I just came back from a wonderful tasting at the residence of the American Ambassador in France organized by the Napa Vintners Association under the auspice of my Bordeaux friend, Marie-Claire Fauveau. Besides great wines (I'll spare you my tastings since you certainly know those wines much better than I do), I was very interested by 2 tastings, the one on Almonds from California and the other on olive oils from California.
The young lady from the Almonds tasting told me they're trying to convince consumers of all the good qualities of almonds for their health: 23 almonds a day bring you good cholesterol and help you maintain your weight. It is full of magnesium and other nutrients to keep you healthy. There are many kinds of almonds and about 95% of the almonds we consume come from California. I always thought they came from Mediterranean countries such as Marocco or Tunisia. I learned my lesson.
Very happy by this discovery since I love almonds, I moved to the olive oil section - one of my other "hobbies". A nice gentleman explained to me that California produced wonderful olive oils with specific varieties you can't find in Europe. Indeed the oil I tasted was very different from European olive oils from Italy, Spain or France. It was much smoother, with a milder taste. But very high quality!
Congrats to California: with wine, olive oil and almonds, the Californian Paradox is on its way and reaching Europe!
Cheers, Eve