5-Star Performance by Avistria at 2022 NYIOOC

For the fifth consecutive year, Croatian producer Avistria has been awarded at the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

It feels great winning for the first time Gold Awards for all the oils that we produce and also Gold for our Cuvee Istrian Blend for the first time, which won Silver in past years. Our 2022 success was widely noticed and helps us do our marketing.

Rudolf Nemetschke, co-owner

Based in the northwestern Istrian peninsula, the producer earned five Gold Awards at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, improving upon the Gold and two Silver Awards the company earned in 2021 and three Gold Awards from 2020.

"It feels great winning for the first time Gold Awards for all the oils that we produce and also Gold for our Cuvee Istrian Blend for the first time, which won Silver in past years," co-owner Rudolf Nemetschke said. "Our 2022 success was widely noticed and helps us do our marketing."

Along with the Cuvee Istrian Blend, the company earned its other four Gold Awards for two medium Istria Buzas, a medium Leccino and a medium Istrian Bjelica.

In the 2021/22 crop year, Avistria produced 750 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods.

Despite the record success at the competition, Nemetschke said the previous harvest season had come with plenty of challenges, especially for producers in Istria.

"Snow in April was followed by a very late blossom when it was already very hot during the day," he said. "We were forced to spray our olive trees with water in the early morning, so that the blossoms could survive the hot temperature. However, we were not harmed by harvest losses, which were severe in Istria 2021."

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.