South Africa eyes global market for luxury olive oil

South Africa is famous for its wines but not necessarily for olive oil, where Greece, Italy and Spain are the undisputed kings. But the country's farmers are undeterred, eyeing a potential share of the lucrative market for top-quality extra virgin oils. At Tokara, a farm about an hour's drive from Cape Town, workers pull rakes through branches to make the ripening olives tumble to the ground. Harvesting the green treasure is under full swing in this popular wine region at the southern tip of Africa, where the landscape is reminiscent of Tuscany. "Can you smell" the aroma, asks Gert van Dyk, 49, the farm's operations manager, holding a glass of freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil that clinched an award in the United States earlier this year. "You can taste the nice bitterness at the back of the throat. Then the pepperiness comes through and the back of the throat is burning nicely," he says rolling the light green liquid over his tongue like a wine master. The estate originally ...