500 olive farms from 56 countries around the world have entered the guide of FlosOlei 2023, the Guide dedicated to best extra virgin olive oils in the world curated by Marco Oreggia and Laura Marinelli. An unexpected novelty of this year's edition is the entry of Eritrea where olive growing is still in an embryonic state but could develop if the recent experiments put in place bring the desired results.
Overall, the Guide, published in Italian, English and from this year also in Spanish, analyzes 754 world extra virgin oils representing 500 companies from all over the planet,
This multiplicity of countries represented in the guide confirms the mission of Olei Flos: that of widening our gaze on the world olive oil scene which is proving to be increasingly rich in new players and territories able to offer high quality.
As per tradition, Italian and Spanish producers are the winners again this year. in the guide. The list of eight remains unchanged excellent extra virgin olive oils from 100/100 of the Hall of Fame: five Italian companies represented by Azienda Agricola Comincioli (Lombardy), Frantoio Bonamini (Veneto), Frantoio Franci (Tuscany), Azienda Agraria Viola (Umbria) and Americo Quattrociocchi (Lazio), and three Iberian with Casas de Hualdo (Castilla-La Mancha), Castillo de Canena and Aceites Finca la Torre (Andalucía) as protagonists. Italy was then awarded nine of the twenty The Best awards, including the coveted one Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Year which saw the triumph of the Giovanni Batta oil mill (Umbria).
Guide Flos Olei 2023: Italy beats Spain 5 to 3
«We are extremely proud – he declares Marco Oreggia, publisher of the guide Olei Flos – to continue to represent a point of reference for producers from all over the world. And even more, also thanks to the effort to propose Flos Olei in Spanish for the first time, to be a link between those who produce and those who distribute and consume. We were the first to expand the boundaries of extra virgin olive oil, without forgetting the pivotal role that Italy and Spain continue to have».
The other eleven prizes are distributed as follows: five to Spain and one to France, Croatia, Greece, South Africa, Brazil and Chile. Precisely a Croatian company was awarded the prestigious recognition of Company of the Year: this is the Mate company that brings in guide Flos Olei 2023 its best product, the Istrian Stamp. While the Green Company is French: Magnanerie, crowned for choices based on environmental sustainability. Finally, there are four Special Awards, intended for those who do not produce oil but promote and spread it. At the Pizzeria Salvo (Italy) goes the Il Ristorante dell'Anno award; to Hippie house (Denmark) that of Importer of the Year; to Cécile Le Gaillard (France) the Journalist of the Year award. To close, the Community of Sant'Egidio (Italy) was awarded the Cristina Tiliacos Special Prize, a dedication that underlines the connotation of peace and inclusion deeply connected with such a precious plant and fruit.
Pizzeria of the Salvo brothers: the Restaurant of the Year award for the promotion of the culture of oil
«A ranking that counts various confirmations but also interesting news – they say the curators Marco Oreggia and Laura Marinelli – demonstrating the dynamism of the entire sector. For us to Olei Flos it is essential to always keep up with the times, often anticipating trends and indicating the path to newcomers to the sector. More and more we want to represent an opportunity for discussion and dialogue between the stakeholders of the sector worldwide, and all this would not be possible without our team which includes over one hundred collaborators, including fifty international professionals with whom we maintain constant relationships and as many as four interpreters-translators who support us for the three bilingual versions. It is thanks to the work that we all do, from producers to disseminators, that the olive sector is gaining more and more notoriety, but the journey is still long. For the future, we are aiming for further awareness on the part of politics towards our world, in particular as regards the still too inadequate legislation that governs it and the need to strengthen the anti-fraud rules".
