Competitions & Awards

At the 2019 Olivinus International Olive Oil Competition in Mendoza, Argentina in early September, Greek extra virgin olive oils won 10 quality awards, while Greek flavored olive oil condiments took home 7 prizes. This was an especially impressive showing in a competition with 194 olive oils from 18 countries, many of them from the Southern Hemisphere.

In 2019, five Greek olive oil companies won acclaim for their excellent extra virgin olive oils at four highly selective international olive oil competitions in Italy. These honors for Kyklopas, Terra Creta, Pamako, Olympus, and Papadopoulos Olive Oil – Mediterre are notable because the competitions present far fewer awards than most international contests. 

At the 2019 TerraOlivo Mediterranean International Olive Oil Competition in Israel, 29 judges tasted 471 oils from 20 countries. Greek extra virgin olive oils were honored with 1 Top Ten award, 2 Special awards, 19 Grand Prestige Gold awards, 14 Prestige Golds, 14 Golds, and 11 Packaging Design awards. Some of the Greek winners discussed their triumphs.

Competing with 431 olive oils from 17 countries at the EVO International Olive Oil Contest in Italy, Greek extra virgin olive oils took home 20 Gold awards and 22 Silvers. The 18 judges from 10 countries also awarded 4 Golds and 4 Silvers to Greek condiments based on extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Some of the top Greek winners shared their reactions.

Competing with 433 olive oils from 26 countries, Greek extra virgin olive oils won 134 awards for their flavor or health benefits at the 2019 London International Olive Oil Competition. Panel leader Emmanuel Salivaras reported that even with fewer entries in this difficult harvest year, Greek producers “managed to increase their Gold awards by about 29%.”

Have you ever seen 201 award winning extra virgin olive oils in one room? If you were at the Athena International Olive Oil Competition’s tasting day and awards ceremony at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens in April, you not only saw them but tasted any that struck your fancy. Like Anita Zachou, you had a chance to experience “an explosion of the senses!”

This year, 20 Greek olive oils won BIOL International Prizes for the best organic extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) in the world. Thirty judges from 10 countries awarded Greek EVOOs 3 Extra Gold medals, 6 Golds, and 11 Silvers in a competition with 350 olive oils from 15 countries. Some of the top Greek winners discussed their award winning organic olive oils.

Competing with 242 samples from ten countries, Greek olive oils earned 25 awards from an international jury at the Japan Olive Oil Prize (JOOP) competition for 2019: 5 Best in Class quality awards, a Best Package award, 11 Gold Awards, and 8 silvers. Several of the top Greek winners discussed the efforts, emotions, olives, and methods behind their success.

Competing with 701 samples from 24 countries at Olive Japan, Greek olive oils won 3 Gold Medals and 28 Silvers. Some of the top Greek winners shared their reactions and priorities, as well as the techniques that helped produce a variety of excellent extra virgin olive oils in a year when many producers struggled with adverse weather and the olive fly.

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.

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.

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.*]

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.