Boccabella Farms Wins 3 Golds in World Competition
Boccabella Farms from the United States has won three Gold Awards at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.
We are so thrilled to see how our hard work and dedication to handcrafting our 2020 extra virgin olive oil led us to win these three Gold medals.
Johnny and Shaana Jantz, co-owners
In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 757 liters of extra virgin olive oil in San Luis Obispo County, California, from Arbequina, Frantoio, Leccino, Mission, Maurino, Picholine and Pendolino olives using traditional methods.
Boccabella Farms earned the three Gold Awards for their estate-grown medium Arbequina, medium Field Blend and medium Winemakers Blend.
"We are so thrilled to see how our hard work and dedication to handcrafting our 2020 extra virgin olive oil led us to win these three Gold Awards," co-owners Johnny and Shaana Jantz said. "2020 was a year filled with challenges, fear and sadness for all of us. Being able to spend each day of it on our farm, tending to our olive trees made us so grateful for the beauty that surrounds us."
Among the challenges faced by the producers behind Boccabella Farms was a shortage of farm laborers caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and more unusual weather on California's central coast.
"So much of 2020 was a challenge, from pivoting to online sales, supply shortages and, of course, the unusual weather patterns impacting the yield of olives," the pair said. "Since we hand harvest all of our olives, the shortage of harvest crews was difficult. We ended up using crews one-third of the normal size, which extended harvest by about two weeks."
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 on the Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils.
