After a week of blind tastings, a panel of 13 international judges from Italy, Chile, Greece, Slovenia and Spain proclaimed the winners of the 12th edition of Sol d’Oro. The annual extra virgin olive oil contest is organized by Veronafiere as a “preview” to the Sol&Agrifood event, to be held in Verona during the Vinitaly fair from the 6th to the 9th of April.
There were 250 contending oils from ten different countries: Italy, Chile, Uruguay, Lebanon, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey and Greece.
The extra virgin olive oils were divided in five categories: Light Fruity, Medium Fruity, Intense Fruity, Monocultivar and Organic. For every category a gold, a silver and a bronze medal were bestowed — thus counting 15 medals overall — while many Gran Menzioni (honorable mentions) were also appointed. This year, Italy won ten medals (4 bronze, 3 silver and 3 gold) while the other five went to Spain.
Among the other countries, Turkey, Slovenia, Chile and Croatia deserved a Gran Menzione beside other Italian and Spanish companies.
The winning producers will receive a quality label to display on their bottles. They will also have the chance to meet international buyers during the “walk-around tasting” scheduled at the Sol&Agrifood, while their oils will be offered to the fair’s visitors at the Bio Goloso restaurant hosted inside the pavilion.
During the award ceremony of the 8th of April, the Chilean Ambassador in Italy and the Chairman of the Panel Cata Chile Association will attend the launch of the first edition of the Sol d’Oro South Hemisphere in Chile. From this year on, a detached edition of the competition will be dedicated to the “New World,” where the harvesting season alternates with the northern one.
“Once again, this year’s edition of Sol d’Oro confirmed the extraordinary quality of the oils joining the contest. These were presented by companies coming from all the producing areas of the world, which can find in the Sol&Agrifood a unique international stage to communicate and promote themselves,” said Damiano Berzacola, vicarial vice president of Veronafiere, “Starting from September, 2014 we will also launch Sol d’Oro South Hemisphere to fulfill the needs of the producers from that part of the globe. We will start from Chile, and then go on every year with a major oil-producing country such as New Zealand or Argentina. This initiative thus adds a new and important step to the internationalization process of the fairs organized by Veronafiere.”
This is the list of the Sol D’Oro 2014 medals. For the complete list of winners and mentions visit the event website.
Sol d’Oro (Golden) Explotacion Jame s.l. di Villargordo (Jaen) — Spain
Sol d’Argento (Silver) S.C.A. Del Campo San Juan, Jean – Spain
Sol di Bronzo (Bronze) Agricola Tommaso Masciantonio, Casoli (Chieti) — Italy
Medium Fruity Category
Sol d’Oro (Golden) Romano Vincenzo & C. snc, Bronte (Catania) — Italy
Sol d’Argento (Silver) Agraria Riva del Garda, Riva del Garda (Trento) – Italy
Sol di Bronzo (Bronze), Cetrone Alfredo, Sonnino (Latina) — Italy
Intense Fruity Category
Sol d’Oro (Golden) Fattoria Nittardi, Castellina in Chianti (Siena) — Italy
Sol d’Argento (Silver) Muela-Oliva s.l., Priego de Cordoba — Spain
Sol di Bronzo (Bronze) Galgon 99 s.l., Villanueva de la Reina (Jean) – Spain
Organic Oil Category
Sol d’Oro (Golden) Finca La Reja s.l., Bobadilla (Malaga) — Spain
Sol d’Argento (Silver) Agraria Riva del Garda, Riva del Garda (Trento) – Italy
Sol di Bronzo (Bronze) Quattrociocchi Americo, Alatri (Frosinone) – Italy
Monocultivar Oil Category
Sol d’Oro (Golden) La Quagliera, Spoltore (Pescara) — Italy
Sol d’Argento (Silver) Il Conventino di Monteciccardo (Pesaro e Urbino) — Italy
Sol di Bronzo (Bronze) Miccione di Buccheri (Siracusa) — Italy
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