Solar Olives Awarded for Native Souri Again at World Competition

Lebanese producer Solar Olives has won a Silver Award at the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

It's a great sense of achievement to see that our work is appreciated and has been rewarded for a second consecutive year.

Karim Arsanios, co-owner

Situated on the edge of the village of Kour, in the rolling hills of northern Lebanon, Solar Olives was awarded at the 2023 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for its Solar Kour brand, an organic medium Souri.

"It's a great sense of achievement to see that our work is appreciated and has been rewarded for a second consecutive year," co-owner Karim Arsanios said.

"We started this endeavor to show that Lebanese extra virgin olive oil can compete at the highest levels, and by doing so, we'd like to think that we have pushed other local producers to do better," he added. "Lebanon started showing what it has to give."

In the 2022/23 crop year, Solar Olives produced 5,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods, facing a range of challenges throughout the process.

"We face energy price fluctuation, skyrocketing inflation, shortage of staff, drought, and low morale, among other things," he 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.