News
Dates announced for 2019 Australian International Olive Awards Harvest is drawing closer, which means fresh, new season oils are on their way. As is the chance for peer review and a celebration of the best of the 2019 harvest via the Australian International Olive Awards. Australia’s premier EVOO and table olive competition, with the added benefits of international status and promotion, the Australian International Olive Awards is the “must enter” event on the competition calendar. So SAVE THE DATES NOW and make sure you get your entries in for the chance to be named Best EVOO of Show or Table Olive of Show for 2019: • Entries open – 1 July 2019 • Entries close – 30 August 2019
®
• •
Showcase your EVOO and table olives to the world!
Judging – 12-14 September 2019 Presentation dinner, Albury, NSW – 18 October 2019
Full details will be available in May on the competition website: internationaloliveawardsaustralia.com.au
It validates our initial reason for going into the shows. Being small, we never had a lot of money for advertising, so we agreed we’d enter the awards and see where it takes us. Sure enough, once you get a medal or two it becomes very contagious. Carol and Tony O’Neil, Cradle Coast Olives Best EVOO of Show 2018
TasteBook™ Round 5 explores varietal variance Round 5 of the AOA’s TasteBook™ sensory training program is set to begin – and if you’re keen to get your head (and tastebuds) around the nuances of single varietal oils, this one is definitely for you. Being held from mid-March to mid-April, Round 5 will focus on single varietal extra virgin olive oils, including Picual – a varietal loved by some but a quandary for others. The samples have been sourced from different regions of Australia, providing an opportunity to also explore regional differences and the influences of climate and soil. In a departure from the usual format, and to enable the depth of varietal oil comparison, Round 5 will focus solely on EVOO and no
table olive samples will be included. Bookings will once again be via Eventbrite and the questionnaire will be distributed via SurveyMonkey, the latter allowing for multiple family or business members to participate in the training. The invitation to take part in Round 5 will be emailed to all previous participants, however the program is open to all interested industry members, their associates and the general public who would like to share the experience of appreciating, describing and understanding the quality and nuances of extra virgin olive oil (and usually table olives!). If you’re interested in participating or would like to know more about the
6 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • March 2019 • Issue 111
TasteBook™ program, contact project organiser Dr Soumi Paul Mukhopadhyay at soumi.paul.mukhopadhyay@dpi.nsw.gov.au.