Franschhoek Cellar will play host to the 19th annual South African Olive Awards on Tuesday 10 September.
The prestigious event celebrates the best extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) in South Africa and includes a competition where expert judges blindly assess all South African EVOO producer entries based on quality and taste. This flagship event is crucial to the local olive oil industry, as it recognises and acknowledges producers who demonstrate commitment, effort, and excellence in creating South African EVOOs.
The judging of all EVOOs entered in the competition will take place at Klein Joostenberg near Stellenbosch between Monday 19 and Saturday 24 August. All entries will be evaluated by a panel of well-known international and local judges, all of whom are olive-industry experts. Six EVOO experts and an international judge will make up the panel this year.
Once all entries have been judged, the highest-scoring gold medal winners will be entered into an additional round of judging and the top EVOOs will be selected for the prestigious Absa Top 10 Awards, which take place in October.
Wendy Petersen, the CEO of SA Olive, shared her excitement for the forthcoming 2024 SA Olive Awards: “Our producers have had a tough year, facing low yields, challenges of supply and loadshedding. Despite these hurdles, they have never compromised on quality and their commitment to consumers. We fully expect to see more high-quality EVOOs at this year’s awards, ones that could potentially win international accolades as well.”
Keep an eye out for more exciting SA Olive Awards announcements over the next few weeks, or visit www.saolive.co.za for more information.
