Al-Zait & Co Win 3 Awards in World Competition Debut

Brazilian newcomer Al-Zait & Co has won three Gold Awards at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

This is a huge recognition of our potential, and the speed of adaptation of olive trees to our soil and climate conditions, which are so distinct from their origin. This is the start of a new era for this market.

Luiza Osorio, co-owner

Situated in Rio Grande do Sul, the company earned its debit NYIOOC accolades for three medium-intensity monovarietals: a Picual, Frantoio and Koroneiki.

"This is a huge recognition of our potential, and the speed of adaptation of olive trees to our soil and climate conditions, which are so distinct from their origin," co-owner Luiza Osorio said.

"This is the start of a new era for this market," she added. "It's a contradiction: in an area of Brazil with large-scale agriculture and land extension, pampa gaucho, the olive trees came to put down roots and make history."

In the 2022/23 crop year, Al-Zait produced 3,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods. However, Osorio said the harvest came with plenty of challenges.

"In addition to the lack of knowledge and skilled labor, we have had a severe lack of rain in the last two years," she said. "For a new orchard, at growth stage, our trees have suffered a lot. We do harvest entirely manually, which guarantees healthy fruits, high quality and stability for our final product."

Held each spring in New York, the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest. Its annual listing of award winners is considered the authoritative guide to the year’s best extra virgin olive oils.

The complete list of winners can be viewed in the Official Guide of the World's Best Olive Oils.