Mattapoisett couple become olive oil sommeliers
John and Kelly Zucco stand in their olive oil shop named Ripe from the Vine located in Mattapoisett. Photos by Mari Huglin
The couple sell other ingredients to cook with. 
Big containers of olive oil fill the shop. 
Tiny bottles of balsamic vinegar infused with various flavors fill the shelves. 
John and Kelly Zucco.
A cookbook stands between olive oil. 
Each sign tells shoppers details about the olive oils and balsamic vinegars they have. 
There are many different olive oils to choose from.
This sheet explains that this oil has a high polyphenol count. 
Each bottle is freshly poured and wrapped.
John and Kelly Zucco stand in their olive oil shop named Ripe from the Vine located in Mattapoisett. Photos by Mari Huglin
The couple sell other ingredients to cook with.
Big containers of olive oil fill the shop.
Tiny bottles of balsamic vinegar infused with various flavors fill the shelves.
John and Kelly Zucco.
A cookbook stands between olive oil.
Each sign tells shoppers details about the olive oils and balsamic vinegars they have.
There are many different olive oils to choose from.
This sheet explains that this oil has a high polyphenol count.
Each bottle is freshly poured and wrapped.
MATTAPOISETT — Sommeliers aren’t just for wine, but for olive oil too. Mattapoisett couple Kelly and John Zucco just received their olive oil sommelier certification after five days of testing hundreds of oils in New York.
The conference helped the Zuccos develop an ability to detect certain flavors, scents and defects in the oils.
By the end of the week, the couple could identify if an olive oil was rancid and at what point in the bottling process something went wrong to make it go rancid.
“It was pretty intense,” Kelly Zucco said. “I know on the first day we were looking at each other, like ‘I don't know about this’.”
Now the pair can officially educate others on olive oil and even judge olive oil competitions. There are only around 2,500 official olive oil sommeliers in the world.
Kelly Zucco said she wanted the certification to serve her customers as well as she can. She said she wanted to be able to ensure good quality of their product after a sample.
John Zucco agreed and said credibility was important too.
“We're both committed to helping people,” John Zucco said. “That's basically what it is— committed to helping people eat healthy, be healthy, stay healthy, and we're just committed to helping people have a better life.”
Kelly Zucco was diagnosed with late stage lyme disease in 2017, but miraculously through holistic medicine and healthy eating combined with high quality olive oil, she got better.
Inspired by her recovery and the lack of an olive oil store, Kelly asked her husband to open an olive oil store. He would run it since he had a background in sales and store management.
The couple started the business in 2020 and moved locations recently from Marion to Mattapoisett.
One of Kelly Zucco's favorite part of owning the business is helping people find new flavors or cook differently with olive oil.
She recommends baking with olive oil as a substitute for butter or canola oil having amended a family carrot cake recipe herself.
She explained multiple benefits of consuming pure olive oil since it has higher poly-phenol counts that, once consumed, act like an antioxidant in the body and reduces blood pressure and cholesterol.
She said she likes helping people find what is right for them. Kelly Zucco said she even helped one customer enjoy garlic again since they could not eat garlic, but they could enjoy the store's garlic infused olive oil.
“I think the most exciting thing for people is to help them on their health journey,” Kelly Zucco said.
