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The winners of the 31st Ercole Olivario were announced earlier this month in the Sala dei Notari of the Palazzo dei Priori, a landmark of Perugia, the Umbrian capital.
Organized by the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture, the national competition dedicated to the best Italian extra virgin olive oils handed out 12 awards, half of which went to Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI)-certified producers.
Lazio, Sardinia and Sicily were the most awarded regions, with three prizes each, followed by Campania, Puglia and Tuscany, with one prize each.
See Also:World Olive Oil Competition 2023 Live UpdatesAdditionally, seven special awards were handed out to a larger group of producers who excelled in organic and monovarietal production and business areas such as packaging, digital communication, female and young entrepreneurship and oleotourism.
The special mention for the organic extra virgin olive oils went to U’ Ciuri PGI Sicily, produced by Miceli & Sensat.
“It is a great satisfaction to have achieved such recognition from as prestigious an institution as the Chamber of Commerce,” Paolo Miceli told Olive Oil Times. “We obtained this oil from the fruits of our organic Nocellara del Belice plants, which thrive in a wonderful, pristine valley near the village of Roccamena, which is home to our farm.”
A day earlier, the organizers opened the prize-giving by announcing winners of the second edition of La Goccia d’Ercole (Ercole’s Drop) dedicated to small-scale producers. Sicily and Puglia were the most rewarded regions, with two awards each, followed by Campania and Tuscany.
“Ercole Olivario is a pact that we have made with the olive oil world to enhance this extraordinary product,” said Giorgio Mencaroni, president of the Umbrian Chamber of Commerce, during the event.
He highlighted the importance assumed over time by this competition as a tool for promoting the high-quality Italian extra virgin olive oil sector and an incentive for producers to improve their production processes.
“Proof of this is that every year the judges recognize the increasingly higher quality of the entries,” he said.
The closing ceremony in Perugia was the culmination of a series of steps that started weeks before with the tasting sessions of the regional panels.
Among these is the team of professional tasters of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome, who selected the winners of the Premio Roma Evo, previously called Orii del Lazio, at its 30th edition.
The anniversary was celebrated on March 11th in the suggestive setting of the Vibia Sabina and Hadrian’s Temple of Rome, where the organizers unveiled the brands from Lazio that would participate in the national competition.
“It feels great to receive recognition of our professionalism with this award earned thanks to our two flagship extra virgin olive oils, the PGI Roma, made up of Salviana and Carboncella, and the Sabina PDO, a blend of Salviana, Carboncella and Frantoio,” said Alessandro Donati of Frantoio Narducci, in Moricone, after receiving a mention of merit for young entrepreneurs.
“Despite the summer drought, the weather conditions got better with the approach of the harvest, which helped us to obtain a good yield and excellent products,” he added.
A complete list of the 2023 winners may be found on the Ercole Olivario website and social media pages.
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