La Roza Alta Awarded for Nevadillo Blend at 2022 NYIOOC

Spanish-Norwegian producer La Roza Alta has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

I think it is also an important signal to our buyers that we deliver what we said we would do, namely make one of the world's best olive oils.

Ole Christian Idland, co-owner

The Andalusia-based producer earned the award for a medium blend of Nevadillo Blanco and Nevadillo Negro olives.

"We feel great about winning," co-owner Ole Christian Idland said. "We decided to try to make a high-quality extra virgin olive oil just a few years ago - so this is a confirmation."

"I think it is also an important signal to our buyers that we deliver what we said we would do, namely make one of the world's best olive oils," he added.

In the 2021/22 crop year, La Roza Alta produced 50,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil using mechanical methods.

Despite the company's success, Idland said Andalusia's arid climate presented plenty of challenges throughout the harvest.

"We live in a dry area, so the weather is a constant challenge," he said. "A lack of rain is always scary. We have built a pond to improve water management."

"Also, finding reliable people to do the harvest has been a challenge," Idland added. "This is something that we continue to work on as we only want the best care for our trees."

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.