Rio Largo Olive Estate Awarded in 4th Straight NYIOOC

South African producer Rio Largo Olive Estate has won its fourth Gold Award in as many years at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

(Winning at the NYIOOC is a) great way to measure ourselves against international competition and know we can compete with the best of the best world with our Italian cultivars.

Nick Wilkinson, owner

Situated on the Western Cape in the Karoo semi-desert, the company earned a fourth-straight Gold Award at the world's largest olive oil quality competition for its Premium brand, a medium-intensity blend.

"(Winning at the NYIOOC is a) great way to measure ourselves against international competition and know we can compete with the best of the best world with our Italian cultivars," owner Nick Wilkinson said.

In the 2022/23 crop year, the company used traditional methods to produce 65,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil. Wilkinson said heavy rain and temperature swings helped and hindered his efforts to produce award-winning oil.

"It was a challenging harvest with heavy rain and very big swings in temperature, but quality and yield were excellent, and the oils were more intense than the previous harvest," Wilkinson said.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, held each spring in New York, is the world's 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.