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A total of 206 olive oils were sipped, gargled, tasted and tested in a bid to find the best Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOO) in the country at the 11th National Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards judging in Sydney, over the weekend.

The search to find Australia’s finest EVOO’s is on, with growers from around the nation submitting their oils to the scrutiny of the judges from all over Australia. An increase of over 10% in the number of entrants is a reflection of the continuing growth of this dynamic industry.

Chief Judge, Richard Gawel, believes that the overall standard of Australian EVOO’s submitted for judging has improved dramatically over the past few years.

“The standard is now very high. We gave out 12 Gold Medals this year. Undoubtedly the drought has had an effect on growers and this could be tasted in some of the EVOO’s; a distinctive woody or hay like flavor which is indicative of water stress on the fruit.”

“The strongest class, again, this year was the Single Estate Class, which tend to come from growers with only a few thousand trees that produce only a couple of thousand litres of oil. That being said the Large Volume Producer class is also showing some top quality oils. As these are the oils that are found more commonly in supermarkets, a greater number of Australian consumers are now able to easily access some of the best Australian EVOO’s.”

“This year we also introduced a new class of Flavored Oils. Honestly, we were surprised and delighted with the response from growers, with 25 oils submitted in the first year. These are EVOO’s infused with another flavour, and the range is diverse, from citrus fruits, herbs and even seafood! While these types of oils have been around for a long time, the cooking community has really tuned into them in recent years and created a demand for high quality flavored oils. The Australian EVOO producers have certainly responded with some really stunning oils.” concluded Gawel.