Olives New Zealand Awarded 5 Golds at NYIOOC

Olives New Zealand has won five Gold Awards for both blended and monovarietal extra virgin olive oils at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

This is very exciting for the New Zealand olive industry, once again punching above its weight on an international platform.

Gayle Sheridan, CEO

In 2019, the company produced 200,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil, mostly from traditionally-harvested Picual and Picholine olives.

"Olives New Zealand entered five top winning oils from the 2019 New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards and all five have won Gold," company CEO Gayle Sheridan said. "This is very exciting for the New Zealand olive industry, once again punching above its weight on an international platform."

Five different brands carried by Olives New Zealand each picked up an award, including Old French Road for its medium Picholine; Olea Estate for a medium Picual; Kapiti for a medium Picual blend; Kakariki for its medium Mediterranean blend; and Woodside Bay for a medium blend.

Sheridan attributed New Zealand's continued success on the international stage to the ability of the country's producers to adapt to the unique climate, along with the work of a national olive oil project.

"New Zealand has a maritime climate which means we typically have frequent rain," Sheridan said. "This poses challenges to growing quality olives, in particular with disease and prolific growth."

"Our Focus Grove Project has identified olive grove best practices, which have resulted in not only impressive quantity but also quality produced on an ongoing annual basis," he added.

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