Oil: the best extra virgin olive oils from Italy and the world in the Flos Olei

Italy occupies four out of six positions among the absolute excellences. Spain is second with two companies. The Librandi estates awarded as company of the year. The best EVO of 2021 is produced in Spain, in Andalusia. The emerging company award also goes to Italy, it is in the province of Pisa

Six companies, four Italian and two Spanish, represent the absolute excellence of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for 2021, they are the Flos Olei Hall of Fame, the guide dedicated to oil production companies from all over the world and their extra virgin olive oils, curated by Marco Oreggia and Laura Marinelli which this year took into consideration 500 companies from 54 nations on 5 continents. Published in English as well as in Chinese and in Italian, the Guide reviewed a total of 714 different oils. A real world olive atlas, including cartography of the production areas, an accurate description of the typical varieties, oil tasting cards with related food pairings and more generally historical and cultural information, useful both to enthusiasts and to newcomers to the subject.

In the Hall of Fame category which includes the companies awarded with 100/100ths which, after significant growth over time, have now reached a stable goal of excellence, Italy has placed four companies and they are: Frantoio Bonamini (Veneto) , Frantoio Franci (Tuscany), Viola Agricultural Company (Umbria), Americo Quattrociocchi Organic Agricultural Company (Lazio).

Spain for its part reached the absolute top with Castillo de Canena Olive Juice and Aceites Finca La Torre (both from Andalusia).

A large panel of expert tasters coordinated by the two curators then assigned the year's awards. 20 in all and once again Italy takes home the most numerous medal table with 11 awards followed by Spain with 5, and then by Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Chile with one recognition each

Among the most important titles: the Company of the Year is the Calabrian Tenute Pasquale Librandi; the Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Year is the Nobleza del Sur – Eco Day of the Andalusian Aceites Nobleza del Sur; the Emerging Company is the Tuscan Azienda Agricola Cesare Diddi; the Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Organic Farming is Oro del Desierto – Coupage by the Spanish Rafael Alonso Aguiliera, also from Andalusia; while from Castilla-La Mancha, another region of Spain, comes the Best Quality/Price Extra Virgin Olive Oil, namely the Picual signed by Palacio de Los Olivos. The other Italian companies awarded in the various categories provided are: Frantoio Anteata (Tuscany), Frantoio Gaudenzi and Marfuga (Umbria), Azienda Agricola Cosmo Di Russo (Lazio), Tenuta Zuppini (Abruzzo), Madonna dell'Olivo and Fattoria Ambrosio (Campania). , Fratelli Ferrara Agricultural Society and Le Tre Colonne Agricultural Company (Apulia). To complete the picture, outside national borders: Señorios de Relleu and Aceites Oro Bailén – Galgón 99 (Spain), Jenko (Slovenia), Mate (Croatia), Noan (Greece), Agricola Pobeña (Chile).

As usual, Flos Olei 2021 also assigns Special Awards. These are awards outside the production sector given to those who, through their work, promote and spread the culture of oil. On this occasion, the Importer of the Year Award is won by Francesca De Ritis (Holland); the Restaurant of the Year Award goes to the Patriarch of Bitonto (Italy), directed by chef Emanuele Natalizio; the Journalist of the Year Award goes to Alberto Grimelli (Italy) of the Teatro Naturale magazine; the Cristina Tiliacos Special Award goes to the Marqués de Griñon Family Estate (Spain), in memory of its creator and soul Carlos Falcó.

«It was a particular year and it certainly wasn't easy to complete our work. We succeeded above all thanks to the desire of companies from all over the world to keep the quality extra virgin sector alive. The heart of oil production - underline Marco Oreggia and Laura Marinelli - remains the Mediterranean but, alongside the countries of this area, the quality also extends to more distant places, capable of making their weight increasingly felt on international markets. The aim of Flos Olei, from edition to edition, is precisely to submit to readers a faithful analysis of the entire world olive sector, also trying to anticipate possible developments and trends, with as broad a view as possible. For this reason we believe that the volume represents above all an essential vademecum for all insiders. But at the same time the guide also wants to be a point of reference for consumers, for those who love to eat well starting right from extra virgin olive oil, prince of condiments as well as a staple food of the Mediterranean diet, consumed and appreciated everywhere for its many organoleptic and health benefits».

Also this year, the symbol of the blockchain is present in the guide, a tool capable of guaranteeing transparency and traceability of company processes. While, as per tradition, the 884 pages of Flos Olei 2021 are printed on FSC paper, underlining the authors' attention to the environment. Finally, the guide is also available on the App for iOS and Android.