Vulicevic Wins NYIOOC Award for Bjelica Monovarietal

Veselin Vulicevic from Montenegro has won a Silver Award at the 2022 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

This is a recognition of our hard work so far and an incentive to work even harder to improve the quality and quantity of olive oil.

Veselin Vulicevic, owner

Located in the southern region of Bar, the producer earned its premier NYIOOC accolade for a medium Bjelica.

"This is a recognition of our hard work so far and an incentive to work even harder to improve the quality and quantity of olive oil," he said.

In the 2021/22 crop year, Vulicevic produced 150 liters of extra virgin olive oil using traditional methods. He added that due to the age and size of his olive trees, hand-harvesting the fruit in time is always his biggest challenge.

"We are a small producer who has revitalized an old olive grove and planted new seedlings in the last 10 years," Vulicevic said. "The biggest challenge for us was hand-picking the best fruit."

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.