The winners of the Central Coast Olive Oil Competition have been announced.
Best of Show award-winners are:
- Olea Farm (Templeton): Best of Show Robust
- Olivaia’s Ola (Lindsay): Best of Show Medium
- Colomba Bianca (Clements): Best of Show Delicate
- Calivirgin/Lodi Olive Oil (Lodi): Best of Show Flavored
Entries featured premier oils produced across California. Ten judges in total judged entries.
The Central Coast Olive Oil Competition, part of the California Mid-State Fair, is meant to provide a venue for California olive oils to be professionally graded and to educate consumers on the types and styles of olive oil, according to their website.
“The number of entries for this year’s competition was strong with 108 entries, despite a 2022-2023 harvest that was light, primarily due to weather conditions that limited bloom,” Paul Vossen said in a release, who served as the competition’s chief judge. “Now that the pandemic is kind of over it was refreshing to see a resurgence in activity, compared to the last few years. We tweaked the entry classes somewhat to further emphasize the featured varietal oils as to their origin countries. Overall, there were eleven Best-of-Class oils selected out of the 18 different classes.”
The 2023 Producer of the Year award has yet to be announced.
Competition entries were also judged on their marketing efforts through the Central Coast Packaging and Design Competition. Those winners are:
- Central Coast Olive Company (Paso Robles): Best of Label, Single Bottle
- Solana: Best of Label, Series
- Balestrieri Family Farm (Briones): Best of Packaging, Single Bottle
- La Panza Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Santa Margarita): Best of Packaging, Series of Bottles
The Central Coast Olive Oil Competition has been active since 2013.
