Producers Behind Ronkaldo Celebrate First Win for Slovenia at 2023 NYIOOC

Ronkaldo earned a Gold Award at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for its organic Istrian bjelica.

Ekološka Kmetija Ronkaldo became the first producer from Slovenia to be awarded at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

Three Slovenian producers have been awarded at the world’s largest olive oil quality competition from eight entries so far. Winners will continue to be announced through April.

“This is the biggest recognition so far,” Martin Adamič told Olive Oil Times. “This is our first time at the world’s most prestigious quality competition, and we’ve immediately won the Gold Award.”

Adamič took over the management of the organic olive groves in Izola, Slovenian Istria, from his father, Miran Adamič.

The elder Adamiči started growing olives in 1984. Today, the grove covers 2.9 hectares, comprising 800 olive trees in Baredi.

Adamič mainly grows the autochthonous Istrian bjelica variety, along with some Maurino, Leccino, Pendolino, Itrana, Buga, Leccio del Corno varieties for oil production and a few table olive varieties.

“Our Ronkaldo oil is Protected Designation of Origin-certified, and it is produced in a sustainable, environmentally friendly and organic way,” Adamič said.

Despite drought and extreme temperatures in July and August, Adamič said the 2022/23 crop year was still successful in terms of production quantity and quality.

“Abundant rain during September helped the olive trees to recover,” Adamič said. “There were no diseases or pests, so we harvested beautiful, flawless olive fruits.”

Adamič attributed his success at the NYIOOC to an early harvest and immediate milling of the olives after they were picked.

“We picked our Istrian bjelica olives in mid-October and processed them the same day at the Santomas oil mill from Šmarje near Koper,” he said. “We stored the oil properly, transferred it into appropriate glass bottles on time, and that’s our secret.”

Before submitting their extra virgin olive oil to the NYIOOC, Adamič had earned awards in Slovenia and Europe. However, he said winning in New York feels different.

“And since the Ronkaldo estate is also visited by buyers from the United States, the award from New York will be an additional asset for the successful sale of our products,” Adamič said.