At 80, Croatian Producer Drago Malić Wins Gold at 2026 NYIOOC

Drago Malić, an 80-year-old olive grower from Sukošan in sunlit Dalmatia, has won a Gold Award for Croatia at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

The news reached Malić, where he spends much of his time: in the grove, pruning shears in hand. “Persistence paid off,” said the retired mathematics and physics teacher, who has spent more than four decades working with olives on two sites near Bulić and Buković.

He said the season brought difficult conditions and roughly halved yields compared with previous years. Still, Malić adjusted quickly, moving the harvest forward to October 18 to stay ahead of the olive fruit fly and preserve quality.

“We harvested the fruit for the champion oil on October 18 and cold-pressed it the same day,” he said.

He also recalled the figures without hesitation. From 1,500 kilograms of olives, Malić said he produced 560 liters of oil—far less fruit than the previous year, when 4.5 tons yielded about 750 liters.

“I remember numbers more easily than names,” he said with a smile, adding that he still knows the phone numbers of family and friends by heart.

Malić’s award-winning olive oil is built around Oblica, the most widespread native variety in Dalmatia and a regular standout in international competitions. He blended it with Krvavica and Grambućela to create what he described as a balanced oil, with gentle pungency and bitterness.

A life beyond the grove

Friends say Malić is as much a collector as he is a grower. In his cellar, he keeps more than 120 different hammers, including a family heirloom known as “Čatak,” a forked Ottoman-era tool he believes could be centuries old. He is also a passionate numismatist, with coins dating back to Roman times.

The celebration, however, was firmly rooted in family. After word of the Gold Award spread, his son Ivan—an electrical engineer and the author of the “Poljoprivredne priče” blog—traveled from Zagreb to congratulate him. “It’s wonderful to see that spark in the eyes of an 80-year-old,” Ivan wrote.

Malić said congratulations also came from his wife, Zorka, and daughter, Marija, and that the messages from his five grandchildren meant the most. “Everyone in the family takes part in the harvest,” he said, noting that one grandson, Antonio, even flies in from Luxembourg to help.

For Malić, the award is a reminder that winning can come at any stage of life—when experience, timing and steady work align.

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