NO less than three South African virgin olive oils were awarded double gold medals while another 19 oils completed the contest close on their heels with gold medals.
The results were made known at a gala dinner held on the Ashanti Wine Estate, outside Paarl, recently.
Electricity was in the air when Richard Atkinson (Waterfall River), Kleinood (De Boerin) and Rio Largo (Rio Largo Medium) were announced as the unequalled achievers in SA Olive’s 2010 Olive Awards.
The first-mentioned two oils turned up trumps with a double gold medal each in the category for Intense oils. Rio Largo scored its double gold medal in the Medium category. All three these oils were awarded gold medals at the 2009 competition.
Four producers (Morgenster, Diepsak Farm, The Greenleaf Olive Company and El Olivar) continued their triumph of 2009 by once again taking home a gold medal each. Another 15 producers pocketed gold medals.
“These results confirm the outstanding quality of local olive oils and ought to be a clear indication to the consumer why a third of the world’s top virgin olive oils are South African products. South Africa’s olive oil industry may be relatively young, but we’ve had ample time to study the industries of other countries to avoid the pitfalls and ensure that the right cultivars are planted on the right soils,” says Chairman of SA Olive, Andries Rabie.
This is the first time in the history of this five-year-old competition that double gold medals were presented with decals that may be displayed on the bottle.
A panel of local experts judged the 40 plus oils that were entered and the traditional method of tasting was adapted this year.
Whereas in the past different classes for commercial and boutique oils existed, this year oils battled it out in the categories Intense, Medium and Delicate.
In this year’s Olive Achiever of the Year, two candidates were acknowledged, Linda Costa and Pikkie Lourens.
Linda Costa received a special award which included honorary membership of SA Olive.
