Australian International Olive Awards set new quality benchmark

On Tuesday night the Australian olive industry celebrated at the Australian International Olive Awards Presentation Dinner. The coveted Best EVOO of Show Award went to New South Wales producer Rylestone Olive Press & Bentivoglio Olives for its Cudgegong II Frantoio, which also took Best EVOO – Southern Hemisphere, Champion Varietal – Italian and Best EVOO – NSW, while Best EVOO – Northern Hemisphere went to China’s Longnan Xiangyu Olives Development Co. Ltd’s Picholine. Best Table Olive of Show was awarded to South Australian producer The Australian Olive Company Pty Ltd, along with the Best Southern Hemisphere Table Olives and Champion Table Olives (Wild) awards.

The inaugural international competition saw medals awarded to 87% of the 222 oils – 49 gold, 85 silver and 60 bronze. Chief Steward Trudie Michels said it was a fantastic result for the industry, particularly in what had been a late and difficult harvest for many producers.

“ Significantly, the average score this year was a high silver, which is substantially higher than the previous national competition benchmark of a bronze. It’s proof that the Australian industry is continually lifting its game and striving for excellence, and also great reward for all those efforts.

“Congratulations to all the winners. Enjoy your success and the rest of the year, and we’ll look forward to sharing news about the 2nd Australian International Olive Awards early in 2018.”