Big results for small producers at 2021 Australian International Olive Awards

Leisal Rose Farm owner Liz Tonkinson: Champion Mild EVOO, Champion NSWales EVOO, Champion Australian EVOO, Best Southern Hemisphere EVOO and Best EVOO of Show - Boutique Volume. Jacqueline and Jared Bettio: Champion Greek Varietal EVOO, Champion South Australian EVOO and Best EVOO of Show - Commercial Volume.

Small producers made a big impact on this year’s Australian International Olive Awards (AIOA), with NSW producer Leisal Rose Farm and SA’s Rio Vista Olives taking the dual top trophies for Best of Show Boutique and Best of Show Commercial respectively.

With production of just 500L from around 300 trees, Leisal Rose is undoubtedly a ‘boutique’ operation, while Rio Vista’s Elisi Grove estate, from which its winning oil was produced, is at the small end of the commercial production category.

Major winners

Leisal Rose’s extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) blend topped the judges’ scores with a rare 96/100, earning the 2021 competition’s highest pointed Gold medal. The accolades then grew as the presentations proceeded, as the trophies for Champion Mild EVOO, Champion New South Wales EVOO, Champion Australian EVOO, Best Southern Hemisphere EVOO and Best EVOO of Show - Boutique Volume – were added to Leisal Rose’s prize cache.

Rio Vista’s Elisi Grove Kalamata EVOO was awarded an equally impressive score of 95 by the judges, also earning a standout high-Gold medal. Once the major awards were announced, their prize haul totalled four Gold and nine Silver medals, along with the trophies for Champion Greek Varietal EVOO, Champion South Australian EVOO and Best EVOO of Show - Commercial Volume.

Joining them on the virtual podium to accept major awards were Victorian producers Olive Twist, which won Gold, Champion Agrumato Olive Oil and Best Flavoured Olive Oil of Show for its 95-pointed Lime Agrumato; and Saluté Oliva, awarded 92, Gold and the trophies for Champion Dried Olive, Champion Australian Table Olive and Best Table Olive of Show for its unique Semi Dried Olives.

Spanish producer Goya En España led the field among international entrants in both oil and table olive categories, taking the Best EVOO Northern Hemisphere award for its Goya® Unico Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Best Table Olive Northern Hemisphere for its Manzanilla Stuffed with Minced Smoked Salmon.

Greek producer G-Team was also among the major winners, taking the trophy for Champion EVOO - Highest Phenolic Content for its Hypereleon Ultra Gold. A new award for 2021, this category reflects What makes a Gold Medal extra virgin olive oil?

When first smelling a gold medal extra virgin olive oil it is fresh and clean (fault free). It shows excellent fruit intensity with a variety of different aromas and scents. In the mouth the aromas transfer to the palate and are as intense or more intense than on the nose. It tastes fresh, vibrant and clean. The oil feels light and creamy (not oily) on the palate. Depending on oil style, bitterness, pepper and/or astringency are present in varying degrees. A mild oil has little or no levels of pepper and pungency whilst a robust oil has significantly higher levels. Either way, they are in balance and do not overpower the fruit or mouthfeel. A gold medal oil has a flavourful lingering finish. To finish, the oil is fresh, balanced, complex and harmonious. You will want to drink it.

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Olive Awards ®

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Saluté Oliva’s Marlies and Peter Eicher: Champion Dried Olive, Champion Australian Table Olive and Best Table Olive of Show.

the increasing global recognition of olive polyphenols for preventative health and treatment, and of EVOO as a functional food.

Form … and firsts

Several of the major award winners have form at the Australian International, having won Champion or Best of Show awards in previous years. This was Liesel Rose’s first foray into the competition, however – its first entry in any EVOO competition, in fact - and G-Team were also welcomed as a first-time entrant this year.

All of which goes to show that when you make great EVOO, flavoured oils and olives, no matter how big, small or new you are to the industry, entering the AIOA is the ideal way to gain expert feedback on your products and benchmark them against your peers.

Global impact and judging

Australia’s premier olive competition, the AIOA is run annually by the Australian Olive Association (AOA) and opened to international entries in 2017. In recent years judging has also gone international and 2021 entries were judged by expert panels in six countries - Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Tunisia, China and across Australia.

AIOA Chief Steward Trudie Michels said the involvement of so many international experts is rapidly growing the reputation of both the competition and the Australian industry across the globe.

“We’re extremely proud to have so many highly qualified and respected international and national judges on the AIOA team,” she said.

“Invitations were accepted with enthusiasm and all the panels committed 100% to the judging process, some travelling substantial distances to judging locations or taking leave to participate. COVID-19 restrictions and freight challenges meant it was touch-andgo for several of the panels but the end result was a global judging process carried out with the utmost professionalism and integrity, thanks to their flexible attitudes.

“It really highlights the respect these people have for the Australian olive industry, and for the competition, and the AOA is indebted to all of the judges for their time, effort and commitment.”

Increased entries

Michels said the organisers had hoped that the successful 2021 harvest would translate into strong entries, particularly after last year’s challenging conditions. They weren’t disappointed.

“Thankfully it did, and we saw a substantial increase in entries for both flavoured and extra virgin olive oil classes,” she said.

“We were thrilled to receive a total of 269 entries this year, especially considering the ongoing COVID-19 chaos. Of those, 209 were EVOO entries (from 91 exhibitors), 37 flavoured oil entries (from 17 exhibitors) and 24 table olive entries (from 11 exhibitors).

“It was wonderful to welcome back producers who had nothing to enter last year, and also very exciting to see an increase in the number of new entrants to the competition. It was even more pleasing to see a number of those first-timers awarded Gold medals and key awards.

“It was unfortunate that table olive entries were lower this year but the longer

What makes a Gold Medal flavoured oil? On first impression a gold medal flavoured oil is fresh and fault free. On smelling the oil, it shows excellent intensity of the flavouring element/s (lemon, rosemary, etc.). It has varying attractive aromas highlighting the flavouring element/s and where possible fresh olive oil. The aromas and flavours are authentic and pure representations of the flavouring (not artificial). In the mouth the aromas transfer to the palate and are as intense or more intense than on the nose. It tastes fresh, vibrant and clean. The oil feels light (not oily) on the palate. The oil’s level of bitterness, pepper and/or astringency is balanced with the flavouring element/s. A gold medal oil has a flavourful lingering finish. A gold medal flavoured oil showcases the flavouring element/s purely as well as be fresh, balanced, complex and harmonious. You will want to get in the kitchen and start cooking.

Julianne and Willow Bakogiannis of Olive Twist: Champion Agrumato Olive Oil and Best Flavoured Olive Oil of Show. Alpina Fine Food’s Boris (left) and Rainer Sandmann, for Goya En España: Best EVOO Northern Hemisphere and Best Table Olive Northern Hemisphere.

production lead time means that many entries for this year’s competition would have come from the 2020 harvest – a difficult one due to drought, bushfire, poor flowering and unseasonal weather. Many producers who would normally enter therefore indicated they did not have the volumes or quality they needed to enter.

“But given this year’s sensational harvest, we are excited about the potential for table olive entries and quality in next year’s competition.”

Gold = very, very good

Michels said that, while this year’s record entry numbers were exciting, the buzz was really about the quality.

“Feedback from all the judges was that the quality overall this year is outstanding,” she said.

“The international panels were particularly complimentary, which is reflected in the number of Gold medals they awarded – 10 each from Tunisia and Spain, four from Italy, three from China and seven from the New Zealand judges.

“They were suitably impressed by the high standard of this year’s entries and producers can be confident that if your products received a Gold medal, they are really very, very good.”

Medal tally

In this year’s extra virgin olive oil competition there were 184 medals awarded to the 209 entries, including 66 Gold medals (56 awarded in 2020), 74 Silver medals (47 in 2020) and 44 Bronze medals (27 in 2020). This saw 88% of entries awarded a medal, with an average score of 78.21/100 (strong Silver).

The flavoured olive oil competition had a similar success rate, with 89% of entries awarded a medal.

The 37 entries was significantly higher than the 23 received in 2020, and again included several international exhibitors, with a total of 33 medals awarded - 14 Gold (8 in 2020), 15 Silver (12 in 2020) and four Bronze (two in 2020).

And while table entries were down this year (24 entries compared to 46 in 2020), the competition also saw 88% of entries awarded a medal – four Gold, nine Silver and eight Bronze medals. Given the drastic reduction in entries, this compares very well with 2020’s result of six Gold, nine Silver and 14 Bronze medals.

Industry improvement

Michels said this year’s results reflect both the successful 2021 crop across Australia and continuing improvement by the industry.

“The AOA’s ongoing program of extension activities provides workshops, webinars, field days and a repository of reference resources, covering all the crucial elements of production quality from the tree to the finished product,” she said.

“Growers are taking it in, and utilising the information, and that’s showing in their oils and olives - right across the industry. This year the top awards reflect a real crosssection of businesses, many new to the industry or who haven’t entered before, and also a number who had entered previously but not won major awards before.

“Whereas years ago we used to see the big guns dominating the trophy scene, smaller producers are increasingly making their mark on competitions, and have certainly done so at this year’s Australian International. Some of them are tiny, in fact - they make just

What makes a Gold Medal table olive?

On first impression a gold medal table olive has an attractive freshlooking appearance with an absence of skin blemishes, pock marks and bruises. The olive’s colour, size and shape are consistent with the class entered. The olive’s aroma (and brine) is fresh and fault free. On the palate the olive’s skin is firm but easy to bite (not tough). Flesh on green olives is firm but not woody. Flesh on black olives have reduced levels of firmness (i.e. softer) but not mushy. The olive has excellent olive flavour. Any added flavourings or fillings (herb, EVOO, garlic) compliment the olive flavour – not overwhelm it. Bitterness, acidity and salt levels are balanced and neither are overpowering. A gold medal table olive is balanced, has great texture and is complex with a long flavourful finish. You will want to eat the whole bowl.

The Australian International Olive Awards 2021 Results

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The 2021 AIOA Results Book provides a comprehensive overview of the competition and a full listing of results, with each medal-winning product featured.

300 litres of oil, or 20 kilos of table olives - and it’s really hands-on production.

“It shows that whether they’re big, small, high-tech or low-tech, olive producers are making superb products.”

AOA CEO Michael Southan agreed.

“The results are more proof that the Australian olive industry has really come into its own in terms of quality production,” he said.

“We’re growing great fruit, processing it with care, and putting attention and expertise into producing incredible oils and table olives. Importantly, we’re then ensuring the end products are treated with that same level of TLC as they make their way to the consumer.

“The increased technical knowledge base across the industry is giving producers the ability to achieve consistently high quality products. In turn, this is giving consumers the confidence that, if the EVOO, flavoured olive oils and olives they buy are Australian, they’re going to be very, very good.”

Full results

The winners were announced at the Australian International Olive Awards Gala Virtual Presentation on Friday, 15 October. Full details are available by downloading the official 2021 AIOA Results Book from the competition website: www. internationaloliveawardsaustralia.com.au, where you can also watch the recording of the presentation event.

2021 AIOA EVOO entry fast facts

• 209 entries from 91 exhibitors • 184 medals awarded: 66 Gold, 74 Silver, 44 Bronze • medals to 88% of entries • average score 78.21/strong Silver • increase in mild and medium intensity oils, decrease in robust • made from one or more of 41 varieties (34 in 2020, 28 in 2019): monovarietals 52%, two-cultivar blends 23%, three cultivar blends 16%, four+ cultivar blends 9% • 60% of gold medal oils made from a single cultivar • average free fatty acid percentage: 0.207 (0.211 in 2021, 0.199 in 2019) • average peroxide level: 5.811mEq O2/kg (5.89 in 2020, 8.08 in 2019) • average polyphenol count: 260.74mg/kg (323.92 in 2020 and 274.06 in 2019) • polyphenol range: 50ppm (Leccino) to 1155ppm (Greek Olympia)

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