Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm Prevail Again

Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm from the United States has two awards at the 2024 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

Being such a small producer, winning at the NYIOOC means a lot to us, and we are grateful to be able to participate... Receiving Gold Awards at NYIOOC means that what we're doing is working.

Kathryn Keeler, co-owner

The central California producer earned two Gold Awards for its medium-intensity Arbequina monovarietal and Estate Blend, a medium blend of Frantoio, Coratina, Mission, Manzanilla, Pendolino and Arbequina olives.

"Being such a small producer, winning at the NYIOOC means a lot to us, and we are grateful to be able to participate," co-owner Kathryn Keeler said.

"Each year, we attempt to improve our olive growing, harvesting, bottling, marketing and customer interaction," she added. "Receiving Gold Awards at NYIOOC means that what we're doing is working."

The company previously earned two Gold Awards for the same brands in 2023, with the Estate Blend also earning Gold Awards in 2022 and 2021.

In the 2023/34 crop year, Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm transformed four tons of olives harvested from its 250 trees into extra virgin olive oil. Keeler admitted to facing plenty fo challenges along the way.

"Our greatest challenge in 2023 was the weather and heavy rain, which delayed pruning, budding and blossoming," she said.

"Our summer was cooler than average and caused very late ripening of our olives," Keeler added. Since we hand-pick, not rake, locating crews to pick was more difficult because the area grape harvest was still ongoing. 2023 was truly a wild ride."

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the world's preeminent olive oil quality contest. Its annual list of award winners is the authoritative guide to the world's best olive oils and the dedicated producers who craft them.

The complete list of winners can be viewed in the Official Guide to the World's Best Olive Oils.