The Twentyman family have Oceanview Estate olive grove north of the Bay of Islands in the far north of the New Zealand North Island. Alex first participated in the Savantes programme in 2010, where he undertook the ‘Testing Your Skills as a Taster’ taste and knowledge tests. Returning to the Melbourne programme in July 2012 he achieved the 60% mark required for Associate Savante status. Alex is the second participant to achieve this status which was introduced in 2009.
In congratulating Alex Twentyman on his achievement, founder and organiser of Savantes, Simon Field said, ‘Alex’s achievement is testament to his determination to improve his tasting skill as well as his knowledge of styles of extra virgin olive produced all over the world. We congratulate him and look forward to his achieving full Savantes status in the near future. We have no doubt the Twentyman Oceanview Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil will benefit commercially from his tasting and blending skill.’