Luque Ecologico Awarded 5th Straight Year at NYIOOC

Spanish producer Luque Ecologico has won a Gold Award for its organic medium blend at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

It's a great satisfaction receiving an award from the expert panel of judges because it shows us that our work during the whole year seems to be going in the right direction. Competing with the best producers from around the world helps us to improve our production process, focusing on quality from the olive groves to the mill.

Rafael Galvez, marketing manager

This year's award is the fifth consecutive that Luque Ecologico has received for its organic blend. The company produces organic extra virgin olive oil in Andalusia using intensive cultivation and machine harvesting.

"It's a great satisfaction receiving an award from the expert panel of judges because it shows us that our work during the whole year seems to be going in the right direction," marketing manager Rafael Galvez said.

"Competing with the best producers from around the world helps us to improve our production process, focusing on quality from the olive groves to the mill," he added.

Galvez said that the region's increasingly erratic weather patterns has made timing each harvest a challenge; one that the producers have had to adapt to.

"As we live in Andalusia, southern Spain, our weather is so hard to predict in springtime and summertime because of irregular rain," he said. "Having the choice of irrigate in critical moments is so important. Finding the right moment for harvesting and obtaining the highest quality is very important, as well."

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