Over 400 samples from 11 countries for the 21st Sol d’Oro, the world’s most selective International Competition reserved for extra virgin olive oils, one of the most important in blind tasting, kicks off tomorrow in Verona.
The most important international competition dedicated to extra virgin olive oils returns to Veronafiere. From tomorrow until Feb. 26 the 21st edition of Sol d’Oro will be staged, with 420 evoo samples competing, from Italy, Albania, Chile, Croatia, Greece, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Tunisia. Big news this year is the partnership with Aipo d’Argento, a competition representing the best of the national olive oil industry, organized for 20 years by the Interregional Olive Producers Association Verona.
Evaluating the oils presented in Verona is an international panel of jurors led by panel head Marino Giorgetti, joined by Milena Bucar Miklavcic (Slovenia), Anunciacion Carpio (Spain), Simone De Nicola (Italy), Yara El Ghalayini (Jordan), Selin Ertur (Turkey), Madhi Fendri (Tunisia), Giuseppe Giordano (Italy), Ernest Kante (Slovenia), Alberto Morreale (Italy), Carlotta Pasetto (Italy), Giulio Scatolini (Italy), Piergiorgio Sedda (Italy), Roberta Ruggeri (Italy), Na Xie (China), Miciyo Yamada (Japan) and Antonio Volani (Italy).
Blind tasting – The oils in the competition are subjected to panel evaluation after the work of anonymizing the bottles, taken care of by the lawyer appointed by Veronafiere; precisely the blind tasting is one of the features that makes the international Sol d’Oro competition among the best known in the world. Six categories are admitted to the competition: Extra Virgin (Light, Medium and Intense Fruity), Monovarietal, Organic and DOP. Eligible are extra virgin olive oils from companies and mills that demonstrate that they produce a minimum quantity of 1,500 liters of each oil in the competition. For those who produce and market an evo oil in a quantity between 500 and 1,499 liters, the ‘Absolute Beginners’ category is reserved.
Live Results – On Sunday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m., a Facebook live broadcast is scheduled on the Sol&Agrifood page to announce in real time both the winners of the 21st edition and the winning company of the Sol d’Oro Challenge 2023 Award, given to those who get the highest score with the sum of the evaluations of the oils presented in the competition. Medal-winning oils and those awarded Grand Mention receive quality labels with the words “Sol d’Oro International Competition 2023” with different colors and indications depending on the award given (Sol d’Oro – Sol d’Argento – Sol di Bronzo – Gran Menzione).
The presentation of diplomas to the winning companies, on the other hand, is scheduled for Sunday, April 2, 2023, during the first day of Vinitaly and Sol&Agrifood (Veronafiere April 2-5, 2023). At the Evo Gala Dinner on Tuesday, April 4, however, awards will be presented to the winners of Sol d’Oro, Sol d’Argento and Sol di Bronzo.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
