Miceli & Sensat Triumph at NYIOOC With Organic Nocellara del Belice

Italian producer Miceli & Sensat has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

After so much sacrifice and work, it is a great joy for us to have obtained a recognition as important as the Gold Award in the most important contest in the world. The prestige of the NYIOOC will help make us known to potential customers.

Paolo Miceli, co-owner

The Sicilian producer earned the award for its U'Ciuri brand, an organic medium Nocellara del Belice.

"After so much sacrifice and work, it is a great joy for us to have obtained a recognition as important as the Gold Award in the most important contest in the world," co-owner Paolo Miceli said. "The prestige of the NYIOOC will help make us known to potential customers."

In the 2021/22 crop year, the company produced 15,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods. Despite his success in New York, Miceli said the harvest season came with plenty of challenges.

"The rich water reserves from the lakes on our farm made it possible to contend with last summer’s high temperatures and reap a harvest of extraordinary characteristics," he said.

"U’Ciuri was obtained from the Nocellara del Belice and picked the first days of October using the brucatura to ensure that the olives reach the oil mill in a perfect state," Miceli added, referring to hand-harvesting with small rakes to prevent damage to the fruits and branches.

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.