Wharfedale connoisseurs can now sample olive oil that’s been brought from Italy directly by its producer – former Otley DJ Richard Turnbull.

Richard and his family moved from their Otley home to begin a new, farming life in Tuscany in 2002, an adventure that was captured in several television documentaries.

Now he has returned to the town for the festive season and brought a limited supply of his 2013 extra virgin olive oil, Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva, with him.

Grown in his olive farm in the Tuscan hills, the oil will be available for sampling and purchase exclusively at Korks Wine Bar in Otley – where Richard used to DJ – over the next few weeks.

Richard said: “Commercially available olive oil can sometimes contain as little as ten per cent olive oil, giving a very different taste to that of true olive oil.

“My farm has 350 trees and the oil they produce is just superb and well worth tasting.”

Normally the cost of transporting the oil back to Yorkshire would make it too expensive to sell commercially, but the fact Richard was driving home for Christmas provided a handy solution.

His oil was pressed on December 11, so could hardly be fresher, and has a dark green colour and strong, spicy taste that mellows after a few months into the more traditional golden hue and smoother flavour.

The Turnbulls’ move to rural Italy – and the many challenges they faced over the first few years – was featured in several TV shows including No Going Back, A Year in Tuscany and The Great Italian Escape.