Sindyanna of Galilee Sends Message of Hope With NYIOOC Win

Israeli producer Sindyanna of Galilee has won a Silver Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

Our olive oil brand represents a message of peace and friendship produced collaboratively by Arab and Jewish women in Galilee. We have just come out, tooth and nail, from another terrible war in our region. We hope that our Extra Hopeful olive oil will inspire others, and give them hope for change.

Hadas Lahav, CEO

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 10,000 liters of organic extra virgin olive oil from Barnea olives using traditional harvesting methods. Sindyanna of Galilee earned its first-ever award at the NYIOOC for an organic delicate Barnea.

"Our olive oil brand represents a message of peace and friendship produced collaboratively by Arab and Jewish women in Galilee," Hadas Lahav, the company's CEO, said. "We have just come out, tooth and nail, from another terrible war in our region. We hope that our Extra Hopeful olive oil will inspire others, and give them hope for change."

Along with the ever-simmering tension caused by regional geopolitical challenges, Lahav said that the Covid-19 pandemic created additional challenges for the company in 2020.

"The pandemic prevented farmers from going to their groves and workers from reaching their workplaces," she said. "As a Fair Trade association, we used to celebrate the harvest with many volunteers. This year, we could not invite people to our groves. The quantity of olives was also smaller, 20 percent lower in some groves than last year.

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest. The 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