Ariston Hellas Wins Gold at World Competition

Greek-American producer Ariston Hellas has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

This award means a great deal to us. This award rewards all the obstacles that olive farmers face today, not only with production but with marketing challenges too.

Anastasios Doukas, owner

The company, which produces olive oil in Kalamata and imports it to Connecticut, earned the award for its Ariston Specialties Select brand, a medium Koroneiki.

"This award means a great deal to us," owner Anastasios Doukas said. "This award rewards all the obstacles that olive farmers face today, not only with production but with marketing challenges too."

In the 2021/22 crop year, the company produced between 400 and 500 tons of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods.

Despite this year's success, Doukas said he faced plenty of challenges throughout the harvest, mostly climate-related.

"Some of the challenges we faced were climate change having an impact on the weather," he said, citing months of drought and heavy rains at the wrong moments of the year as examples.

"Warm May nights prevented the pollination of the olive flowers, which meant no olive fruit," Doukas added. "Covid-19 also challenged olive farmers internationally, including us."

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, held each spring in New York, 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.