Garden of Eden a tempting taste for Royal Adelaide judges

It was a heavenly surprise for Paradiso Garden of Eden owners Maddelena and Peter Eden, as their entry was pronounced Best EVOO of Show at this year’s Royal Adelaide Olive Awards. The South Australia producers were awarded a soaring 95 points for their organically-grown blended EVOO, which also took the trophies for Best Oil of Providence and Best SA EVOO.

Equally as happy were Olive 1 More’s John and Sue Fielke, who collected the trophies for Best Wild Olive/Medley of Show and Best Table Olive of Show. Their winning entry also gained gold and the judges’ top score of 25.7.

Other top winners included The Australian Olive Company, which took home trophies in both oil and table olive competitions. The company’s Mediterranean Gold Phoenician Extra Virgin Olive Oil took gold and Best Regional Oil in Show, while its Premium Kalamata added another gold and the Best Kalamata Olive in Show award.

The flavoured oil classes again reflected the growing interest in the category, and the increasing skills of local producers. Competition was tough, with all entries awarded either gold or silver medals, while equal top scores resulted in a draw for the Best Flavoured Oil in Show award - Longridge Olives’ Lemon Agrumato and Fedra Olive Grove’s Infused EVOO - Lemon Myrtle, Garlic & Thyme.

Head Judge Trudie Michels said that local oils once again made their mark on the competition.

“Sixteen of the 19 gold medal winning EVOO and flavoured oils were produced here in South Australia, including the Best EVOO in Show. It’s a fantastic outcome for SA growers, producers and olive oil users.

“And it was a very high quality year. The good oils were amazing, full of complex fresh fruit characters that transferred well to the palate, whereas last year the profile was more ‘green’. The good oils also had light but creamy mouthfeels, long lingering complex flavours and a harmonious balance of bitterness, pepper and fruit.

“In contrast, in the oils that did not win a medal the aromas and flavours were very mild and hard to decipher. In many cases the bitterness and pepper overpowered what fruit there was. The oils were also greasy on the palate and short in flavour, generally lacking freshness and intensity.

“We hope that the judges’ constructive comments in this regard will assist these producers with increasing the quality of their oils in the future.” Entries

The 2021 competition received a total of 91 EVOO entries (up 28% from 2020) and 14 flavoured oils (up 27%), coming from VIC, SA, NSW, TAS and WA. Medals went to 88% of oil entries, an increase from 2020 (84.5%) and 2019 (71%).

The EVOO classes saw 11 gold medals awarded (12% of entries), 28 silver medals (30%) and 36 bronze medals (39.5%). Nine oils received no medal (9.8%) and five oils were withdrawn for being defective (5.4%). Key faults were rancid, muddy and fusty.

The trend this year was towards more mild oils (classified as 51% mild, 34% medium, 15% robust), compared to last year’s competition where the majority of oils had a medium to robust profile.

The Flavoured Oil classes saw all entries receive medals, with six gold and seven silver awarded to commercial oils, along with one bronze medal to a non-commercial oil.

The Table Olive competition received 15 entries, with all receiving medals – three gold, six silver and six bronze.

Full results are available on the Olives SA website - www.olivessouthaustralia.org.au.

Happily weighed down by awards were Olive 1 More’s John and Sue Fielke, who collected the trophies for Best Wild Olive of Show and Best Table Olive of Show. The Australian Olive Company’s Peter Reaich took home trophies for both oil and table olives, awarded Best Kalamata Olive in Show and Best Regional Oil in Show.

2021 Royal Adelaide Olive Awards – Major Awards

Best Oil of Provenance - Paradiso Garden of Eden, Frantoio

Best Regional Oil - Australian Olive Company, Mediterranean Gold Phoenician

Best Multi-Region Oil - Diana Olive Oil Holdings, Diana Novello

Best Open Oil - University of Adelaide School of Agricultural Food and Wine

Best Flavoured Oil (joint) - Longridge Olives Lemon Agrumato; Fedra Olive Grove Infused EVOO Lemon Myrtle, Garlic & Thyme

Best Mild Oil - Rylstone Olive Press, Frantoio

Best Medium Oil - Michaels Olives

Best Robust Oil - Arkstone Olives, Manzanillo

Best Green Olive - Viva Olives, Kalamata (Giant)

Best Kalamata Olive - Australian Olive Company, Premium Kalamata Table Olives

Best Specialty or Spiced Olive - Kangaroo Island Olives, Smoked Kalamata Olives

Best Wild or Medley Olive - Olive 1 More

Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Show - Paradiso Garden of Eden, Frantoio

Best South Australian Oil of Show - Paradiso Garden of Eden, Frantoio

Best Small Producer (<500L) - Arkstone Olives, Manzanillo

Best Table Olive of Show - Olive 1 More

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