Favorable Climate Yields Award-Winning Blend for Mezzecrete

Tuscan producer Mezzecrete Societa Agricola has won a Gold Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

All the hard work done over nine months in the olive groves hinges on the harvest, which lasts about one month... Seeing our oil awarded is telling us we are on the right path and need to push forward.

Patrick Zinelli, CEO

The company produced 2,231 liters of extra virgin olive oil in the 2020/21 crop year from a blend of olives using traditional methods.

"All the hard work done over nine months in the olive groves hinges on the harvest, which lasts about one month," Patrick Zinelli, the company's CEO, said. "When it is harvest time, we are anxious that the quality we have been working for could be missed due to unpredictable or controllable events. Seeing our oil awarded is telling us we are on the right path and need to push forward."

Mezzecrete Societa Agricola won its second-ever Gold Award, and third award overall, for its Olio Nece, a delicate blend.

Zinelli said that he had been incredibly fortunate this year, in terms of the climate, and was successfully converting to organic olive cultivation practices.

"Overall, 2020/21 was a good year for our olive trees and Mother Earth helped us a lot," he said. "There was a good balance between rain and sun, the winter was not too cold and the summer was fresh, preventing any spread of the olive fruity fly."

"We did not had to use any massive treatment, which was great given that are converting to organic farming," Zinelli added.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest. The 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.