OPG Rakovac Wins Gold at World Olive Oil Competition

OPG Rakovac from Croatia has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

The company produces extra virgin olive oil in Croatia from Frantoio, Leccino, Buza, Bjelica, and Pendolino olives using traditional methods.

"Winning at the NYIOOC always means a lot to us since it shows our dedication to the highest quality from year to year," Vedrana Rakovac said upon receiving the news that his company had earned the industry's top award for quality.

"We consider NYIOOC to be the world's leading competition and - as such - the most authoritative to qualify the best extra virgin olive oils," he added.

OPG Rakovac won a Gold Award for its Bilini, a delicate blend.

As for the 2021/22 harvest, Rakovac said wild climatic extremes made for a particularly demanding road to producing one of the world's best extra virgin olive oils.

"The harvest was challenging primarily due to the fact that for the second consecutive year we witnessed snow and ice in Istria as late as April," he noted. "This, in effect, resulted in less yield and a harder harvest than usual, since the majority of the fruit was difficult to reach. Nevertheless, we are satisfied since we completed the harvest as planned."

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, held each spring in New York, is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest and 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