La Montagnola’s PDO Blend Wins Gold at World Competition

Italian producer La Montagnola has won a Gold Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

Winning at the NYIOOC feels fantastic... It's something to brag about to my friends and also something that makes me feel that I am doing something with my life. It makes me proud.

Vittoria Iraci Borgia, owner

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 7,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil in Umbria from Frantoio and Leccio del Corno olives using traditional methods. La Montagnola earned the Gold Award for its medium blend, which boasts a Protected Designation of Origin certification.

"Winning at the NYIOOC feels fantastic. I have always believed in my olive oil," owner Vittoria Iraci Borgia said. "It tastes like olives. I knew it was wonderful, but to have that belief validated by a competition like the NYIOOC means the world to me."

"It's something to brag about to my friends and also something that makes me feel that I am doing something with my life," she added. "It makes me proud."

Iraci Borgia said that 2020 had been a challenging year for her, but the disruptions to her tourism business caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had allowed her to invest in the production process.

"The 2020 harvest was hugely challenging," she said. "Because of Covid-19 and no tourists coming to my agriturismo, I threw myself into my olive oil."

"I spent my time investing in improvements in my olive mill and in nursing my olives," Iraci Borgia added. "I re-did my website. I came up with new labels for my oil. I experimented with new varieties and new sizes. I planned for the future."

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition 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.