46 Families Behind Gold Award for PZ Maslinari Istre

Croatian producer PZ Maslinari Istre has won a Gold Award at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's largest olive oil quality contest.

We are extremely satisfied with the award we received. In our cooperative, we have 46 hardworking small producers to whom this award is dedicated.

Saša Ukušić, marketing manager

The Istria-based cooperative earned its first-ever NYIOOC accolade for its Konfin brand, a medium blend of Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Istarska Bjelica olives.

"We are extremely satisfied with the award we received," marketing manager Saša Ukušić said. "In our cooperative, we have 46 hardworking small producers to whom this award is dedicated."

"The award gives us a new wind at our backs," he added. "It will enable the additional promotion of Istria as the best region in the world for the last few years."

In the 2022/23 crop year, the cooperative produced 11,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil. Ukušić said after a difficult start, the past crop year became one of the most fruitful yet.

"The whole year 2022 was very uncertain," he said. "We faced extreme drought; predictions were that the 2022 harvest would be just as bad as 2021."

"The overall situation in the olive groves turned around before the harvest in a positive sense, and we ended 2022 with probably one of the best olive growing years, without olive fruit diseases and premium oil," Ukušić added.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition held each spring in New York, is the world's 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.