Editor’s Note: This story has been revised from a previously published version to correctly reflect the name of the shop, Season to Taste. Business Report regrets the error.
Olive oil tasting rooms have been popular in Europe for decades, and the trend has been growing in this country for years. Now, a local couple is bringing the concept to Baton Rouge. Ginger and Chris Musso are opening Season to Taste in September in the Highland Center shopping center at 17650 Highland Road.
The 1,000-square-foot shop will feature more than 50 infused olive oils and aged, balsamic vinegars from around the world. Patrons will sample the various products from large stainless steel bins called fustis, and any product they choose to purchase will be bottled on the spot.
“I know the market here is ready for this,” Ginger Musso says. “Everyone here loves to go out to eat. They love new recipes, and they are more health conscious.”
Season to Taste will be the first of its kind in Baton Rouge, though St. Tammany Parish has a couple of tasting rooms and New Orleans has one. Musso says local caterers and chefs she knows in Baton Rouge drive to Covington to procure their favorite infused olive oils and vinegars, so she is confident demand for the product exists here.
The Mussos first became aware of olive oil tasting rooms when their daughter and son-in-law were living in Europe. They began researching the concept and found out there are many around the U.S., but very few in this area. Over the past two years they have visited dozens of tasting rooms and decided earlier this year to open one here. All of their products will come through a single supplier—California-based Veronica Foods—which procures the oils and vinegars from all over the world.
“We did a lot of research and decided this is who we wanted,” Musso says. “We like her approach. She is tried and true, and her products are the best.”
—Stephanie Riegel
