The second edition of the Domina International Olive Oil Contest recognized 195 olive oils. Italy won the most awards, followed by Spain and Greece.
The second edition of the Domina International Olive Oil Contest concluded with the three-day event on May 7 in the beautiful scenery of Domina Zagarella Sicily Hotel, in Palermo.
We believe in quality and in defending the biodiversity, and with this competition, we also try to protect hundreds of minor varieties produced by small, medium and large producers.- Antonio G. Lauro, D‑IOOC President
The final session of the contest was opened by its president, Antonio G. Lauro, with Stefania Reggio and David Oddsson. After a tribute to the memory of Raul C. Castellani, Lauro gave the green light to judges for their evaluation of 347 entries. Twenty tasters from Spain, Palestine, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Japan, Israel, China and Turkey analyzed samples from 19 countries.
Speaking of the other numbers of the contest, the panel members assessed the profile of ninety-nine different monovarietals, which comprised 60 percent of the entries.
A total of 195 medals — 95 Gold and 100 Silver — were awarded to companies participating in this second edition of the D‑IOOC.
Italy led at the podium with 95 medals (55 Gold and 40 Silver), followed by Spain with 27 medals (17 Gold, 10 Silver) and Greece with 18 medals (5 Gold and 13 Silver), then Turkey (3 Gold Medals and 7 Silver Medals) and Argentina (2 Gold Medals and 7 Silver Medals). Moreover, recognitions went to Palestine, Brazil and South Africa.
“Producers are pleased to have participated in this ‘Italian-international’ contest,” said the president of D‑IOOC, Antonio G. Lauro. “In addition to its prestige, they appreciated the reliability of the rules, the high level of tasters and the independence of the supervisors who come from both hemispheres,” he pointed out, adding that the D‑IOOC aspires to become the most important contest in the Mediterranean area.
“We do not have stereotypes about the world olive oil production. Whether it is green or ripe, from the north or south, a rare or a widespread variety — we treat every extra virgin olive oil with the respect they deserve,” Lauro remarked. “We believe in quality and in defending the biodiversity, and with this competition, we also try to protect hundreds of minor varieties produced by small, medium and large producers.”
The number of participants and the style of the competition were grounds for satisfaction, said D‑IOOC managing director, Stefania Reggio. “We have the goal of giving producers useful tools to promote their products,” she explained. “We organized various activities, including a marketing workshop, and we participated in the international food fair Tuttofood in Milan, where producers met international importers. Also, we have many other ideas for the next edition.”
“This award made us proud, especially since our company is young,” said Donato Conserva, who won the Best International Award Northern Hemisphere with Mimì. “In our second year of activity, this international recognition encouraged us to work harder and better.” He explained that it was a complicated season with a drop in quantity, and much work was needed in the olive grove to obtain a high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
“This award is a recognition of our commitment to producing a great Coratina, a native variety of our territory, characterized by distinctive but harmonious bitterness and pungency and high polyphenol content,” said Conserva.
“It was important to be rewarded in this contest, with the high number of quality oils that competed,” Cristina Stribacu observed. “In Messenia, we produced the monovarietal Koroneiki Liá and we are even happier for the Gold Medal we received, considering the difficult season we had to face.”
She described their extra virgin olive oil as a medium-fruity, of great complexity with hints of green banana, artichoke, wild fennel and aromatic herbs, and balanced bitterness and pungency that recall pink pepper. “In addition to the attention paid to the management of the olive grove, we usually carry out an early harvest to achieve the highest quality,” she added.
Here the Top 10 of the international and territorial awards:
Best International Award 2017 Northern Hemisphere
Azienda Agricola Donato Conserva — Mimì Coratina (Italy)
Best International Award 2017 Southern Hemisphere
Solfrut Sa — Oliovita Edición Limitada Picual (Argentina)
Best International Monovarietal 2017 Northern Hemisphere
Almaz. De La Subbetica — Rincon De La Subbetica Dop Priego De Cordoba (Spain)
Best International Monovarietal 2017 Southern Hemisphere
Verde Louro Azeites Ltda — Verde Louro Arbosana (Brazil)
Best International Blend 2017 Northern Hemisphere
Muela-Olives Sl — Venta Del Baron Aceite De Oliva Virgen Extra (Spain)
Best International Blend 2017 Southern Hemisphere
Agroland Sa — Colinas De Garzón Olio Novo 2016 (Uruguay)
Best International Organic 2017 Northern Hemisphere
Domenica Fiore — Olio Reserva (Italy)
Best International Dop/Igp 2017 Northern Hemisphere
Frantoio Franci — Bio Igp Toscano (Italy)
Best Of Regione Sicilia 2017
Frantoi Cutrera — Primo Dop (Italy)
Best of South America Special Award Raul C. Castellani 2017
Trilogía — Aceite De Oliva Virgen Extra (Argentina)
Best of Turkey 2017
Zeytindostu İktisadi İşletmesi — Öveçli (Izmir)
Best of Crete 2017
Terra Creta — Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Kolymvari Chania)
You can check out the full list of winners on the D‑IOOC website.
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