ITALY WINS BY GROVES! #KNOWTHEPRODUCER

NYIOOC-PressPhoto-4894Italy Takes the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) by Groves #knowtheproducer

Known as “The World’s Most Important Olive Oil Competition”, the New York International Olive Oil Competition is the largest olive oil quality competition in the word, bringing together some of the most renowned judges and top tasters to decide, one-by-one, which olive oil is the best in the world. The winning brands are in turn coveted by chefs, food buyers and consumers who value and are in search of the highest quality extra virgin olive oils.

It was late in the night on Thursday, April 14, 2016 in Italy, when Curtis Cord excitingly announced the winners of this year’s New York Olive Oil Competition. Italy led the competition, with 109 of the 314 awards bestowed to the 827 brands that submitted extra virgin olive oil selections to the competition.

We not only enjoyed watching the awards, but were thrilled to learn that so many of our wonderful products received awards this year. We take pride in the fact that we work diligently to provide you with the best that Italy has to offer, from producers who take great care in their raising and harvesting of their olives, cultivating some of the finest extra virgin olive oils and other products in the world.

So (drum-roll please)…we present to you this year’s winners that are in-stock today at olio2go.com!

BEST IN CLASS
Cultivar Frantoio from Filippo Alampi at Fattoria Ramerino

GOLD
Fattoria Ramerino Primus
Fonte di Foiano 1979
Dievole DOP Chianti Classico
Centonze Case di Latomie
Olio Verde
Titone DOP
Capezzana
Ravida

SILVER
Fratelli Colletti
Tenute Librandi Nocellara del Belice
Frantoi Cutrera Primo DOP
Frescobaldi Laudemio

What’s great about each one? Here’s a little snip-it:



O2G_ NYI00C PICS
BEST IN CLASS (The highest award)

FATTORIA RAMERINO “CULTIVAR FRANTOIO” EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: In the hills south of Florence, Filippo Alampi has worked miracles with his trees. The Frantoio trees were planted 25 years ago, and in the first commercial harvest their yield won the highest award possible.

TASTES & FLAVORS: An intense golden yellow color with slight green hues, ample and round. Rich in hints of artichoke, thistle and chicory, with fragrant notes of mint and rosemary. Full and complex taste, with a flavor of lettuce and notes of black pepper, cinnamon and almond.

GET COOKING:  Idea with tartare, carpaccio, and surprisingly vanilla ice cream. That’s one we can vouch for and say is really amazing!



GOLD

FATTORIA RAMERINO GUADAGNÒLO PRIMUS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: A superior quality extra virgin olive oil from the estate of Filippo Alampi, outside of Firenze. Primus is pressed from the earliest olives.

TASTES & FLAVORS: An aroma of fresh olives and green grass, bringing forth an intensely spicy and bitter combination. A fruity green olive taste, with hints of grass and artichoke.

GET COOKING:  Truly wonderful with a lentil appetizer or barbecued porcini mushrooms. Also presents well on tuna salad, dishes with artichokes, radicchio, pastas, and red meats. Try with lamb, or roast game for something truly refreshing.


FONTE DI FOIANO “1979” EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: 1979 is the year the grove was planted of this magnificent olive oil. A blend of Frantoio (60%) and Moraiolo (40%) olives, it is harvested in October.

TASTES & FLAVORS: 1979 is intensely fruity with notes of grass, artichoke, and tomato leaf. It is both spicy and bitter, with very long persistence in the finish. Excellent profile with polyphenol level of 765.

GET COOKING:  Ideal with tuna, spinach salads, barbecued radicchio, porcini mushrooms and bruschette. Perfect for a pasta with meat sauce, fish dishes, or red meats. Also flavorful and delightful with hard, mature cheeses.


DIEVOLE DOP CHIANTI CLASSICO EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT:  If there was an aware presented to a truly authentic emerging farm, this estate would be the winner. With 30,000 trees, the owner, an Argentinian agricultural entrepreneur named Alejandro Pedro Bulgheroni, uses past experience to develop an oil culture through innovation, quality and a strong managerial approach.

TASTES & FLAVORS: intensely fruity with notes of artichoke and fresh almond. It possesses medium bitterness, some notable spiciness, and a peppery finish. Ample and round with hints of artichoke, chicory, and notes of lettuce.

GET COOKING: Great with Tuscan favorites, such as bistecca, chickpea soup, other velvety vegetable soups, and roasted vegetables. Chianina beef carpaccio with porcini mushrooms, spinach salad, grilled radicchio, lentil soup, artichoke pasta dishes, oven-baked oily fish, red meat, grilled game, mature firm-textured cheeses.


CENTONZE ORGANIC EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL 2015


ABOUT:
A great new bottling from Nino Centonze, operator of his family’s organic farm, Case di Latomie, near the crystal sea and the Ancient Greek colony of Selinunte and near Castelvetrano. The family has used organic methods for their olive and citrus fruit trees on fully fenced 35 acres since 1953.

TASTES & FLAVORS: The oil is a lovely bright green, with the aroma of fruity olives. It’s flavor characteristics are rich, complex, and aromatic. Nocellara del Belice olives also yield an oil with grassy notes, hints of tomato and artichokes, well balanced bitter and spicy with moderate characteristics.

GET COOKING:  Ideal on porcini mushroom appetizers and a tasty spinach salad. Delightful with pasta and seafood, steak, and vegetables.


OLIO VERDE HARVEST

ABOUT:  This long standing favorite brings forth the best of Sicily.

TASTES & FLAVORS: The perfect balance of grassy, fruity, and peppery. Yellow-green color, smooth taste, unfiltered. The aroma has floral elements, with citrus, and always grass and hay. The flavor has been noted as pungent, grassy, herbaceous, with notes of green tea.

GET COOKING: Drizzle over grilled tuna, stewed white beans, roasted peppers and garlic or a salad of shaved fennel, fresh orange slices and capers.


TITONE EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: An organic extra virgin olive oil from the area near Trapani, on the Western side of Sicily. Opens a bit sweet and definitely grassy, and brings forth several characteristics including green banana and eucalyptus, with a strong finish.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Crafted from nocellara, biancolilla, and cerasuola olives. Titone contains a high level of antioxidants. A taste and aroma typical of the Drizzle Titone Olio Nuovo.

GET COOKING: Great over crudo (sliced raw fish), shrimp, scallops or tuna. Ideal paired with steamed green beans or a baked potato.


TENUTA DI CAPEZZANA EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: Capezzana produces this oil from olives grown on the hills above the vineyards near Carmignano, outside of Prato, to the northwest of Florence. The estate has produced olive oil since 804 A.D. The olives are harvested and crushed in a traditional stone mill.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Golden green color, fresh, zingy olive with aromas of fresh-cut grass and almonds. The buttery, mild, fruity beginning gently fills the mouth with delicate flavors of herbs and green olives, as a delightfully spicy note delivers the finish.

GET COOKING: Meant to be savored, not saved, use Capezzana on Fettunta–toasted bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and topped with a sprinkle of sea salt. Or pour liberally over farro salad with arugula and Pecorino cheese.


RAVIDA EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL 2015
 

ABOUT:
 Blended from three Sicilian olive varieties: Nocellara, a slightly fruity eating olive; Cerasuola, tasty and full-bodied and light-green; and Biancolilla, for distinctive color and fragrance. Unfiltered and very low acidity.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Boasts an aroma of freshly mown hay, which some describe as herbal and grassy. It has a smooth aftertaste, indicating that it is pressed late in the season as with most Sicilian oils. Deborah Krasner, in “The Flavors of Olive Oil”, describes Ravida as “strong, pungent, green, and pleasantly bitter.”

GET COOKING:  We especially recommend it for cooking with fish and vegetables.


SILVER

FRATELLI COLLETTI, OLIO EXTRA VERGINE DI OLIVA

ABOUT: Organically produced and unfiltered, this olive oil derives from the mountain village of Caltabellotta near Agrigento.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Bright, grassy, and unfiltered are the best features of Fratelli Colletti. A nice green with an elegant scent, you’ll enjoy notes of freshly cut grass, a hint of artichoke, and unripe tomato, with an intense spicy finish.

GET COOKING: Serve well for bread dipping, salads, dressing tomatoes, and with the spicier cuisines of Sicily. This is a great selection, perfect for the flavors of summer. Enjoy this oil with grilled bread, a smear of garlic and a generous drizzle of Fratelli Colletti.


TENUTE LIBRANDI ORGANIC NOCELLARA DEL BELICE EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT:  Located in located in Vaccarizzo Albanese in Cosenza, Calabria. With 27,000 trees and a mill on the property, this orchard is able to mill within four hours of picking.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Green with golden yellow hues. The aroma is strong and rotund. You’ll note rich fruity notes of ripe tomato, banana, and white apple, with hints of basil, sabe, and mint. Complex and vegetal, with many noting some celery, lettuce, and broad beans, finishing with characteristic bitterness and pungency. Certified Organic.

GET COOKING: Excellent with tomato bruschetta, swordfish, lentil soups, pasta with meat sauce, game, and aged cheese.


PRIMO DOP, FRANTOI CUTRERA EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

ABOUT: Produced in the area of Chiaramonte Gulfi, north of Ragusa in southern Sicily. Primo is unfiltered and a monocultivar of the local Tonda Iblea olives. The olives are organically farmed and cold pressed at the family’s mill within six hours of being picked.

TASTES & FLAVORS: Green with golden reflections and intensely Fruity. The notes are elegant and spicy with elements of green tomato. Clear notes of balsamic herbs and sweet almond, the latter certainly from the single variety Tonda Iblea olives. The result is a nice harmony of sweet, bitter, and spicy elements.

GET COOKING: Perfect on a salad or grilled vegetables. A favorite of Mario Batali, it is served at both Esca and Babbo, and  Cited as a favorite on p. 141 of Mario Batali’s Molto Gusto.


FRESCOBALDI LAUDEMIO

ABOUT: This estate is located in the hills of Chianti Rufina. All producers of Laudemios must adhere to strict guidelines established by the Laudemio consortium. The Frescobaldi Laudemio is consistently rated “exceptional.”

TASTES & FLAVORS: A stunning emerald green color, redolent of fresh cut grass with elements of fruit and floral. The taste is olives and artichokes, pungent and complex, with a notable peppery finish. A robust and complex oil. Packaged in a gift box. Filtered, estate-bottled.

GET COOKING:  Delicious drizzled over a classic steak. Great with white beans cooked to the edge of softness and a touch of rosemary. Very tasty with Pinzimonio with sea salt and fresh vegetables (carrots, red peppers) as an olive oil dip.


View All New York winners HERE
To read more about the competition, CLICK HERE


PHOTO CREDIT: NYI00C

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