Valente Maria Sipontina’s ‘Dama’ Coratina Wins

Az. Agricola Valente Maria Sipontina from Italy has won a Silver Award at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

We all feel very happy and proud of the result achieved this year: it shows we're on the right path.

Vittorio Gentile, Marketing Manager, Az. Agricola Valente Maria Sipontina

The company produces organic extra virgin olive oil in Puglia from 660 Coratina olive trees using traditional methods.

The 2019/2020 season was marked by a drought, Vittorio Gentile, the company's marketing manager, said after receiving news of the award.

"Our 2019 season have been a quite classic the for southern Gargano area in Puglia with a mild winter and good start of the spring. The main challenge we had was the drought which hit us from June until September with a little rainy break in July. Positive harvest in October when the wind kept the groves dry and fly-free until our picking time," Gentile said.

Az. Agricola Valente Maria Sipontina won a Silver Award for its Dama, an organic medium Coratina from Puglia, Italy.

"We all feel very happy and proud of the result achieved this year: it shows we're on the right path. It’s important for young producers, like us, to benchmark themselves against some of the best EVOO on the market and find what to improve what we do in the fields every day," Gentile said.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, held each spring in New York, is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest and 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 on the Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils