Of the delightful shops that line San Anselmo’s charming downtown strip, family-owned Amphora Nueva stands out for its specialty: a dazzling selection of on-tap olive oils and balsamic vinegars.
The shop’s shelves gleam with bottles ready to be filled, inviting visitors to explore flavors that range from bright and peppery to smooth, fruity and mouthwateringly complex. In Spanish, “Amphora Nueva” literally means “new amphora,” combining the name of the ancient vessel for storing oil with the Spanish word “nueva” for “new.” And though olive oil is a staple in local cooking, customers will undoubtedly always discover something new at the shop.
In the culinary world, good olive oil and vinegar are nothing short of liquid gold. The depth of flavor they bring can transform even the simplest meal, turning a humble seasonal, late summer tomato salad or loaf of crusty bread into a truly memorable experience.
Learning to appreciate the nuances, whether it’s the grassy bite of an excellent extra virgin olive oil or the syrupy richness of a barrel-aged balsamic, is enough to turn any person into a foodie convert. After all, the experience of delving into olive oil and vinegar can quite honestly feel akin to entering the world of fine wines or oysters, where subtle differences open up whole new dimensions of taste.
Considering the delicious complexities hidden in olive oil and vinegar, the best way to begin discovering their nuances is in person at specialty shops like Amphora Nueva. Online descriptions and feature articles don’t taste like anything. But sampling the products side by side, guided by staff who know the origins, pressing methods and flavor profiles, brings the whole world of olive oil and vinegar to life.
With each pour, customers are invited to let their taste buds travel, tracing the dynamic twists and turns of oils that range from grassy and herbaceous to bold and peppery, or vinegars that slide from tart brightness to deep, velvety sweetness.
Stepping into Amphora Nueva feels like entering an adult gourmand’s version of a candy shop. Instead of gumdrops and lollipops, the walls are lined with treasures that spark both curiosity and culinary imagination. Rows of artisan pastas, hand-crafted sauces, risotto kits, dried mushrooms and tins of anchovies lure the eye before one even reaches the star attractions. The store’s atmosphere is warm and inviting, with the quiet hum of discovery as customers wander from shelf to shelf, often pausing to swap tasting notes or recommendations with one another.
At the center of the room lies the heart of Amphora Nueva: the olive oils themselves. Sleek steel containers, designed to preserve the freshness of the olive oils, line the tables. Each container is filled with an oil sourced from locations all around the world. Customers are encouraged to taste at their leisure, comparing varieties, savoring the subtle distinctions and often returning for “just one more sample.”
The rotating selection at Amphora Nueva means there is always something new to explore, whether it’s a robust harvest from Spain, a delicate floral oil from California, or a citrus or herb-infused specialty blend. The sampling ritual is part indulgence, part education and wholly celebratory of the art of good food.
When it comes to choosing a truly good olive oil, freshness is everything. Unlike wine, olive oil doesn’t improve with age; in fact, it begins to lose its vibrancy the moment it is pressed. Knowing the harvest date is essential, since oils are at their peak when they’re fresh and brimming with the bold, rolling notes that signal quality.
Specialty shops like Amphora Nueva make this transparent, labeling each oil by region and harvest so customers can taste the difference between a just-pressed bottle and one that’s past its prime. That kind of knowledge transforms shopping from guesswork into a deliciously informed choice. Plus, after sampling and selecting the olive oil one wants, the product they take home is poured straight from the tap they just sampled and bottled on the spot. What customers taste is, quite literally, what customers get.
Some examples of Amphora Nueva’s stock include Chilean Frantoio, Chilean Picual and Chilean Arbequina, all harvested in May of 2025; Tunisian Chetoui and Spanish Hojiblanca, harvested in November of 2024; Peruvian Coratina, harvested in April of 2025; Peruvian Barnea, harvested in March of 2025; and, of course, the Amphora House Blend is available as well.
Since olive oil is best consumed fresh, adding a visit to Amphora Nueva as part of the household’s regular grocery routine is the way to go. That way, there’s always a reason to taste more delicious olive oils, choose the best, bring it home, use it often and simply enjoy the dynamic flavors while they’re fresh. Then, one may do it all over again when the bottle dwindles down enough to warrant another, and another, and maybe just another after that…
But wait—there’s more. A whole lot more in the form of Amphora Nueva’s other specialty: aged balsamic vinegars, naturally. These vinegars are downright exciting, and the store has a special trick up its sleeve when it comes to getting its customers to voluntarily taste a vinegar sample. Unlikely though it may sound, the vinegar tasting at Amphora Nueva has hacked the system and can now draw more fly-bys with vinegar than they could with honey.
The trick is simple: Combine high-quality sparkling water with any one of the syrupy sweet, barrel-aged balsamic vinegars that line the walls and enjoy. The result? A taste so much like the best, most light and refreshing soda one can remember tasting. Bubbles combine and burst across the palate with fruit-forward freshness, subtly underscored by the rich aged quality, all of which alchemizes into an intoxicating non-alcoholic Champagne experience. Flavors of these vinegars (aka alchemical non-alcoholic cocktail magic) include varieties like Cascadian Wild Raspberry White Balsamic, Elderflower White Balsamic and many, many more.
Descriptions of food are an excellent way to intrigue the senses. But one can only truly know a flavor once it has crossed the threshold of their own mouth. Language, no matter how vivid, ultimately falls flat when compared to the simple pleasure of taste. A silky olive oil or a tart, aged balsamic reveals its character not through adjectives on a page, but through the way it coats the palate, lingers and leaves its imprint. Sampling in person allows ingredients to speak for themselves, translating across the tongue in a way words never will.
And that is precisely the joy of stepping into a shop like Amphora Nueva, where tasting is not only encouraged but celebrated. Luckily, one doesn’t have to travel far to experience this—not when Marin’s own Amphora Nueva offers locals a chance to taste, learn and bring home flavors that can transform everyday cooking into something truly special.
Amphora Nueva is located at 429 San Anselmo Ave., San Anselmo. Visit amphoranueva.com/marin for more information.
