With the notification of its four awards earlier this week, Avistria became the most decorated Croatian producer in the World Olive Oil Rankings and this year’s NYIOOC.
Based in the northwestern region of Istria, the producers earned three Gold Awards and a Silver Award at the 2024 World Competition, bringing their total to 24 since 2018.
“We are proud of our successes,” owners Beatrix and Rudolf Nemetschke told Olive Oil Times. “We celebrated each award with friends in Istria and Austria.”
See Also:2024 NYIOOC CoverageThe couple reside in Sankt Wolfgang in northern Austria but have grown olives for nearly a decade in Sveti Lovreč. This former seat of the Venetian bishop has the ideal location and soil for olive cultivation.
Nine years ago, the couple bought about 85 hectares of land with 400 abandoned olive trees, which they have since restored.
They have planted 1,600 trees, mainly of Istrian and selected Italian varieties. The olive grove currently covers 35 hectares, and they intend to expand. “Our goal is to have 15,000 trees and grow them organically,” Rudolf Nemetschke said.
The couple’s primary focus is on typical Istrian varieties such as Buža, Storta, Karbonazza, Rožignola or Istarska Bijelica, and they prefer Italian varieties such as Leccino, Frantoio, Pendolino, Itrana and Amaurino.
Nemetschke said the secret to the company’s success is the agrotechnical measures carried out during the year, including during the harvest, and the team behind those measures.
“We have a team of experts and workers who have been working together for years,” Nemetschke said. “I also try to take part in all the work.”
The company focuses on quality over quantity, undertaking an early harvest each season. In the 2023/24 crop year, Avistria produced 1,242 liters of extra virgin olive oil, citing adverse climatic conditions and the olive fruit fly as major challenges.
“We harvest in the early stage of ripening when the fruits are of the best quality,” Nemetschke said. “From them, we produce green, especially spicy, appropriately bitter but harmonious oils with accentuated fruit flavors.”
He added, “The oils are mostly monovarietals, and we also produce a top-quality cuvee Istrian blend.”
The couple harvests the olives using hand rakes and transports them to the mill within hours. “We exclusively produce extra virgin olive oil,” Nemetschke said. “Immediately after picking, we process the fruits in a state-of-the-art Pieralissi oil mill.”
According to World Olive Oil Rankings data, Avistria is the most awarded Croatian producer at the NYIOOC and ranked seventh worldwide for the most awards earned.
Al Torcio is the second most-awarded Croatian producer with 16 awards, followed by OPG Ivica Vlatkovic, which has 15.
“We won the first NYIOOC award in 2018,” Nemetschke said. Since then, Avistria has participated in every edition of the competition.
“It’s a great feeling to win NYIOOC awards for all the oils we produce,” Nemetschke said. “Also, for the first time, gold for our Cuvee Istrian Blend, which has won silver in recent years.”
The company’s sustained success has not gone unnoticed. When news of their latest recognition broke, Marija Vučković, Croatia’s agriculture minister, congratulated the couple.
“As Austrians who grow olive groves in Istria, we are particularly proud,” the couple said.
Nemetschke said the awards and recognition that come with it have helped the company market its extra virgin olive oils.
Avistria sells most of its oils in Austria but has local customers in Istria. Its marketing strategy is based on the target population of consumers, private clients, restaurants, hotels and certain specialized stores.
The couple also plans to build a new country house on their Istrian estate with a tasting room and a small oil mill to process their olives.
“We are satisfied,” Nemetschke said. “This is a new motivation for the upcoming olive growing year.”
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