Artichoke and Olive Oil: The Important International Competitions

From the author’s series “Artichoke and Olive Oil” by Anna Petkova

December is the month of the final glittering touches, and the topic of international olive oil competitions fits right in. It is not the first time it has excited Bacchus: 2 years ago I contributed to a piece on “the best”, and today I will continue the story with a few more enriching details. We will make a Sofia-Tokyo connection, stopping in Rome, Paris, at Lake Garda and in Germany, with a short overview of five international olive oil stages on which producers who inspire respect and admiration make their mark.

Like many other categories, the olive oil category also celebrates the new harvest every year. It is remarkable how over time its quality overall keeps getting better and how the list of producers dedicated to high standards keeps growing. And when a producer is recognized in ten competitions in a row over the years, that speaks clearly of their commitment to creating a distinctive product. I am happy to know many such producers.

The “buzz” around the olive oil category, and high-quality olive oil in particular, over the last decade has definitely worked in favor of more informed choices by consumers, retailers, restaurateurs and chefs. The contribution of the competitions, besides to the producers, is also to the general public as a whole: it is a kind of revenge for the extra virgin category after its well-known discrediting by scandals in the past, linked to the adulteration of extra virgin with the addition of other vegetable oils or refined olive oils.

It is generally accepted in competitions that each product's entry carries a regulated entry fee, labeling must comply with local legislation, the oil must have a minimum production quantity and be sold on the country's retail market (not made only for the competition), samples are coded so that the judging is “blind”, the panel of judges must be qualified experts, and the scoring follows IOC (International Olive Council) standards, and so on.

Prizes are usually awarded in categories according to variety (monovarietal or blended), according to the fruitiness characteristic (delicate, medium or intense), according to the type of farming (conventional or organic), as well as by the status of the region (PDO – Protected Designation of Origin, or PGI – Protected Geographical Indication), with silver or gold distinctions. The producer chooses whether to take part, according to their commercial goals and the geography in which they operate. That is why in some competitions the participants and winners are predominantly from particular countries.

Today I chose to tell you about 5 judging organizations: the guide Flos Olei, the ranking World's Best Olive Oils (World's Best Olive Oils) and three international competitions – Olive Japan, Leone D'oro International Competition and Olio Nuovo Days. The reason I chose precisely these is that they are prestigious and inspire respect with their dedication to high quality and their focus on gourmet culture. And with their educational programs (masterclasses, certification of sommeliers and tasters, work with schools and producers) they work purposefully to raise the culture of olive oil and food and to promote the category and its merits.

Flos Olei - a guide to the world of extra virgin olive oil

It translates as “A Guide to the World of Extra Virgin Olive Oil” and has been published since 2010 by its founder Marco Oreggia (journalist, wine critic and sommelier, expert olive oil taster) and Laura Marinelli (journalist, olive oil taster, editor). It includes the 500 best olive oils from five continents, with countries such as Uruguay, South Africa, New Zealand and Bosnia and Herzegovina finding a place in it.

Two main rankings stand out. The first is the “Hall of Fame”, with eight farms whose remarkable olive oil is rated 100/100 points. The second group of awards is “The Best”, with twenty farms honored, among them “Green Farm” and “Best Extraction System”, emphasizing the importance of improving technologies.

There are also special awards, among them “Restaurant of the Year”. The latest winner is The Samuel, Denmark with one Michelin star, where it matters that the restaurant and its head chef, in this case Jonathan Berntsen, are well versed in distinctive extra virgin olive oils and use them skillfully in their kitchens.

World's Best Olive Oils

Translated as “World's Best Olive Oils”, founded by the German Heiko Schmidt (a certified olive oil taster) and often cited in the media. Each year the ranking honors the top 50 olive oils and the top 25 olive oil mills, mainly from the European Mediterranean. What is interesting here is that the results of seven international competitions with the strictest participation rules are accumulated. Included are Evoleum (Córdoba, Spain), Expoliva (Jaén, Spain), the Mario Solinas Award (of the IOC / International Olive Council), OviBeja (Beja, Portugal), Leone D'oro International Competition (Garda, Italy), Olive D'or (Montreal, Canada), Sol D'Oro (Verona, Italy).

Leone D'oro International Competition

The competition is the successor of the first olive oil competition, from 1987, Leone D'Oro dei Mastri Oleari, which started in Italy. It is particularly strict with the number of gold medals (golden lion cubs): only one for each of the 11 categories, among them the more exclusive “Best Packaging in the World”, “Southern Hemisphere” and “Small Producers from Italy”. Leone D'oro greatly supports small producers and the preservation of biodiversity, and encourages the improvement of products from year to year. Since 2022 a “Best Miller” award has been introduced, to emphasize this very important role in the process of crafting an excellent olive oil.

The organizer of the competition and leader of a regional tasting panel, Maria Paola Gabusi (a photographer of extreme sports by profession and my mentor), admits to the competition only 350 olive oils and products scoring above 85/100 points (Selezione Leone). The nominations for the final in each category (Gran Menzione) go to seven olive oils with over 93/100 points, and only one is the Leone D'oro winner in each category. There are also stickers for the packaging of the winning olive oils, so that they are recognizable to consumers around the world. If you find such an olive oil, take it: great pleasure awaits you.

Olive Japan

The competition is held every year in Tokyo and has attracted participants from all over the world (over 800 products and 20 countries in 2021) for more than a decade. Let me open a parenthesis to say that Japan is among the world's olive oil producers. Olive plantations are grown in Kagawa Prefecture and on Shodoshima island, with a distinctly Mediterranean climate.

The organizer and founder Toshiya Tada (also the creator of the Japan Olive Oil Sommelier Association, which has trained nearly 3000 sommeliers, of whom 60 are master sommeliers) shared with me that he himself is not a fan of competitions, because there are so many good and distinctive products that deserve a prize. He takes it as a personal mission to popularize the taste of quality olive oil among Japanese consumers, outraged that years ago more than 80% of the products on the market in Japan were defective (rancid or with the mold defect). That is exactly why Olive Japan is a six-day celebration of olive oil with an exclusive olive oil bar where visitors can try the winners of the competition.

In 2021 the awards were ten Premier (five remarkable products each from Italy and Spain), 343 gold and 310 silver.

Olio Nuovo Days

We finish with a more unconventional competition in Paris, whose organizer Emmanuelle Deschelette describes it as a cultural movement for the development of the highest-quality olive oil. A PR expert in the world of fashion and design and an olive oil sommelier, she draws to the initiative a community of children, prestigious chefs, writers, olive oil experts, journalists, musicians, designers and public figures. There are three main sub-competitions: “Chefs and Sommeliers”, “Children's Choice” and “Design”, and the curious thing is that among the jury are Eric Briffard (Le Cordon Bleu, restaurant Le Cinq and Hotel George V), Julien Dumas (restaurant Lucas Carton) and Fadi Kattan (Fawda restaurant in Palestine). This diversity is yet another confirmation that the world of olive oil is colorful and contagious.

Like wine, olive oil competitions are by now an established worldwide tradition and take place not only in the producing countries but also in places such as Dubai and Copenhagen. This is one more confirmation of how traditional products, an emblem of Mediterranean values, are finding ever wider acceptance and a place in people's homes around the world. And a kind of bridge between tradition and innovative approaches, for more multilayered flavor experiences and for more natural health.