Award Season: Slow Food Olive Oil 2015

The new 2015 list of awards/recognition for Italian Olive Oils has been released by Slow Food in Italy. Olio2go carries many of farms included in the book.

We carry 12 of the top olive oils recognized by Slow Food Italy. These are estate bottled and sealed. We import in bottles at great expense (glass is heavy!), and feel that the consumer should receive the oil as it left the farm (not passed from tank to tank to bottle).

The full top awards list can be seen here:

SlowFood2015Awards

Chiocciole

Abruzzo, Trappeto di Caprafico

Emilia-Romagna, Tenuta Pennita (coming soon)

Lazio, Colli Etruschi (coming soon)

Sicilia, Biologica Titone

Oli Slow

Sicilia, Biologica Titone

Sicilia, Villa Zottopera Bio

Toscana, Fonte di Foiano 1979 (coming soon)

Toscana, Fonte di Foiano, Frantoio (coming soon)

Grandi Oli

Puglia, DeCarlo Torre di Mossa

Sicilia, Cutrera Primo DOP

Toscana, Franci Olivastra Seggianese (coming soon)

Umbria, Marfuga L’affiorante

All can be purchased at Olio2go.com. We ship promptly within the U.S. and Canada.

 

Olive Oil Award Season

In this most difficult harvest year, the awards have commenced. It seems that the producers have self-selected and self-nominated with great restraint. Those who were confident of their olive oils submitted them to the major competitions. At Trieste, the number of submissions was down and quality was awarded.

Let’s take a look at the notable awards from Olio Capitale, March 7-10, 2015 in Trieste. (Awards List Here).

We’re highlighting the award winners (all 2014 harvest) available through Olio2go.com.

The highest award – Overall winner in the Intensely Fruity Category:

Categoria Fruttato Intenso

Azienda Agraria De Carlo: Olio Tenuta Torre di Mossa 2014
Puglia

Mention of Honor Giuria Ristoratori

Frantoi Cutrera Primo DOP Monti Iblei 2014, Sicilia

Finalists – Fruttato Intenso

Società Agricola Fonte di Foiano S.S. Grand Cru 2014 Toscana– coming soon!
Azienda Agricola De Carlo Torre di Mossa 2014 Puglia – in stock!

Frantoi Cutrera Primo 2014 – D.O.P. Monti Iblei – Sicilia – in stock!

Semi Finalist – Fruttato Intenso

Tenute Librandi Monocultivar Nocellara del Belice Biologico – Vaccarizzo Albanese CS – 2014 coming soon!

 

Olive Oil Award Season

Celebrate the Best Olive Oils from Italy!

 

2014 Los Angeles Award Winners at Olio2go

 

 

(Updated June 2014)

Just as with wine, there are international olive oil awards. The most recent award presentations can be found through the links below, and these very rare olive oils, available for purchase in the U.S. at Olio2go, are listed here.

BIOL International, March 2014

Olio Capitale: Annual Competition held in Trieste, March 2014

SOL/Vinitaly: SOL is held in together with Vinitaly in Verona, April 2014

New York International Olive Oil Competition, April 2014

Los Angeles International Olive, April 2014

 

The following award winners are currently available at Olio2go. All are extra virgin olive oils from the most recent harvest.

Centonze Extra Virgin Olive Oil

BIOL, Gold, Silver

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Crudo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Los Angeles: Silver Medal

DeCarlo Arcamone

BIOL, ExtraGold

Olio Capitale: Finalist, Intense

Fattoria Ramerino Primus Extra Virgin Olive Oil

BIOL, ExtraGold

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Fattoria Ramerino Dulcis  Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Fattoria Ramerino Cultivar Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Los Angeles:  Marco Mugelli Prize, Best of Show, Best of Class, Gold Medal

Fattoria Ramerino Cultivar Moraiolo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Fonte di Foiano “1979”

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Frantoi Cutrera Primo DOP

BIOL, ExtraGold

NYIOOC: Gold, Robust, Tonda Iblei

Los Angeles: Bronze Medal

Fratelli Colletti Extra Virgin Olive Oil

NYIOOC: Gold, Robust, Biancolilla

Los Angeles: Silver Medal

Frescobaldi Laudemio

Los Angeles: Bronze Medal

Gianfranco Becchina Olio Verde

NYIOOC: Silver, Medium, Nocellara del Belice

La Poderina Toscana Oro DOP Seggianese

BIOL, Gold

La Poderina Toscana Argento

BIOL, Gold

Marfuga L’affiorante

BIOL, Gold

Ascolana, Azienda del Carmine

Los Angeles: Gold Medal, Best of Class

Olio Librandi Nocellara del Belice (Tenute Librandi Pasquale)

BIOL, ExtraGold, 1* BIOL Calabria

Quattrociocchi Olivastro

BIOL, Gold

NYIOOC: Gold, Medium, Itrana

SOL: Bronze, Organic

Tenuta di Capezzana

NYIOOC: Gold, Medium

Titone DOP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

BIOL, ExtraGold

NYIOOC: Silver, Medium

Villa Zottopera (BIO sold out 6/24/14)

Los Angeles: Gold Medal

Don’t miss out! Some of these are already in short supply at Olio2go.

 

Happy New Harvest Year — The 1st Awards of 2014

With the arrivals of the new harvest olive oils comes the first of the new awards and recognitions for high quality extra virgin olive oil.

The 2014 Flos Olei, published early in the harvest year, is the well regarded Marco Oreggia review of olive oils. In general, Flos Olei 2014 awarded the 2012 harvest selections. It is seen by many as a watchdog of consistent quality in the industry with the idea that the recognized producers provide consistently exceptional olive oils from year to year. You can see last year’s list here.

In the 2014 edition, Flos Olei’s Top 20 awards three of the olive oils we regularly carry. Most notably, we already have Quattrociocchi’s Olivastro Bio 2013, awarded Best Olive Oil from Organic Farming by Flos Olei’s Marco Orreggia.

From the Top 20

Farm of the Year: DeCarlo (new harvest coming soon)

Best Olive Oil from Organic Farming: Quattrociocchi Olivastro Bio 2013

Best Extra Virgin Intensely Fruity:  Frantoio Franci Villa Magra

The Flos Olei guide lists an abundance of well-regarded olive oil producers (we will carry harvest 2013 selections – they are in stock or on order):

Trentino Alto – Adige

Frantoio di Riva, 2013 in stock!

Emilia Romagna

Tenuta Pennita, Alina in stock

Toscana

Tenuta di Capezzana, 2013 in stock

Oliveto Fonte di Foiano, samplers in stock, more expected in early January

Frantoio Franci, selections

La Poderina Toscana, Oro and Argento in stock

Fattoria di Monti, three selections in stock

Fattoria Ramerino, Guadagnòlo Primus in stock!

Marche

Azienda del Carmine, arriving January 2014

Umbria

Az. Agr. Marfuga, L’affiorante in stock

Lazio

Società Agricola Colli Etruschi, arriving soon

Az Agr Bio Americo Quattrociocchi, in stock

Campania

Madonna dell’Olivo, Raro and Itrans selections available

Puglia

Az. Agr. DeCarlo, restocking soon

Calabria

Tenute Pasquale Librandi, selections arriving January 2014

Sicily

Azienda Agricola Antonino Centonze, Arriving January 2014

Frantoi Cutrera, in stock

Planeta, selections available

Azienda Agricola Ravida, selections available

Azienda Agricola Biologica Titone, 2013 coming soon!

 

A Still Life for Rich Flavor with Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Here we are in the middle of summer with this glorious bounty of produce — and the Italian specialties that bring it to life — packed with flavor for your dining!

Left to right:

Olio Librandi Organic, Calabria
San Macario, Lucca, Tuscany
Verrini Munari Oro, Modena, Emilia Romagna
Olio Verde, Sicily
Zisola DOP, Sicily
Cattani Organic White Balsamic Vinegar, Modena, Emilia Romagna
Luna Vera, Sardinia
Crudo, Puglia

If you’re looking for a flavor-filled experience, with Italian authenticity, we invite you to visit Olio2go enjoy the fabulous treats in this photo.

 

Slow Food Extravergini 2013

Slow Food 2013 has just been released and we have a copy that is fresh off the press (just like great olive oil)!

The guide carries notations on 1131 quality olive oils from 772 notable producers in Italy.

LE CHIOCCIOLE (The Snail): best representation of the values and qualities of Slow Food.

The following abundant selections are in stock at Olio2go.com!

Emilia Romagna

Tenuta Pennita

Lazio

Colli Etruschi

Sicily

Titone

Gli Olio Slow: representing quality cultivation, sustainable practices, and good value for oils from the named region.

Lazio

Olivastro, Quattrociocchi

Grand Oli: excellence in respective category for organoleptic quality, adherence to the territory customs, and native cultivars

Campania, Madonna dell’Oliva, Raro

Emilia Romagna, Alina from La Pennita

Puglia, Torre di Mossa from DeCarlo

Sicily, Titone DOP

Toscana, Ramerino Dulcis

Toscana, Fonte di Foiano Gran Cru

Toscana, Fonte di Foiano, Frantoio Monocultivar

Toscana, Frantoio Franci, Villa Magra Gran Cru

Noted Estates

Trentino Alto-Adige, Agraria Riva del Garda

Emilia-Romagna,  Tenuta Pennita

Toscano, Fattoria Ramerino, Primus e Dulcis

Toscano, Tenuta di Capezzana

Toscano, Fonte di Foiano

Toscano, Frantoio Franci

Toscano, La Poderina Toscana

Toscano, Frescobaldi

Toscano, Conte Ferdinando Guicciardini, Poppiano, Laudemio

Toscano, Fattoria di Monti, Razzo, Monti

Umbria, Marfuga

Lazio, Americo Quattrociocchi

Lazio, Colli Etruschi

Abruzzo, La Quagliera

Campania, Madonna dell’Olivo, Raro, Itrans

Puglia, De Carlo

Sicilia, Centonze

Sicilia, Frantoi Cutrera

Sicilia, Villa Zottopera

Sicilia, Planeta

Sicilia, Titone

Sardegna, Sebastiano Fadda

For the full list of Slow Food – recognized olive oils currently in stock at Olio2go, click here.

 

Zurich Award Winners

Dateline Zurich:  12th International Olive Congress Zurich Olive Oil Awards were announced in late April and we are please to announce that we have six of the selections in stock.

The Zurich Awards are very selective, with only five (5) Gold Awards granted. Of the five, two were Italian oils — but other “sibling” selections from producers whose oil we carry at Olio2go.  Those were selections from the producers, Titone and Cetrone.

Zurich granted eight (8) Silver and 16 Awards. We have Silver and Award winners in stock (if we could, we would rename “Awards” as Bronze).

Silver Award Winners:

Frantoi Cutrera Gran Cru Nocellara Etnea

Frantoi Cutrera Gran Cru Nocellara del Belice

“Awards”:

Frantoi Cutrera Primo DOP Monte Iblei Gulfi

Frantoi Cutrera Gran Cru Cerasuola

Frantoi Cutrera Gran Cru Tonda Iblea

Titone Bio DOP Valli Trapanesi

Ravida

All of these selections are from Sicily!

Certainly, Frantoi Cutrera has some magic in winning awards. You will find their oils on may award lists. We recommend the Tasting Set Sampler or the full Connoisseur’s Set.

The full Zurich Awards list can be seen here.

 

New York International Olive Oil Competition

The premier New York International Olive Oil Competition was a great success with three days of speakers and the culminating awards ceremony for top extra virgin olive oils. Kudos to the folks at Olive Oil Times for their new event.

It is always fun to attend an olive oil event, and we enjoy the casual, in the hallway, meetings for what one can continue to learn about the world of olive oil. The presentations included formal tastings, discussions on price and value, the pride of countries (notably Spain and Italy), international agreements, and olive oil frontiers (olive oil in India).

When the awards were announced, Italy led the pack in the number of total medals!

We currently have several of the award winners, with more enroute across the Atlantic.

In Stock Now (all 2012 Harvest):

Fratelli Colletti, Silver

Ravida, Gold

Cutrera Primo DOP, Gold

DeCarlo, DOP Torre de Mossa 2012, Best of Class

Titone DOP Valli Trapanesi, Gold

Albereto, Badia a Coltibuono, Silver

Crudo, Gold Medal

Quattrociocchi Olivastro, Gold

Franci, Toscano IGP, Best of Class

Franci, Villa Magra, Best of Class

Franci, Olivastra Seggianese, Gold (coming soon)

Luna Vera, Sardinia, Gold

Olio Librandi, Monocultivar, Carolea, Organic, Gold

 

The full list of awards can be seen here.

 

The First Extra Virgin Olive Oil Award Winners

(updated 4 June 2013)

The first of the new harvest’s award winners have been announced. These olive oil competitions are very important in the world of top quality olive oil, as they recognize the year’s worth effort and care. In this blog post, we will take a look at the announcements from Olio Capitale, SOL d’Oro, and Marco Oreggia’s Flos Olei 2013.

Olio Capitale was held in Trieste in early March, and among the awards, there are a number of olive oils that are well known to us. (For some of the oils listed below, we are still awaiting the 2012 selections).

Olio Capitale Awards

Finalists/Medio Intenso
Cetrone Intenso
Franci Toscano IGP

Finalist/Fruttato Intenso
Fattoria di Monti Razzo 2012
DeCarlo, DOP Torre de Mossa 2012

Semi Finalist/Medio Intenso
Quattrociocchi Olivastro
Semi Finalist/Fruttato Intenso
Fonte di Foiano, Gran Cru 2012
Cutrera Primo DOP 2012
Fattoria Ramerino Primus 2012

SOL d’Oro will be held in Verona in April, and they have already released their 2013 winners, named by producer.

Organic
Riva del Garda, Silver – We have Uliva DOP Garda-Trentino.
Titone Bio DOP Valli Trapanese, Bronze

Special Mention
Olio Librandi (coming soon)
DeCarlo, DOP Torre de Mossa 2012
Centonze

Fruttato Intenso
Villa Magra, Franci, Gold
Madonna dell’Olivo, Raro, Bronze

Special Mention
Cutrera Primo DOP

Medio Fruttato
Bronze, DeCarlo, Terre del Mosso DOP
Monovarietale
Gold, Cetrone Intenso

Flos Olei 2013

The 2013 Flos Olei, published early in the harvest year, is the well regarded Marco Oreggia review of olive oils. In general, Flos Olei 2013 awarded the 2011 selections. It is seen by many as a watchdog of consistent quality in the industry with the idea that the producers provide consistently exceptional olive oils from year to year.

The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the World, DeCarlo Torre di Mossa DOP

The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Organic Farming, Quattrociocchi

The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil Monovarietal – Intense Fruity, Cetrone – Intenso

The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blended – Intense Fruity, Madonna dell’Olivo Raro Denocciolato

 

Olio Capitale 2013, Trieste, Italy

Having consumed inordinate amounts of olive oil,  it is time to reflect on Olio Capitale.

When planning the trip, Trieste seemed to be at an awkwardly distant location for a major fair.  If you are planning a trip to Italy, the best way to describe Trieste’s location is 2 hours past Venice!

Stunningly gorgeous, perhaps more Eastern European than Italian, Trieste is a gem, and we would not have ever found this wonderful city without Olio Capitale.

Olio Capitale is a conference and “fair” or trade show devoted to olive oil.  With few exceptions every booth featured Italian olive oil. The producers ranged in size from 650 liters to hundreds of thousands of liters. The beautiful setting was a building on a pier in the harbor of Trieste. From the outdoor pathways we could see snow capped Alps through the haze.

Two floors were devoted to olive oils booths, a kitchen stage, and gathering places, including an oil bar where all could be tasted (without the polite judgments one makes in front of the producers).

It is always good to meet old friends and is certainly felt that way to meet Americo Quattrociocchi. We are big fans of his bold Olivastro, noted his new award for Best Organic Mill,  and began plans to add his rich and flavorful jams to our line.

We also met Nino Centoze from Sicily after having received many emails from him. We think his oil and packaging are outstanding. Look for it soon.

Onto the new trends: the square bottle, like that of Olio Verde. Several producers have one, including Centonze. Another new bottle is the silver bullet, stainless steel bottle (suggested to be sold with one liter tins). For the first time, we saw a deep purple bottle (rather than dark green), as effective against the light waves as dark green. That holds a Sardinian oil we enjoyed.

As always there were discussions on competitors’ bottles, in the most polite way, of course. They noted the clear bottles (use it quickly) and even the light green of Laudemio glass (with general agreement to keep it in the box). I discovered one producer sampling with bottles of 2011 oil and departed that booth rather quickly!

Our next post will take a look at the event’s award winners!