Balša Baletić, an olive grower in Zeta near Podgorica, earned a Silver Award at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for Oro, a blend of Oblica, Istarska bjel­ica, Leccino and Pendolino.

Modern equip­ment, renewed col­lab­o­ra­tion, and respect for ancient groves are redefin­ing olive oil pro­duc­tion in Montenegro,.

In their efforts to turn the 2,247-year-old Stara Maslina into a tourist attrac­tion, local author­i­ties have inad­ver­tently dam­aged the iconic olive tree.

Visitors and vol­un­teers tasted early har­vest oils and helped har­vest the coun­try’s old­est tree.

While a court ruled that olive grow­ers were enti­tled to some com­pen­sa­tion, the emo­tional and cul­tural pains endure.

Working together, Montenegrin pro­duc­ers hope to repli­cate neigh­bor­ing Croatia’s suc­cess at the World Olive Oil Competition.

The Old Olive Tree in south­ern Montenegro is thought to be the old­est in Europe and the third-old­est in the world.

Four Montenegrin olive har­vest­ing experts deliv­ered the small coun­try its first World Olive Picking Championship, defeat­ing two-time cham­pion Croatia. Neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina fin­ished in sec­ond place.