How to pick the perfect olive oil

Olive oils range in quality, flavour and texture and they're designed in different styles to serve different purposes, Cobram Estate executive director Leandro Ravetti said.

Making an olive oil is like making wine, he said.

"It all depends on the quality of the fruit."

Light style oils are sweet and subtle like a sauvignon blanc which is a good option with most seafood.

A medium-weight oil is like a pinot noir and is the best for pasta, Mr Ravetti said.

"It can be used in everyday cooking and it's not going to overpower the food."

A robust oil is equivalent to a shiraz or cabernet sauvignon or "wines with a lot of tannin and flavour".

These oils pair best with red meats or in a salad dressing for bitter leaves.

Olive oil enthusiasts should ignore terms including "cold pressed" and "first press". They're outdated marketing terms, Choice said.

"Virgin" olive oil is made using a mechanical process, typically a centrifuge, and without chemicals or hot temperatures.

"Extra Virgin" olive oil made in the same way but there are restrictions including an acidity of less than 0.8 per cent.

The method of collection, selection, quality and ripeness of the olive were the key influences on the oil's flavour, Olio Qucco olive oil maker Giacomo Ragusa said.

As well as the type of land and machinery used at the mill, he said.

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Mr Ragusa said the key to picking a good oil is knowing how to read the label.

He said an oil that's entirely produced in one country will be more delicious than an international blend.

"If an oil has 'European origin' written on the label it means that it was not produced in just one country," he said.

The supermarket is not the best place to find a great olive oil, Mr Ragusa said.

He recommends trying a deli, artisan food shop or a nearby olive oil producer - if you're lucky to live near an olive farm.

Fresh is best, he said.

Cobram Estate has 2.4 million trees planted across two farms in Victoria and they're growing a range of olive varieties from around the world.

"We have Greek varieties planted next to Italian varieties planted next to Spanish," Mr Ravetti said.

"That would never happen elsewhere in the world but we can grow whatever we want, Australia has access to a bounty of choice," he said.