Sparta Gourmet Wins With Koroneiki

Greek producer Sparta Gourmet has won its first-ever Silver Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

We are so proud of our producers for their dedication to best practices and our employees that met the pandemic challenges ensuring our success... This win affirms our hard work and drives us to keep investing in our community and land.

Ekaterina Valiotis, owner

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 600 tons of extra virgin olive oil in Lakonia using traditional methods. Sparta Gourmet earned the Silver Award for its medium Koroneiki.

"We are so proud of our producers for their dedication to best practices and our employees that met the pandemic challenges ensuring our success," owner Ekatrina Valiotis said. "And lastly, to our loyal customers, who continue to support us and share our products with friends and family."

"This win affirms our hard work and drives us to keep investing in our community and land," she added.

For the producers behind Sparta Gourmet, this year's award is especially significant after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the hospitality sector and severely limited their ability to produce and sell their oils.

"The harvest was challenging due to Covid-19 causing an inability to secure employees as well as an overall reduced harvest in terms of quantity," Valiotis said. "The difficulty was compounded with very low pricing for producers due to a stand-still in sales transactions because pandemic lockdowns eliminated tourism, dining and institutional demand."

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 on the Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils.