`Postira Symposium Honors Leaders of Adriatic Olive Oil Renaissance - Olive Oil Times
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Postira Symposium Honors Leaders of Adriatic Olive Oil Renaissance

By Nedjeljko Jusup
Sep. 22, 2025 18:50 UTC
Summary Summary

The International Symposium on Olive Oil of Croatia and the Adriatic Coast con­cluded with the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Awards cer­e­mony, hon­or­ing indi­vid­u­als who have advanced the olive oil sec­tor. The event, orga­nized by Curtis Cord and the Postira Tourism Board, brought together par­tic­i­pants from var­i­ous coun­tries to cel­e­brate the excel­lence of Croatian olive oil and its global poten­tial.

The three-day International Symposium on Olive Oil of Croatia and the Adriatic Coast con­cluded in Postira, Brač, with the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Awards cer­e­mony. The hon­ors were pre­sented to indi­vid­u­als whose ded­i­ca­tion, lead­er­ship, and vision have sig­nif­i­cantly advanced the high-qual­ity olive oil sec­tor.

“Our goal is to firmly posi­tion Croatian olive oil on the global map of excel­lence,” said Curtis Cord, founder of Olive Oil Times and pres­i­dent of the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition. Together with the Postira Tourism Board, led by Director Ivana Jelinčić, Cord orga­nized the land­mark event, which brought over 100 par­tic­i­pants from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and more than 15 other coun­tries.

First Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Awards

“For the first time tonight, we are pre­sent­ing the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Awards,” Cord announced. ​“These awards were cre­ated for this occa­sion and will travel with us into the future.”

Of the 12 awards, eight went to hon­orees in Croatia, two to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one each to Slovenia and Montenegro. Each recip­i­ent received a medal and a cer­tifi­cate. The first went to Tomislav Duvnjak, owner of the fam­ily groves and mill Sveti Ivan – Olive Oil Center in Vodice. Five years ago, Duvnjak encour­aged Dalmatian pro­duc­ers to sub­mit their oils to the NYIOOC, sig­nif­i­cantly rais­ing Croatia’s global pro­file.

Tomislav Duvnjak was presented with the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Award by Curtis Cord. (Photo: TZ Postira / Domagoj Blažević)

“This recog­ni­tion is not only for me and the other awardees but for all the farm­ers, experts, and sci­en­tists who have con­tributed to the devel­op­ment of olive grow­ing in our region,” Duvnjak said after receiv­ing the award from Cord.

Other hon­orees included Domagoj Živković, owner of OPG Laurenta and pres­i­dent of the Šibenik-Knin Association Ultra Extra; Ante Vulin, a renowned, multi-award-win­ning pro­ducer from Pakoštane; and jour­nal­ist and grower Nedjeljko Jusup from Zadar.

Mirela Žanetić of the Institute for Adriatic Crops in Split received the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence Award

Also rec­og­nized were food tech­nol­o­gist and IOC-cer­ti­fied panel leader Mirela Žanetić of the Institute for Adriatic Crops in Split; the Šolta Olive Association, known for its award-win­ning PDO-pro­tected oils; and the Postira Agricultural Cooperative, which has helped secure recog­ni­tion and pro­tec­tion for Brač olive oil.

From Slovenia, bio­chemist Danijel Stojković Kukulin of Terra Centuria was hon­ored for his work pro­duc­ing oils with high polyphe­nol con­tent. From Bosnia and Herzegovina, Professor Marko Ivanković, direc­tor of the Agro-Mediterranean Institute in Mostar, was rec­og­nized for revi­tal­iz­ing Herzegovinian olive grow­ing and launch­ing the ​“Golden Drops of Herzegovina” brand. The HUUM olive grow­ers’ asso­ci­a­tion also received a spe­cial award. From Montenegro, the honor went to Ćazim Alković, pres­i­dent of the Bar Olive Growers’ Society and IOC del­e­gate.

Global Voices Join in Postira

The sym­po­sium fea­tured tast­ings, guided courses, and cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­grams led by inter­na­tion­ally rec­og­nized instruc­tors. Among them was Chile’s Carola Dummer Medina.

Carola Dummer Medina led a sensory assessment lesson at the Postira Symposium. (Photo: TZ Postira / Domagoj Blažević)

“I’ve been in love with Croatian oils for years,” she said. ​“They have an authen­tic­ity and unique­ness that con­sumers are now seek­ing. This sym­po­sium is an excel­lent oppor­tu­nity for local pro­duc­ers to gain con­fi­dence and real­ize they are cre­at­ing some­thing truly spe­cial.”

Looking Ahead: ​“Ultra Virgin” Category

Discussions also focused on mar­ket­ing strate­gies, cli­mate chal­lenges, and sus­tain­abil­ity. One high­light was the announce­ment of a new cat­e­gory — ​“Ultra Virgin” — by the recently united Dalmatian asso­ci­a­tions under the Oleum Primum Dalmaticum Club. This clas­si­fi­ca­tion would estab­lish stricter stan­dards than those for extra vir­gin olive oil.

Participants also vis­ited Dol, an eco-ethno vil­lage near Postira, and toured the Postira Agricultural Cooperative, which processed 1.7 mil­lion kilo­grams of olives last sea­son and pro­duced 43 tons of oil.

A toast at the Postira Symposium of Adriatic Olive Oil Excellence (Photo: TZ Postira / Domagoj Blažević)

A Toast to Croatian Excellence

The clos­ing cer­e­mony fea­tured local cui­sine, music, and pair­ings with Brač olive oils. Raising a toast, Curtis Cord said, ​“We have never seen such a dra­matic rise in qual­ity on the world stage as we are wit­ness­ing here in Croatia. Excellence here is not just about ter­roir — it’s about the ded­i­ca­tion and hard work of tal­ented peo­ple whose efforts deserve global recog­ni­tion.”

He con­cluded with a mes­sage of grat­i­tude and hope: ​“We leave here with new friends, new energy, and a deeper appre­ci­a­tion of what makes this region so extra­or­di­nary. Safe trav­els — and until we meet again.”

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