Cockatoo Grove named top CHOICE

Cockatoo Grove owners (from left) Ken, Tim, Joan and Andrew Dugan, are convinced about the quality benefits of organic olive growing.

Victorian producer Cockatoo Grove has taken top ranking in the latest CHOICE olive oil review, beating major Australian and international brands to be named the consumer advocacy group’s most highly recommended EVOO.

Cockatoo Grove’s Organic Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil received a CHOICE Expert Rating of 87% and was the only oil in this round to achieve gold medal status.

Fresh and organic

Cockatoo Grove owner Ken Dugan puts the result down to their organic status, along with a commitment to fruit freshness at processing.

“We’re very conscious of the fact that as soon as you take the fruit off the tree it starts to die, so we harvest and process within four hours,” he said.

“Sometimes we have to tell the harvesters to stop working, to ensure the fruit is absolutely fresh when it’s processed.

“And I do think organic farming adds flavour to the product. We’ve got an orange grove too and our oranges are absolutely sensational.

“So it’s all about inputs really.”

Background

Cockatoo Grove is a 250-acre olive and almond orchard on the Murray River at Cobram, owned by Ken and Joan Dugan. The olive grove was established in 1996 with around 20,000 trees, and they have an on-site processing facility.

Varieties include Corregiola, Frantoio, Koroniki, Picual and Nevadillo Blanco, with additional Arbequina, Barnea and Manzanillo fruit purchased from partner groves, and they produce both blends and varietals.

“We have a Classic range - Mellow, Classic and Robust - a Signature Organic range, the Mid-Night, which is picked and processed in the middle of the night, and Lemon Zest, which is made with lemon oil,” Ken said.

“Most of the oils from the farm are robust and we like to give the customer the choice, so the off-farm fruit gives us the opportunity to blend other varieties into our olive oil and provide those other options.

“We sell to some IGAs but predominantly Woolworths, who have both the Classic range and our Mid-Night in around 200 shops. We’re also in 20 Harris Farms stores in NSW.”

Organic advantage

Ken said they converted to organic seven or eight years ago as a point of difference.

“It’s very difficult to sell against the big producers, and extremely difficult to sell to small retailers,” he said.

“But being organic gives us a distinct advantage - and of course having the best oil in the country now gives us a rocket ship!”. The CHOICE review process

CHOICE reviewed 25 popular brands of olive oil labelled 'extra virgin' and available in major supermarket chains.

Chemical and sensory testing was carried out by the NSW DPI Oil Testing Service (OTS), referencing both the IOC Trade Standard and the Australian Standard. The samples were purchased directly from retailers according to strict protocols: each had a minimum of five months left before the label best-before date on the label, were kept out of sunlight in stable temperatures during transit, and maintained in a controlled environment at the testing laboratory. Oils passing both the chemical and sensory tests to be classified as extra virgin were then included in a blind show judging-style tasting, with points awarded for aroma, flavour/palate and overall impression. Scores were then graded as Gold (86-100 points), Silver (76-85 points), Bronze (65-75 points) or No Medal (50-64 points), with the judging score accounting for 100% of the overall CHOICE Expert Rating.

“Best tasting oils” Of the original 25 oils tested, 22 were classified as extra virgin and evaluated. The other three failed the OTS testing process. Seven of the 22 achieved Silver or Gold medal status in the blind judging and were recommended by CHOICE - four were from Australia, two from Italy and one from Spain: • Cockatoo Grove Organic Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 87% (Choice Expert Rating) • Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil Organic Fruity - 83% • Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil Classic Flavour - 83% • Bertoli Extra Virgin Olive Oil Originale - 82% • Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil Light Flavour - 81% • Aldi The Olive Tree Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Classic

Flavour - 77% • Woolworths Macro Organic Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 76%

Only three of the remaining 15 oils were Australian, the other 12 originated in either Italy or Spain.

Testing failings

Three oils weren't included in the show judging because their test results fell outside the parameters for EVOO. The sensory panel found that one had a ‘rancid’ defect and both of the other two had a ‘fusty/muddy sediment’ defect.

Attributed respectively to poor oil storage and anaerobic fermentation from a time delay in processing fruit or oil left in contact with sediment, the results flag important production quality issues for all producers.

More information: www.choice.com.au; www.cockatoogrove.com.au.