Darmmess Wins with Souri from Millenary Trees

Lebanese producer Darmmess has won its debut award at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's largest olive oil quality contest.

This Gold Award is the culmination of years of hard work. It is undoubtedly a significant milestone for us, for our farmers, our village Deir Mimas and Lebanon.

Rose Bechara Perini, founder

Situated in the country's south, the company earned a Gold Award for its Darmmess High Phenolic brand, a medium-intensity Souri monovarietal.

"This Gold Award is the culmination of years of hard work," founder Rose Bechara Perini said. "It is undoubtedly a significant milestone for us, for our farmers, our village Deir Mimas and Lebanon."

In the 2022/23 crop year, Darmmess produced less than 10,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil. Bechara said producing olive oil in Lebanon is an enduring challenge, especially from millenary olive trees.

"Millennial olive trees are very delicate," she said. "So the biggest challenge lies every year in picking the perfect timing to kick off the harvest whereby we get the highest levels of polyphenols combined with the optimal intensity of aromas and flavors."

"Adding to it the shortage of qualified laborers, rising energy costs and limited power supply, to name a few," Bechara 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.