Gold Ridge Organic Farms Wins With 4 Organic Blends at NYIOOC

Gold Ridge Organic Farms from the United States has won three Gold Awards and a Silver Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

These awards mean so much to me. It gives me such a warm feeling of gratitude and satisfaction after we put so much time, energy and money into producing the best olive oil possible.

Brooke Hazen, owner

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 17,000 liters of organic extra virgin olive oil in California from a blend of olives using traditional harvesting methods.

Gold Ridge Organic Farms earned its three Gold Awards for three organic medium blends – the Tuscan Blend, Minerva Blend and Picholine Blend. The company earned a Silver Award for its Arbequina Blend, which is also an organic medium blend.

"These awards mean so much to me," owner Brooke Hazen said. "They give me such a warm feeling of gratitude and satisfaction after we put so much time, energy and money into producing the best olive oil possible."

Hazen partially attributed his success to his coastal groves entering an "on year" in the olive trees' alternate bearing cycle in 2020.

"I actually had an excellent year and harvest. The coastal region of California had an 'on' year last harvest because we stayed on cycle," he said. "It was the inland areas that had an 'off' year last year because the unseasonable frosts from the 2017/18 fires caused them to have flower and fruit loss."

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.