The Riviera Ligure DPO oil wins with all its quality at the new frontier and solid reality represented by a U.S. market increasingly fond of extravirgin olive oil. It’s not like a poker hand in a dusty saloon of a village in the gold rush. The gold actually exists, it’s the oil. In California they have understood this for some time now. We’re at the Los Angeles Extra Virgin Olive Oil Class, the most prestigious U.S. international competition. Absolute care: 15, 16, 17 March for a meticulous assessment of hundreds of oils from the Northern hemisphere. Attention is to production times, full commitment of the judges and a correct division into categories, considering the Californian products, for example, separately from the monocultivar products, of specific regions, with different organoleptic properties. And here comes the success. Northern Italy, monocultivar, “Delicate” category, that is to say, slightly fruity.
BRONZE MEDAL
Oil Mill of Sant’Agata D’Oneglia www.FrantoioSantAgata.com Delicate, Riviera dei Fiori, Rivera Ligure PDO oil
The strong commitment of a company like Sant’Agata d’Oneglia dominates the scene again, after the success of its biological line at the BIOL competition in Lecce. It thus predominates in the USA with its Riviera Ligure PDO oil with the geographical indication Riviera dei Fiori, winning the challenge with its own products in a taste segment that is often compared with the oil of Casaliva del Garda. Extravirgin olive oil, slightly fruity, delicate, persuasive and sweet. Balanced, but capable of expressing a potent and emotional balance. A prize for everyone that believes in high-quality olive-growing, in the setting of a traced production process and respect for the public, fair and demanding in taking care themselves through what they eat. With care and love for themselves. And with a regard for all those whose work involves climbing up and down the stone steps of the terraces in Liguria, mindless of their fatigue and precarious balance. Prizes like these are a celebration of the vitality of an area where olives have been grown for centuries and its people. People who love their region. You can hear them say: “l love my strips of land”, translating from their local dialect. People who never give up, as is confirmed by the tutelary deity of the Oil Mill of Sant’Agata di Oneglia, Antonio Mela: “We’re very pleased. The prize is further confirmation of our commitment, or rather our passion and moral obligation towards our region and our ancestors”. It’s a shame not to be able to listen him say that live, these few lines are made up of meek, almost shy words that are, however, of great educational value.
