic acid (the healthful MUFA) and low in FFA (free fatty acid). There is a direct correlation between FFA and smoke point! The lower the FFA, the more the oil can be heated before it reaches its smoke point.”
Important health benefits of high quality extra virgin olive oils:
- Reduced Inflammation:Â Extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) protect against inflammation, a key driver of heart disease and chronic illness.
- LDL Cholesterol:Â EVOOs protect LDL particles against oxidative damage, a key driver of heart disease.
- Improves Endothelial Function:Â EVOOs improve the function of endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels, assisting with cardiovascular health.
- Blood Clotting:Â Some studies suggest that EVOO can help prevent unwanted blood clotting, key element of heart attacks and strokes.
- Lower Blood Pressure:Â One study in patients with elevated blood pressure found that EVOO can reduce blood pressure significantly which can reduce the need for blood pressure medications by as much as 48%.
If you thought you knew all there is to know about olive oil and balsamic vinegar, we highly recommend testing yourself, come on down for a visit, and talk to the amazing staff. We think you’ll learn more, discover more, and like we did — come home with a bag full of goodies to try! They are open most days until at least 6:00 p.m.or 7:00 p.m., and while listed as closed on Mondays and Tuesday, they are experimenting with expanding to one or both of those days as well! Don’t simply walk by, stop in, introduce yourself, and see all that this sharp little place has to offer.
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