Ercole Olivario celebrated its 30th anniversary at a special edition of the competition, dedicated to the best Italian extra virgin olive oils, which has become a landmark for the country’s high-quality producers.
Organized by the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Umbria, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economic Development and the support of the groups Unaprol and Italia Olivicola, the event concluded with an award ceremony held on March 26 in Perugia.
The level has increased over time, and the oils were all so excellent that it was not easy to select the winners of the various categories.
As it usually is, Ercole Olivario was used as the moment to launch a series of initiatives to promote the production and the territories connected to them.
“Quality, biodiversity and the bond with the territory can represent an added value not only in terms of production but also from the point of view of tourism,” said Roberta Garibaldi, chief executive of the Italian national tourist board Enit.
The 30th Ercole Olivario panel
“Italy will be able to play a leading role in this sector in the years to come,” she added ahead of introducing a new award, the ‘Giorgio Phellas – Oil Tourism’ mention of merit, meant for the companies that invest in oleotourism.
During the event, 12 extra virgin olive oils out of 110 finalists were awarded after being assessed by a panel of 16 tasters, each representing the competing regions.
The team led by the panel leader Alfredo Marasciulo was made up of: Maria Grazia D’Angelo (Abruzzo), Cristiana Rombolà (Calabria), Giovanni Parlato (Campania), Giovanni Goisis (Emilia Romagna), Erika Pozzetto (Lazio), Igino Gelone (Liguria), Enrico Tosadori (Lombardy), Silvano Zannotti (Marche), Tommasino Baroncini (Molise), Luana Leo Imperiale (Puglia), Annalisa Motzo (Sardinia), Giuseppe Iannizzotto (Sicily), Alessandro Parenti (Tuscany), Andrea Segantini (Trentino Alto Adige), Angela Canale (Umbria) and Roberta Ruggeri (Veneto).
The best performance came from Sardinia, Lazio and Puglia producers, which received the highest number of awards.
See Also:NYIOOC Live Updates“The quality was as high as ever,” D’Angelo told Olive Oil Times. “The level has increased over time, and the oils were all so excellent that it was not easy to select the winners of the various categories.”
“This reveals that not only the experience but also the research and the technical support of the experts over the years have been taken on board and implemented by the companies,” she added. “I truly believe that competing is very useful for the producers to measure themselves with other farmers and improve their work and the quality of products.”
The first round of selections for the Ercole Olivario awards occurred at a regional level in the previous weeks.
Among the entries, 16 labels were admitted to the competition after winning the Orii del Lazio (Golds of Lazio) contest, held at the Chamber of Commerce of Rome, now in its 29th year; 13 oils were selected during the 23rd edition of Oro Verde dell’Umbria (Green Gold of Umbria), held at the Chamber of Commerce of Umbria.
A complete list of the 2022 winners, including the recipients of the special awards, may be found on the Ercole Olivario website.
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