Tenute Cristiano Strikes Gold with Organic Blend

Italian producer Tenute Cristiano has won a Gold Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

A Gold Award at NYIOOC is world recognition of excellence. This proves that we are on the right path and comes at the perfect moment as we have just started to export to the U.S. market.

Isabella Cristiano, owner

The Calabrian company earned its first-ever NYIOOC award for an organic medium blend made from Coratina and Carolea olives.

"It makes us very proud," owner Isabella Cristiano said. "A Gold Award at NYIOOC is world recognition of excellence."

"This proves that we are on the right path and comes at the perfect moment as we have just started to export to the U.S. market," she added. "Such an important award helps the consumer searching for quality in a market that can be difficult and confusing."

For Cristiano, this year's award is especially gratifying after the challenges faced by the company due to rising production costs in Italy.

"It is always challenging to craft an award-winning extra virgin olive oil," Cristiano said. "However, I think that this year the most difficult part has involved the unexpected rise of production costs, including labor and packaging."

"The cost of packaging has increased 20 percent in three months, and we need to plan a year ahead to ensure our supply of bottles is guaranteed," she added.

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 in the Official Guide to the World's Best Olive Oils.