6 minute read
Woodside Farm: the phoenix rises to take Royal Adelaide Best of Show
Woodside Farm’s Ron Baker proudly accepted the Best in Show and Best Multi-varietal EVOO awards from Royal Adelaide Show CEO John Rothwell.
The Best Table Olive in Show award went to the Australian Olive Company, presented to Justin Ormond (left) by RAS CEO John Rothwell.
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Pendleton Estate’s Nick Whiting took home the awards for both Best Mild EVOO and Best Medium EVOO.
Kevin Stephens was delighted with the three Bronze and a Silver medal awarded to the Department of Correction’s Cadell Training Centre.
Photos: John Krüger.
Adelaide Hills producer Woodside Farm has literally risen from the ashes to take out the coveted Best EVOO of Show Award at this year’s Royal Adelaide Olive Awards.
Ron and Ethne Baker’s 6400-tree grove was impacted by the devastating 2019-20 Cudlee Creek bushfire, with nearly half of the trees heat-effected and around 400 destroyed, along with 50km of irrigation.
They’ve spent the past two-plus years on an intensive rejuvenation project and there’s now no doubt about its success, with the Woodside Farm Frantoio Coratina awarded Gold, Best Multi-Varietal EVOO and the 2022 Best EVOO of Show.
Their winning oil was also one of the two top-scoring entries in the 2022 competition, earning 93 points from the judges alongside Longridge Olives’ Lemon Agrumato. The Gold-medal winning citrus flavoured oil earned the class award for Best Agrumato Olive Oil and then topped the category to take out the Best Flavoured Oil of Show award.
The win cemented Longridge’s 2021 success, when it shared the Best Flavoured award with Fedra Olive Grove - this year’s winner of the Best Flavoured Olive Oil, Other Method award.
The table olive classes were dominated by the Australian Olive Company’s Premium Kalamata Table Olives, which took home Gold and the major awards for Best Kalamata Olives and Best Table Olive of Show.
Local success
Chief Steward Trudie Michels said that local oils once again made their mark on the competition.
“It was great to see that 12 of the 18 Gold medal winning EVOOs and six of the eight flavoured oils were produced here in South Australia,” she said.
“And all three Best in Show awards - EVOO, Flavoured Oil and Table Olives - were produced in South Australia. That’s a fantastic outcome for our growers, producers and consumers.
“It was also great to see several entries in the Non-commercial class and four in the School Oil class, showing that olive oil is increasingly becoming a recognised part of Australian food production and our way of life.”
Michels also said an overall reduction in entry numbers was expected this year, given the trend to very low-yields and the difficult effects of La Niña.
“While numbers were down, however, quality was undoubtedly up and the number of medal-winning oils once again increased this year,” she said.
“Most significantly, the number of EVOO Gold medals was more than double that of last year’s. These higher scores further indicate that oil quality is consistently improving and, given the difficult year for many producers, exhibitors should be very proud of their work.
“The great oils were incredible, full of complex, fresh fruit characters that transferred with vigour to the palate. There was a real mix of fruit characters in the Gold medal oils, from green and herbal aromas and flavours to floral blossoms, fresh fruit salad, tomato, chocolate, vanilla and spice, citrus, pome and vegetal aromas and flavours. These good oils had light but creamy mouthfeels, long lingering, complex flavours and a harmonious balance of bitterness, pepper and fruit.
“It was also great to see that flavoured oil producers are improving in both technique and quality, and being rewarded for it – the judges all agreed that the Best in Show lemon agrumato oil simply shone!
“In contrast, the oils that failed to win a medal had very mild and/or overripe aromas, often a greasy palate, and with the bitterness and pepper overpowering what little fruit was evident. Generally, they had a short finish and lacked both freshness and intensity.”
Statistics
The 2022 Royal Adelaide Olive Awards received a total of 73 EVOO entries (down 21% from 2021), 28 Flavoured Oil entries (up 50%) and 10 Table Olive entries (down 33%). The olive oil entries came from VIC, SA, NSW, TAS and WA; table olive entries from SA and NSW.
In the EVOO classes, 66 (90.4%) entries were awarded a medal, an increase from both 2021 (88%) and 2020 (84.5%). Of those, 18 were Gold (24.6% of entries), 27 Silver (36.9%) and 22 Bronze (30.4%), marking a significant quality improvement on the 2021 results of 11 Gold (12% of entries),
His first competition entry ever was a very satisfying Silver for industry newcomer Eric Verecondi of Clare Estate.
28 Silver (30%) and 36 Bronze (39.5%).
Five oils received no medal (6.8% of entries) and one oil was withdrawn for being defective (1.3% of entries). The key faults were - unfortunately, similar to last year - rancid, fusty and muddy.
The trend this year to medium to robust oils (classified as 11% mild, 50% medium, 39% robust), compared to last year’s competition where the majority of oils had a mild to medium profile.
Flavoured oil entries came from VIC, SA, NSW and WA, with 19 in the Agrumato class and nine produced by another method. The medal count again saw an increase to eight Gold (6 in 2021), nine Silver (7 in 2021) and six Bronze (0 in 2021), with 82% of entries awarded a medal. Four exhibits were not awarded a medal.
In the table olive competition nine of the 10 entries received a medal, with two Gold, five Silver and two Bronze awarded.
Full results are available on the Olives SA website - www.olivessouthaustralia.org.au.
Header: 2022 Royal Adelaide Olive Awards – Major Awards
Best in Show EVOO - Woodside Farm Frantoio Coratina Best in Show Flavoured - Longridge Olives Lemon Agrumato Best in Show Table Olives - Australian Olive Company Premium Kalamata Best Mild EVOO - Pendleton Olive Estate Mild EVOO Best Medium EVOO - Pendleton Olive Estate Medium EVOO Best in Robust EVOO - Kyneton Olive Oil Family Selection Best Bulk EVOO - Nasmin FS-17 Best Single Varietal EVOO - Rio Vista Manzanillo EVOO Best Multi-Varietal EVOO - Woodside Farm Frantoio Coratina Best Flavoured Olive Oil, Agrumato - Longridge Olives Lemon Agrumato Gold Best Flavoured Olive Oil, Other Method - Fedra Olive Grove Garlic Oil Thyme & Lemon Infused with Oregano Best Non-Commercial Oil – Four Little Olives Best School Oil - Willunga High School Best Green Olives - Australian Olive Company Premium Frantoio Best Black Olives - Olives From Broke Best Kalamata Olives - Australian Olive Company Premium Kalamata Best Non-Commercial Olives - Brett Zimmerman, Belle Olive Domestiche Gold
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