Loopline Olives Triumphs Again at World Competition

Loopline Olives from New Zealand has won two Gold Awards at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

This win is Loopline's third year in a row in which we have won Gold Awards in the NYIOOC. We are delighted that Loopline extra virgin olive oil has once again been benchmarked as one of the best in the world.

Stephen Davies Howard, owner

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 3,500 liters of extra virgin olive oil from Picholine and Picual olives using traditional methods. Loopline Olives won the Gold Awards for its robust Picholine and medium Picual.

"This win is Loopline's third year in a row in which we have won Gold Awards in the NYIOOC," owner Stephen Davies Howard said. "We are delighted that Loopline extra virgin olive oil has once again been benchmarked as one of the best in the world."

"New Zealand's production is not large, but clearly, the quality is as good as any in the world," he added. "We hope that this recognition might open up an export market."

Davies Howard said that he is especially proud of these awards as the oil was produced without the help of their master miller, who was unable to travel to New Zealand after it closed its borders in June.

"The New Zealand harvest is in June and July, just after the country closed the borders as a result of Covid-19," he said. "This situation meant our oil maker was unable to travel to New Zealand. The 2020 harvest was therefore wholly locally produced, an achievement we are very proud of, but one that came with a degree of stress."

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.