A Review of the Cork & Olive Store

Cork & Olive is a franchise based out of Tampa, Florida. In the Greater Orlando area in the city of Ocoee, we had our first opportunity to experience a store opening. Another Cork & Olive will open in Winter Garden, Florida, in February 2008. If you want a touch of Old World spices and enticing exotic olive oils from places like Tunisia or Morocco combined with wonderful and reasonably priced wines then you must search out for a Cork & Olive store.

Cork & Olive allow you to test out their wines and olive oils along with the dipping seasonings. These delectable seasonings can also be used in some of your own home made meals or soups. They have unique sea salts that are sprinkled on the meal to give you that "Martha Stewart" flare. There are other types of flavored sea salts which are harvested from the Mediterranean Sea. These exotic salts have high nutrients and minerals and add a unique style to your meal. All these salts are sprinkled at the end of the finished dish.

There were two spices I bought that I am in love with. One is called the Mediterranean Marsala. This spice is a combination of garlic, lemon peel, oregano, kosher salt, and some other secret spices I just can't figure out how to duplicate. You add a few shakes to olive oil, and you create delicious dipping oil. However, I took some olive oil with this spice and poured it on cooked broccoli along with a squeeze of lemon and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This provided me a new flavor to the way I normally make my broccoli. The other spice I bought is called Salish which is a natural sea salt that has a smokey flavor. So I don't have to even start my grill up to get a smokey flavor because I can sprinkle on Salish to my meat or vegetables.

I also bought the Tunisia olive oil. This olive oil is an extra virgin, with less olive taste to the oil. It almost gave a buttery taste which complimented the dipping Mediterranean Marsala seasoning that I used.

The wine consultants at Cork & Olive will share the stories of their wines which are from all over the world including some domestics. What I like about the wines are that even if you get home after tasting them, if you don't like it or change your mind, you can return it. How many wine stores allow you that privilege?

Because you are able to taste their olive oils, it offers you the luxury of knowing if the one you choose will be too much of an olive taste or more of a buttery taste. You are able to get refills at a less expensive cost if you bring back their bottles. They are definitely comparable to the grocery stores and less expensive than gourmet stores.

Along, with buying wines, unique olive oils, and spices, you can buy beautiful stemware and wine decanters. You may customize a dinner gift or any gift for that matter because they have individually gift baskets, wine crates, or Jute bags with all the accessories to make your gift stand out.

If you buy 6 bottles of wine, you are given a 15% discount. You can get on their preferred customer list which entitles you to accumulate points for Cork and Olive purchase.

They will give you a cork and wine party for your home or corporate office.

They will make free deliveries if buy a case or more if you live within a 15 mile radius of a store. You are even allowed to mix the variety of wines.

If you are in luck to live near a Cork & Olive, I would suggest for you to stop in and take the taste test. You will not be disappointed.