OPG Laurenta Wins Gold Award at World Competition

OPG Laurenta from Croatia has won a third-straight award at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

I feel very proud, like all the other producers who receive this award, especially in this season, which was marked by a great drought.

Domagoj Živković, owner

The Dalmatian producer earned a second-straight Gold Award for its medium-intensity Laurenta Oblica monovarietal brand. The company also earned a Silver Award for a separate brand in 2021.

"I feel very proud, like all the other producers who receive this award, especially in this season, which was marked by a great drought," ower Domagoj Živković said.

"But, thanks to my ancestors who planted our olive trees almost a century ago, the olives, queens of the Mediterranean, have proven to be the best in the most difficult times," he added.

In the 2022/23 crop year, the company produced 2,400 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods. Živković said that he expects to face many of the same challenges in producing award-winning olive oil once again in the coming crop year.

"The challenges are clearly manifested every year in climate change and the reduction of available water, which is necessary to obtain high-quality extra virgin olive oil," he said. "The extreme drought that lasted from July to mid-October is causing us big problems not only this year but also for the next year."

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 to the World's Best Olive Oils.