The 19th annual SA Olive Awards will take place on the 10th of September 2024 at Franschhoek Cellar in Franschhoek. This prestigious annual 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 recognizes and acknowledges producers who demonstrate commitment, effort, and excellence in creating South African Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs).
The judging of all EVOOs that have been entered into the competition will take place between the 19th and 24th of August 2024 at Klein Joostenberg, near Stellenbosch. 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 2024.
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.