Aldo holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Genoa and a Master of Science in Communication and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) with certification from Dr. Richard Bandler’s NLP Society.

He has been professionally engaged in the fields of oil and quality for two decades.

In 2023 and 2024, he was included in the official list of the 110 Panel Leaders recognized by the International Olive Council (C.O.I.). Additionally, he has served as a MASAF Panel Leader in Italy since 2023, directing the Federolio 4 Panel.

He has professional experience in the industry as a master blender and quality control specialist, having worked with leading companies in Italy and abroad, including DEOLEO/CARAPELLI, SUGAT Industries LTD group, and others.

He has been a professional taster for the ONAOO since 2000, when he was included in the Panel of the CCIAA of Imperia for the certification of PDO oils. He was awarded the prestigious first prize in the National Competition organized by ONAOO, “The Taster of the Year,” and he was subsequently awarded the absolute title again in 2021.

Since 2016, he has been the driving force behind the Monte Carlo Masters of Olive Oil International Competition (MOOOIC). He has also served as a judge and panel head in numerous national and international competitions in Italy, Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and South Africa.

Over the years, he has participated as a guest lecturer and lecturer in public, corporate, and university conferences in different countries, including Italy, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and others. In 2023, he published his first popular book, entitled “EVOO 99+1 Questions to Really Know Olive Oil.”

He provides business consulting and training services, organizing courses for individuals and companies in Italy and abroad in Italian and English.

He was born in Genoa in 1966. In 1992, he founded the company “Lorenzo Costa fu Eugenio 1860”, of which he still is the administrator. The company deals with door-to-door sales of extra-virgin olive oil and other food products. In 1996, he was granted the certificate of Professional ONAOO taster.

In 2018, Wilma finished her training at the ONAOO. She was in charge of buying Mediterranean products, including olive oil. Being Dutch, she didn’t know much about olive oil and found a school in Italy.

She loved it so much that she left her job and started working in the olive oil business. She also trained as a sommelier in New York and a master miller in Jaen. She asked the Ministry to appoint her as panel leader at the European Union. She wrote the book “Olive Oil,” which has been translated into English, French, and German.

Her book encourages olive oil lovers to meet in Imperia. O.N.A.O. is a big family! He also founded the Olive Oil Institute, which has a panel of fifteen members, most of whom were trained by O.N.A.O.O. The Institute has an electronic nose, so that testing can be done objectively. Some universities are also trying a similar method. This should improve quality overall. But the panel will always exist because human judgment is needed.

Agricultural Engineer, graduate of Ege University Faculty of Agriculture (Dairy Technology), currently engaged in olive cultivation and olive oil production.

I successfully completed the sensory training program at ONAOO and passed the official examination in Imperia, Italy, gaining formal qualification in olive oil sensory analysis in 2025. As olive growing and olive oil production are my profession, I wanted to further develop myself and gain deeper knowledge from one of the world’s leading institutions. My aim is to better understand olive oil, to express it correctly through sensory analysis, and to be able to communicate its true value with accuracy and confidence.