Australians Build on A Good Harvest to Triumph in New York

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Part of our con­tin­u­ing spe­cial cov­er­age of the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

Thirteen turned out to be a lucky num­ber for Australian pro­duc­ers who com­bined to earn nine Gold Awards and four Silver Awards at the tenth edi­tion of the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

The vic­to­ries came after the country’s pro­duc­ers cel­e­brated a fruit­ful har­vest in 2022, with many pro­duc­ers enjoy­ing bet­ter cli­matic con­di­tions than in pre­vi­ous years, but still fac­ing chal­lenges related to labor.

“The AOOA is pleased to see an increase in the num­ber of locally-pro­duced oils entered in the com­pe­ti­tion and being rec­og­nized inter­na­tion­ally,” Jan Jacklin, the gen­eral man­ager of the Australian Olive Oil Association, told Olive Oil Times. ​“The AOOA is heart­ened to see con­sump­tion of olive oil increas­ing in Australia and the cat­e­gory grow­ing over­all.”

“The Australian Olive Oil Association (AOA) is excited that from 20 Australian entries into the NYIOOC, 13 Awards — nine Golds and four Silvers — were awarded,” added Michael Southan, the chief exec­u­tive direc­tor at the Australian Olive Association (AOA).

“We con­grat­u­late the Australian olive oil pro­duc­ers who entered the com­pe­ti­tion and those who came away with awards,” Southan added. ​“It was also pleas­ing to see Cobram Estate Olives win Gold and Silver Awards for olive oils from their Australian and U.S. groves.”

Boundary Bend, Australia’s largest olive oil pro­ducer, was among the coun­try’s biggest win­ners. The Victoria-based pro­ducer of Cobram Estate olive oils earned four awards for their medium-inten­sity oils, includ­ing three Golds.

The Gold Awards were earned for the company’s Coratina and Picual mono­va­ri­etals and its Koroneiki blend. In addi­tion, the com­pany won a Silver Award for its Frantoio blend.

“We are thrilled with the results and incred­i­bly proud that the qual­ity and con­sis­tency of our extra vir­gin olive oils are rec­og­nized as some of the best in the world,” Leandro Ravetti, Cobram Estate’s co-CEO and chief oil maker, told Olive Oil Times. ​“To receive recog­ni­tion on an inter­na­tional stage at the NYIOOC is the great­est honor.”

“It puts a spot­light on all the hard work, expe­ri­ence, pre­ci­sion and pas­sion we put into cre­at­ing every bot­tle of extra vir­gin olive oil,” he added. ​“At Cobram Estate, we are pas­sion­ate about every sin­gle olive, and this inspires every­thing we do.”

Ravetti said the company’s har­vest was quite a unique one. ​“We expe­ri­enced a very favor­able wet win­ter, fol­lowed by a mod­er­ate sum­mer with above-aver­age rain­fall dur­ing the oil accu­mu­la­tion process,” he said.

Ravetti added that these con­di­tions resulted in excel­lent flesh-to-pit ratios that boosted the bal­ance and fruity fla­vors of their oils.

“We com­bined these envi­ron­men­tal con­di­tions with our hor­ti­cul­tural and milling exper­tise to make beau­ti­ful and har­mo­nious oils,” he said.

Another big win­ner at this year’s com­pe­ti­tion was fel­low-Victorian pro­ducer Cape Schanck Olive Estate. Situated on the south­ern Mornington Peninsula, the com­pany took home three Gold Awards for their del­i­cate Picholine, medium Frantoio and medium Leccino.

“We are ecsta­tic with the result as we did not expect the oils to once again stand up to the scrutiny of the judges,” Sui Tham, who co-owns the estate with her hus­band, Stephen, told Olive Oil Times.

“We are also relieved that we have man­aged to main­tain a con­sis­tent qual­ity with the oils,” she added. ​“For us per­son­ally, it’s also know­ing that our cus­tomers can trust that they are buy­ing some of the best oils pro­duced that year.”

Tham said they were quite for­tu­nate as the ter­roir of Cape Schanck Estate’s grove allowed their har­vest to pro­ceed irre­spec­tive of the weather.

“Our chal­lenge was max­i­miz­ing the har­vest with­out dam­ag­ing the trees using the mechan­i­cal har­vester, as the wet weather soft­ened the trunks and increased the risk of dam­age,” she said.

Tham added that the awards rec­og­nize Cape Schanck extra vir­gin olive oils as among the best avail­able and that some of the best palates have enjoyed their oil.

“We don’t see other olive oil pro­duc­ers as com­pe­ti­tion, as there are many won­der­ful pro­duc­ers around in Australia,” she said.

Another Victorian pro­ducer, Mount Zero Olives, was another Gold Award recip­i­ent at this year’s com­pe­ti­tion, earn­ing the acco­lade for its medium-inten­sity Frantoio.

The com­pa­ny’s gen­eral man­ager, Richard Seymour, said he is very excited about win­ning the award.

“This is vin­di­ca­tion for 30 years in the indus­try and the ben­e­fit of work­ing with some great part­ners,” he told Olive Oil Times.

Seymour added that the award sets their brand apart. He said being pre­pared to har­vest early, pro­cess­ing at lower tem­per­a­tures and focus­ing on qual­ity rather than quan­tity are fac­tors that make Mount Zero’s olives stand out.

However, he added that hav­ing the oils ready for the May 1 judg­ing dead­line was a chal­lenge.

“We only started har­vest­ing fruit in late April, and the sea­son is still going here,” he said. ​“We will be shout­ing from the rooftop about this, and I am sure it will help con­firm our place as a pre­mium pro­ducer of world-class extra vir­gin olive oil.”

“In terms of sales, we hope that this will lead to some great export inquiries,” Seymour added.

Two more Gold Awards were pre­sented to Victorian pro­ducer Cockatoo Grove, which was rec­og­nized for its organic medium blends, an Arbequina and a Picual.

“We are thrilled that the efforts of our whole grove team through­out the annual grow­ing and har­vest­ing cycle have been rewarded with these high hon­ors, which put us amongst the best extra vir­gin olive oils in the world,” Tim Dugan, the company’s man­ag­ing direc­tor, told Olive Oil Times.

“These awards are val­i­da­tion of the hard work, ded­i­ca­tion and exper­tise we have put into pro­duc­ing our world-class oils and will help build an increased aware­ness amongst retail­ers and con­sumers,” he added.

Dugan said he is proud theirs is the only Australian extra vir­gin olive oil avail­able in the country’s major super­mar­kets grown with cer­ti­fied organic, regen­er­a­tive farm­ing prac­tices.

“We are delighted to offer an oil that is truly good for the health of peo­ple, our soil and our envi­ron­ment,” he said. ​“Our har­vest was thank­fully spared of any bad weather events. We had good spring rains and mild weather dur­ing flow­er­ing. Our trees had good cov­er­age, and we enjoyed a frost-free har­vest.”