Rolling Blackouts Can’t Stop Rio Largo Estate from NYIOOC Triumph

South African producer Rio Largo Olive Estate has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

We are brimming with pride as this accolade gives us a way of measuring ourselves against other producers and credibility with our suppliers, and their clients, that we continue to produce a world-class product from the soils of Africa.

Nick Wilkinson, owner

The company earned its third consecutive Gold Award and fifth overall NYIOOC accolade for its Premium brand, a medium blend of Frantoio, Leccino and Coratina olives.

"We are brimming with pride as this accolade gives us a way of measuring ourselves against other producers and credibility with our suppliers, and their clients, that we continue to produce a world-class product from the soils of Africa," owner Nick Wilkinson said.

Despite their sustained success at the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest, Wilkinson added that the company faced plenty of challenges to produce this year's extra virgin olive oil.

"Load shedding [a euphemism for rolling blackouts] is what we face in South Africa as our government power stations are not working at full capacity, and an enormous escalation in production costs from all sides," he said.

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.