Flos Olei 2023

Year after year, Istria is among the best olive growing regions in the world: This year, the prestigious guide awarded 56 Istrian olive growers

In the fourteenth edition of the prestigious Flos Olei guide, the so-called bible for world extra virgin oils, an extremely large number of oil producers have traditionally been included, more precisely 57 of them from Croatia, of which 56 are from Istria, which is of particular importance considering that the oils included in the publication are from all over the world – 56 olive-growing nations from 5 continents.

As a result, Istrian olive growers found themselves in the company of the best 500 with a total share of as much as 11 percent. At the same time, it is worth noting that a large number achieved even better results than last year, which is proof of the significant work on raising quality and applying the latest scientific and technological achievements in olive growing.

Flos Olei, a kind of atlas of the world's olive industry, endorsed by the famous journalist and oeno-gastronomy critic Marco Oreggia in collaboration with Laura Marinelli, a journalist specialized in the field of oeno-gastronomy, is known internationally and published in three editions: Italian-English, Italian-Chinese and Italian-Spanish.

The authors particularly praise Croatia, especially Istria, and point out that it is very suitable for growing olives due to the favourable climate and excellent soil composition, as well as the fact that it boasts the spread of olive groves along the coast, in Dalmatia, on the islands and above all on the Istrian peninsula. They also emphasize that in recent years an exceptional increase in olive plantations and a strong investment in technology of the latest generation has been registered, leading to a decisive qualitative growth of the end product.

It is therefore not surprising that 56 olive growers from Istria have produced such high-quality extra virgin olive oil that deserve such a prestigious award, like being included in this latest, fourteenth edition of Flos Olei.

Hall of Fame
In Flos Olei, two TOP classes particularly stand out: the “Hall of Fame”, which includes a list of producers who have reached such a level of excellence that they deserve career recognition with the highest rating of 100/100. In the 2023 edition, there are a total of eight farms in this category, three from Spain and five from Italy.

Among the absolute winners on The Best list, and the only one from Croatia, was the Mate oil mill from Savudrija, which was declared "Farm of the Year"

The Best
Another TOP category is "The Best", which provides a list of farms awarded for quality in different categories. Twenty-four of them were selected in the Flos Olei 2023 guide. Awarding does not depend so much on the organoleptic values of the olive oils presented, but on the qualitative stability of each producer over the years and on the added value it brings to the area it is located. It is well-known that after a few months of shelf life, the organoleptic properties of extra virgin olive oil gradually begin to decline, so through this publication, the awards do not want to be strictly tied to the feats of a single oil, but present the producers with several titles "Farm of the Year", " Emerging Farm", " Green Farm", "Organic farming", "Ecological sustainability", then " Importer of the Year", "Biological farming" and similar.

The MATE oil mill run by Aleksandra Vekić from Savudrija was declared " Farm of the Year" for 2023, while "The Best" award for 2022 was won by Franko Červar from Novigrad as the best in category of monovarietal oils of medium fruitiness.

In the Flos Olei guide, each country is presented separately with useful information about the history, culture and the production panorama, while the farms are listed on a total of 500 cards containing a number of details and a description of the best products. When selecting the award-winning samples, the official committee of expert tasters applies a tasting technique that includes olfactory, taste and visual analysis. In addition to the top 500, an additional 254 extra virgin olive oils are listed which, although not selected, were still submitted, rounding out the review for a total of 754.

It is well known that the Mediterranean is the heart of olive production, but in addition to the countries of this area, the quality also extends to more distant places that are becoming more and more established on the international market every year, such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

About the FLOS OLEI guide:
The guide continues to expand its view of the world olive panorama, maintaining the original, ambitious goal: to bring freshness and energy into the basic context of the Mediterranean diet, being globally consumed and appreciated for its proven multiple organoleptic and health effects. Flos Olei presents itself as an instrument of knowledge and dissemination of the best production examples from around the world with the aim of providing quality information to consumers, both in traditionally producing countries and in those considered to be simply consumers. The guide is intended for enthusiasts, but also for beginners of all ages as well as sector experts - manufacturers, importers, distributors and technologists.

Istrian olive growers in the Flos Olei guide:

» www.flosolei.com/aziende-in-guida-2023