Rio Largo Olive Estate Wins Again

Rio Largo Olive Estate, from South Africa, has won a Gold Award at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for its medium blend.

We are ecstatic knowing that we can compete with the best of the best on a global scale.

Nick Wilkinson, owner

In the 2019/20 season, the company produced 50,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods.

"We are ecstatic knowing that we can compete with the best of the best on a global scale," owner Nick Wilkinson said.

While Rio Largo Olive Estate earned a big win at this year's edition of the competition, Wilkinson acknowledged that repeating the feat in 2021 will be a challenge.

"Harvesting during the coronavirus lockdown, with less than 50 percent of our workforce, created challenges to pick and process olives at the optimum moment," 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 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 on the Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils