Competing with 364 samples from 14 countries, Greek olive oils won 65 medals and several special awards at the 4th edition of the Athena International Olive Oil Competition. Judged by 20 tasters from a dozen nations at the first parliament building of modern Greece in Nafplio, the top Greek winners told Greek Liquid Gold about their commitment to quality.
For the fourth year, the Filaios Friends of Olive Oil Society sponsored the Greek national Kotinos Olive Oil Competition. At the Food Expo in Athens, awards were presented to Greek extra virgin olive oils made from 14 different olive varieties in many parts of the country, highlighting producers’ ability to excel even in a difficult harvest year.
At the 5th Cretan Olive Oil Competition awards ceremony in Rethymno on March 24, regional dignitaries and Greek and international olive oil judges joined a packed house of Cretan olive oil producers. They discussed the state of the Cretan olive oil sector and celebrated excellent Greek extra virgin olive oils produced in this challenging harvest year.
At the 20th Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition this year, Greek extra virgin olive oils captured 23 quality awards and 14 design awards. After competing with 530 olive oils from 302 producers from 17 countries, some of the top Greek winners discussed the ways they overcame adversity to excel in this very difficult harvest year.
Greece won more than twice as many olive oil awards in 2018 as in the previous year, according to one ranking system. The EVOO World Ranking by the World Association of Journalists and Writers of Wines, Liquors and Others states that Greece won 437 awards in 20 of the contests they considered. Some of the top ranked winners from Greece share their reactions.
At the EVO International Olive Oil Contest (EVO IOOC) in Paestum, Italy this year, 70% of the Greek extra virgin olive oils that entered won awards. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Paestum--originally the ancient Greek city of Poseidonia in Magna Grecia--formed a striking backdrop for the ceremony where premium Greek olive oils received 52 of the awards. [Update: guide to winners now available.*]
Greek extra virgin olive oils won 39 quality awards at the TerraOlivo Mediterranean International Olive Oil Competition this year. TerraOlivo CEO Eyal Hasson praised Greeks’ “great performance this year” in competition with 506 samples of oil from 20 countries. Some of the top Greek winners discussed their olive oil, olive variety, location, and “secrets.”
In 2018, three Greek olive oil companies won awards or distinctions at four prestigious international olive oil competitions in Italy that honor an unusually small number of olive oils. This acclaim for Kyklopas, Pamako, and Argali confirms once again that Greek extra virgin olive oils belong in the kitchens of the most discerning cooks and chefs.
What do the Spanish embassy chef, an Italian olive oil producer, the Lebanese ambassador, a Japanese woman living in Athens, and the former chef for the late French president François Mitterrand have in common? An olive oil tasting day in Athens for the 242 award winning extra virgin olive oils at the Athena International Olive Oil Competition (ATHIOOC).
At the London International Olive Oil Competitions this year, 16 judges from 11 countries evaluated the quality of 426 olive oils from 21 countries around the globe. Greek extra virgin olive oils won 99 Quality Awards. In the International Health Claim and Design competitions, Greeks won another 25 awards for extra healthy oils and exceptional packaging.
At Olive Japan this year, Greek extra virgin olive oils won 20 Gold Medals and 25 Silvers in a tough competition with 727 entries from 22 countries. Impressed by the increased number and quality of samples from Greece, competition director Toshiya Tada noticed “many wonderful oils from Greece” and suggested more of them deserved to be popular in Japan.
At the 3rd Athena International Olive Oil Competition (IOOC) in Delphi last month, Greek extra virgin olive oils competed with 359 samples from 12 countries, 52% of them from outside of Greece. 20 olive oil experts from 11 countries awarded Greek olive oils 1 Double Gold Medal, 23 Golds, 53 Silvers, and 30 Bronze Medals, plus a number of special awards.
In one of the world’s largest, most important organic extra virgin olive oil competitions, judges from 14 countries awarded Greek olive oils 5 Extra Gold Medals, 10 Gold Medals, and 12 Silver Medals. After competing with 500 olive oils from 15 nations in this 23rd edition of the BIOL competition in Italy, Greek winners commented on their success.
At the March 18 awards ceremony for the fourth Cretan Olive Oil Competition, the top scoring Cretan extra virgin olive oils of the 100 entered in the contest received 6 awards and 16 honorable mentions. Headed by olive oil experts of worldwide acclaim, the competition emphasized the high quality that results from hard work and attention to detail.
The Filaios Olive Oil Society, organizers of the third Kotinos Quality Competition for packed, branded extra virgin olive oils, presented awards and honorable mentions to 39 Greek olive oils at the Food Expo on March 11 at the Metropolitan Expo Center near the Athens airport. A number of olive oil varieties from several different Greek regions were awarded.
Competing with 658 extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) from 371 producers representing 19 countries, Greek EVOOs took home numerous quality and design awards at this year’s Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. Several of the top Greek winners explained what this means to them and how they managed to produce such excellent olive oils.
Selected Greek extra virgin olive oils have been recognized as some of the most highly awarded olive oils in the world because of their success in international olive oil competitions in 2017. Greek olive oil companies view these distinctions as an affirmation of their teams’ hard work, passion, and continuous endeavors to produce high quality olive oil.
Six Greek early harvest organic extra virgin olive oils won prizes at the first international competition of the 2017/18 harvest year in the northern hemisphere, Biolnovello, in early December. Greek extra virgin olive oils captured two silver awards and four extra golds at this competition, which will be followed by the BIOL International Prize in March.
The Athena International Olive Oil Competition was created by the first woman wine sommelier in Greece, who decided olive oil deserved as much attention as wine, and a former Paris urban planner who fell in love with wine in the City of Light. Maria Katsouli and Constantine Stergides are now “trying to bring [their] knowledge about wine to olive oil.”
At the Terra Olivo Mediterranean International Olive Oil Competition in Jerusalem this year, 632 olive oils from 20 different countries were evaluated by judges from 7 nations. Even in the face of tough competition among 65 different varieties from 80 producing areas, Greek extra virgin olive oils received 34 awards, including 4 Grand Prestige Golds.
On May 11, the second annual Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony took place in Athens, Greece. With 800 samples of olive oil from Greece, Spain, Italy, USA, Croatia, and Cyprus evaluated solely on the basis of their health benefits, 50 Gold Awards were presented to producers of extra healthy olive oil with over 1000 mg/kg of phenolic compounds.
In Málaga, Spain in May, the Health Matters International Convention included the 4th Congress of the Oleocanthal International Society and the awards ceremonies for the World Best Healthy EVOO Contest and the Health and Food Awards. Scientists discussed research, and some of the world’s healthiest olive oils, including three from Greece, received awards.
March 20-23, 2024, Bari, Italy. Only for organic extra virgin olive oils. BIOL registration and samples are due by January 30, 2024.
March 27-28, 2024, Paris, France. Registration deadline February 10; samples are due by February 20. Quality, design, kids, and ethical competitions, with the first including EVOOs, infused, and high phenolic categories.
February 2024, Madrid, Spain. Registration and samples due by February 14, 2024. This is the International Olive Council's official international extra virgin olive oil competition for the Northern Hemisphere.
Paris, France. UPDATE February 23: Registration forms and samples due by March 4, 2024 for the Northern Hemisphere. Awards announced in April; ceremony in the autumn. Flavored olive oils and other vegetable oils can compete, as well as extra virgin olive oils.
March 1, Lodi, Italy. Samples due by February 16. For monovarietal extra virgin olive oils only.
Toscolano Maderno, Italy. Entries will be accepted until 300 samples have been received, possibly up to March 1 for the Northern Hemisphere, from February 1 to June 1 for the Southern Hemisphere, and until May 1 for UN LEONE IN CUCINA.
April 25-27, 2024, Sparta, Greece. Last day for early bird registration: February 2. Last day for all registration: March 22. Final deadline for samples to reach organizers: March 29. Announcement of results: May 20. Awards ceremony: June 2.
Lisbon, Portugal. Registration and samples due by March 29.
New York, USA. Only extra virgin olive oils will be considered. Samples are due by April 1, 2024 for Northern Hemisphere entries; Southern Hemisphere samples will be accepted July 1 to October 1, 2024. See the website for detailed instructions and information.
April 11-14, 2022, Burhaniye, Turkey. Registration and samples due by April 1.
April 2024, Berlin, Germany. Registration until April 10, 2024. Samples due April 15. Includes quality awards for conventional, organic, and infused olive oils, plus awards for high polyphenols, innovation, and design.
May 2024, Beijing, China. Registration and samples due by April 18.
May 2024, Monte Carlo, Monaco. Registration ends April 25; samples are due by April 30. Quality, infused, and design awards will be presented.
May 12-15, 2024, Italy. Registration and samples due May 6. Extra virgin and flavored olive oils are accepted.
May 19-21, 2024, London, UK. Samples due by May 10.
May 2024, Tokyo, Japan. Registration deadline May 17. Samples must be received by May 20. Winners will be announced June 10. See the competition website for the “Buy 4 & get 1 free” offer.
June 2024, Tokyo, Japan. Early-bird registration until February 28. Registration and samples due May 31.
July 2024, Brazil. Samples are due by June 14. Registration can close at any time without notice. Extra virgin olive oils only.
"With 90 awards earned at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, producers from Greece reaffirmed their devotion to quality."
"Despite a challenging harvest season, producers, farmers and bottlers from across Greece combined to earn a total of 79 awards at the 2022 NYIOOC."
"Winners from Greece continue to share their enthusiasm for their record number of NYIOOC awards, a sign that the Greek olive oil sector is alive and well."
Nice vignettes by Costas Vasilopoulos featuring a few of the Greek winners at the New York International Olive Oil Competition.
Four Greek olive oil companies were ranked among the top ten healthy extra virgin olive oils at the unusual World’s Best Healthy EVOO Contest in Spain.
"With the highest ever turnout from Greece, producers from Crete were among the most successful at this year’s NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition."
These are the Greek winners at the famous NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for 2020. For more about some of the Greek winners, see also Greek Producers Achieve Record Wins at NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition and Greek Producers Continue to Celebrate Record Year at 2020 NYIOOC.
In spite of poor weather and trouble with pests, Greek producers took home a total of 35 awards at the 2019 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
"With the historically poor harvest season behind them, Greek producers who managed a win in New York are setting their sights on brand building and achieving consistent quality."
The COOC has been instrumental in elevating the extra virgin olive oils produced in Crete; here are some of the brands to look out for.
A list of the very healthy, high phenolic winners of the Aristoleo Awards for extra virgin olive oil and table olives, with a chart showing different uses for olive oils according to their phenolic content.
Greek producers like these New York International Olive Oil Competition winners have studied modern olive oil production methods and engaged in the persistent efforts necessary to make some of the world's best olive oils.
Costas Vasilopoulos spoke with several Greek winners at the 2018 New York International Olive Oil Competition, where Greece won more awards and more gold awards than it ever had before.
At the 4th Panhellenic Olive and Olive Oil Festival, which is organized by the Kalamata Agricultural Cooperative in cooperation with the regional and local government and other groups, important issues and food pairings were discussed, three people were honored for their contributions to the olive sector, and the Kalamata Olive Oil Awards were presented.
Thanks to science, experimental new methods and minute attention to detail, olive oil producers on Crete are forging new paths with an age-old product.
The winners of these awards produce especially healthy, high phenolic extra virgin olive oils. This is a good list to check out for particularly spicy olive oils full of health benefits. Awards ceremony at the 2nd Annual Aristoleo Conference “The Future of Olive Oil,” April 27-28, Nicosia, Cyprus.
When the Oleocanthal International Society convened last month, healthy Greek extra virgin olive oils won several awards at the World Best Healthy EVOO Contest and the Health and Food Awards, and scientists discussed research related to olive oil polyphenols.
First notes and photos from Cyprus about the recent conference focused on ultra-healthy high phenolic extra virgin olive oils, with awards presented to some of the healthiest olive oils in the world, including many from Greece and others made by Greek Cypriots.
Producers, marketers, and exporters of this year's best Greek olive oils share what their New York International Olive Oil Competition awards mean to them, how they manage to produce olive oils good enough to earn top honors, and how this fits in with their company philosophies.
"EVOOs were awarded by variety according 3 high phenolic types: Organic, Traditional, & Wild and based on the concentration of polyphenols in the 3 categories: TOTAL PHENOLS, OLEOCANTHAL & OLEACEIN, and OLEOCANTHAL." Many Greek EVOOs were winners.
The third edition of the competition had more entries and a higher percentage of organic olive oils than in previous years.
Twenty-one Greek extra virgin olive oils and two Greek flavored olive oils received Great Taste Awards in the United Kingdom this year.
Seven Greek olive oil companies won 10 of the awards at one of the world’s most eminent extra virgin olive oil contests, the OLIVINUS competition in Argentina.
The Oleocanthal International Society Conference and Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards featured breakthroughs in olive oil research, a new olive tree varietal, and an olive oil competition for high-phenolic oils.
Here is a list of award-winning companies from the 2016 Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. Notice, for example Village Batch’s Best of Class Gold Medal and the Gold Medals of PJ Kabos (2 of them) and Laconiko.
Award-winning Greek producers discuss their reactions to the New York International Olive Oil Competition results and their efforts to produce the best olive oils in the world.
Here is a list of award-winning Greek companies from the 2016 New York International Olive Oil Competition (where some non-Greek companies happen to show up). See the article above for more details about the top Greek winners.
Toward the bottom of this page, you’ll find the lists of Silver, Gold, and Extra Gold medals for this competition in Puglia, Italy in March, with Greek companies on each list under the country “Grecia.” Note that Kyklopas, Olvia Green, and Mythocia won Extra Gold Medals.
The 2nd Cretan Olive Oil Competition took place March 19 to 20 in Rethymno, Crete, awarding prizes for the best standardized conventional and organic Cretan extra virgin olive oils from the 2015-16 production season.
If you click on the final word at the end of the paragraph on the linked page, it will take you to a list—unfortunately only in Greek—of the winners of the 2016 Kotinos competition in Athens.
The first Cretan Olive Oil Competition (in 2015) sought to promote high-quality Cretan olive oil brands and the special characteristics of the best Cretan olive oils, to improve their position in the local and global markets, and to upgrade the overall quality of Cretan oils by developing the expertise of participants.