New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- "Understanding olive oil demands a finesse akin to that of a wine sommelier," says the server as he gently drizzles the green-gold elixir, with its fresh herby fragrance over our platters. "And an ability to read aromas, textures, and intensity," he adds.

We are seated at the alfresco La Veranda restaurant near coastal Malaga, surrounded by low hills rising inland towards the Serrania de Ronda ranges. This is Andalusia, the part of southern Spain accounting for roughly a third of global olive oil production in a good harvest year. As we sample the oil before us, we rewind a few hours to our morning in the highlands. Among the olive groves, a vast rust-red cube rises from one hillside, with a giant steel bull's horn...