The Golden Olive has launched an online marketplace for intimate food and wine experiences across Portugal, Spain and Italy, linking culinary discovery with local expertise.
The Golden Olive has launched a curated online marketplace offering private food and wine experiences in Portugal, Spain and Italy. The Lisbon-based announcement positions the platform around intimate, immersive encounters rather than conventional listings, giving food and wine lovers access to experiences selected through local knowledge. Its initial geography places three established culinary destinations at the centre of the proposition, while the marketplace model is designed to connect international customers with hosts and producers.
The platform’s offer spans private vineyard tours, hands-on cooking classes in local homes and sessions held at chefs’ studios. According to the company, experiences are handpicked by local experts, tested by its team or recommended by trusted specialists with decades of insider knowledge. That emphasis makes curation a central part of the service: the marketplace is not simply presenting activities, but describing access through people with direct familiarity with the food, wine and communities involved.
The Golden Olive also says its selection includes exclusive access to boutique producers and private experiences, alongside a focus on sustainability, community and authentic storytelling. The release presents the service as a one-stop shop for different kinds of food and wine experiences and highlights full price transparency as one of its distinguishing features. It says the marketplace is ready to receive requests, with hosts also prepared to welcome participants.
Mariana Cardoso, the company’s chief executive and co-founder, said the venture was initially conceived to open Portugal’s culinary world to international audiences before expanding its scope to other countries. The launch therefore combines a country-specific starting point with a broader regional ambition, while retaining the company’s stated focus on local artisans, small producers and sustainable practices. The available details point to a model built around direct, small-scale encounters rather than mass-market tourism.
For the food and travel sector, the announcement illustrates how digital marketplaces can package culinary discovery around access, context and personal relationships. The Golden Olive’s early footprint remains limited to Portugal, Spain and Italy, but its stated format gives hosts a route to present specialised experiences to a global audience. The company’s next phase will depend on how consistently it can maintain that local, curated character as its marketplace develops.
