Figure 1. Boutique du Moulin Callas (83)

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Photo by Julie Deramond, 2024

1French olive growing is characterized by a niche market, with production generated by small producers and amateurs on small plots of land. France produces 5,000 tonnes of olive oil, of which 2,000 tonnes are self-consumed and 3,000 tonnes marketed (France Olive). Of these 3,000 tonnes, 80% are sold directly. It is very difficult (and therefore rare) to find French olive oil in supermarkets. To buy French olive oil, consumers are obliged to go to the estate or to direct or local sales outlets: mainly local grocery stores or markets.

2Shops are set up on estates, in mills or next to museums are therefore important places both for French gastronomy and for olive tourism, since they enable tourists from near and far to discover “local” olive oil.

Figure 2. Brémond aromatised oils, in the shop of the L'olivier ecomusée in Volx

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Photo by Julie Deramond, 2023

3These shops are also often places where other products can be discovered, offering tourists from local and foreign markets the chance to discover a range of traditional olive-related items that are not necessarily produced locally. For example, the stores of Provencal producers and processors feature scourtins from the Scourtinerie in Nyons, broken olives from Nyons (PDO) and olive brandies (Manguin in Avignon, La Royère in Oppède), olivettes in chocolate and other gourmet products, olive trees pruned short for the balcony, as well as Marseille soaps traditionally containing 72% olive oil and chips for laundry detergent from Marius Fabre, not to mention tablecloths and tableware... These products are regularly combined with other emblematic items, such as lavender boxes, cicadas and postcards evocative of a dreamy Southern France. In this way, they meet tourist demand for products that are 100% made in Provence (even if they are sometimes made in China).

Figure 3. Le comptoir des Vieux Moulins shop, next to the old mill to be visited, Nyons.

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Photo by Julie Deramond, 2022.

4Not only is the boutique a sales outlet, it's also a place for cultural discovery and the transmission of knowledge. In many cases, the boutique is located directly at the entrance to the farm (olive grove), mill or company museum. Depending on the situation, it may host film screenings, a tasting area, an opportunity to watch the mill being pressed in autumn/winter, or be the entry point for a guided tour. This is often an opportunity for a first introduction to the tasting of olive oil, which can be single-variety or blended, such as “fruity green” with aromas of fresh grass, artichoke or green tomato, “fruity ripe” with aromas of almond and hazelnut, or “fruity black” with notes of cocoa and mushroom, obtained after fermentation.

Figure 4. Tasting area in the Cornille mill shop, Maussane les Alpilles (13)

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Photo by Julie Deramond, 2022

5In addition to its commercial function, the shop often has a cultural or even heritage role. The store provides a better understanding of the product and the techniques and know-how associated with it. Black-and-white photographs are sometimes used in conjunction with tasting sessions, to illustrate the gestures and traditions of the past. Most of the time, it's about discovering intangible heritage, but machines and tools can also be presented in a commercial setting. Here, in the store at the Moulin de Callas, it's the place to preserve a heritage left behind by modernity, as evidenced by this millstone, which serves as a display stand for Provençal-pattern tea towels (Moulin de Callas, 83).

Figure 5. Millstone from the Moulin de Callas (83) oil mill

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Photo by Julie Deramond, 2024

6More than anywhere else in Europe (at least in Greece, Portugal and Croatia), the producer's store is an intermediary space, both commercial and cultural, a real gateway to a production site, its values and the quality of its products. The opportunity to talk to one of the members of the farm or mill, and to taste the olive oil or olives on the spot, helps to counter the preconceived notions conveyed by mass distribution and the lack of knowledge of production conditions (for example: olive oil always tastes the same, there are different varieties of green and black olives...). These stores are important places for discovering olive products, and are therefore, in a way, France's leading olive tourism sites.