Award || Jóia do Sul, a small company owned by a couple based in Albufeira, has seen its extra virgin olive oil ‘Herdade Jóia do Sul’ win a ‘Prestige Gold’ medal at the International Olive Oil Competition in Latin America – Olivinus 2014.
Besides the quality of the oil, it also received a special mention for its packaging.
It is yet another success story for the Algarvean olive oil that has already received eight gold medals out of a total of 11 awards since it started being entered for international competitions in 2011.
Producers Alexandra Monteiro, 39, and Francisco Barra, 41 consider the oil to be “medium mature and fruity with a harmonious feeling of freshness at the end”.
And although the couple live in Albufeira, they told the Resident that the best land that they could find for their olive grove when they started the business in 2006 was in Pereiras-Gare, Odemira, in the lower Alentejo.
“Plus the area used to be part of Silves way back then,” Monteiro told us, adding that “in a way the land has a history with the Algarve”.
But theirs wasn’t the only Portuguese olive oil to be awarded prizes at Olivinus.
A total of 17 awards were brought home by national companies, including Sovena Portugal, Cooperativa de Olivicultores de Valpaços and Esporão, among others.
They were up against hundreds of olive oils from 17 countries. Expert tasters worked for three days to taste 140 oils per day. In all, only 30% received awards.
