What Olive Oil Competition Awards Actually Tell You About Quality

Pasolivo recently walked away with more awards than any other U.S. producer at the 2026 Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition. They also tied with producers from traditional olive oil countries—places like Italy, Spain, and Greece that have been making olive oil for thousands of years—for the most awards overall.

Nineteen awards from one competition. Best in Class wins for their Lemon, Basil, Citrus, and Red Jalapeño flavored olive oils. And the Margaret Edwards Award, the competition's top honor that goes to just one oil out of hundreds of entries.

To further underscore this award-winning consistency, all five of the California extra virgin olive oils Pasolivo submitted to the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) earned Gold Awards—the highest distinction given at the renowned competition.

But here’s the question anyone outside of the olive oil industry has: Do these awards actually matter, or is this just fancy marketing?

The consensus is olive oil awards matter more than you might think, but it’s not just about prestige. 

Why Olive Oil Awards Actually Matter

Unlike wine or cheese, where you can often taste quality differences yourself, olive oil defects aren't always obvious. Research from UC Davis found that 69 percent of imported oils sampled failed to meet internationally accepted standards for extra virgin olive oil, with defects such as rancidity caused by oxidation due to elevated temperature, light, or aging. 

That's the problem: not all bottles labeled "extra virgin" actually meet the standards, and this is where reputable competitions become genuinely useful. 

Expert judges who've tasted thousands of oils can detect subtle signs of poor storage, processing problems, or aging that most of us would miss. Olive oil awards are essentially your quality assurance.

What Olive Oil Competitions Test For

Reputable olive oil competitions like the LA International do not focus on subjective preferences. They're rigorous, blind taste evaluations that test three specific things:

• Freshness: Is this oil actually fresh, or has it been oxidizing on a shelf for months? According to Dan Flynn, executive director of the UC Davis Olive Center, standards require that extra virgin olive oil have no rancidity or other off-flavors resulting from poor-quality fruit, processing or storage. 
• Flavor authenticity: Does the oil taste like what it claims to be? If it's labeled "robust," does it deliver? If it's lemon-infused, does the citrus come through clearly without tasting artificial?
• Defects: Judges are trained to identify problems everyday consumers can't easily detect—musty flavors from poor storage or fermentation, or signs of adulteration with lower-grade oils.

Think of awards like an expert third-party inspection. The judges are experts in the industry and understand what quantifies a quality product without bias, allowing you, the consumer, to choose the best olive oil possible. 

LA and NY International Olive Oil Competitions 

The Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition and the New York International Olive Oil Competition are considered gold standards in the industry.

The LA competition attracts hundreds of entries from producers worldwide. In 2026, 209 producers from 22 countries, including Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey, submitted oils for evaluation. Every entry undergoes blind tasting and judges are not aware of brand names, prices, or packaging when evaluating.

Entries are assigned random judging codes and placed on storage racks separated by categories, with oils poured into blue tasting glasses (to eliminate color bias) that are then placed in front of each judge, who tastes oils independently. 

Judges use a standardized 100-point scoring system assessing fruitiness, intensity, complexity, and harmony. Oils are divided by intensity levels, delicate, medium, and robust, so they're compared against others in their class. This is a tasting competition with intention.

What Olive Oil Awards Mean for You

Competition awards for olive oil become especially valuable when you're in the market to try a new brand or shopping for a gift. Here's when those accolades really help your shopping decisions:

• Shopping at different price points: Olive oil awards help you determine if that $35 bottle of EVOO truly offers better quality than the $12 one, or if you're just paying for prettier packaging.
• Buying online: You can't taste before you buy. Recognition and awards from respected competitions provide third-party validation that the olive oil meets rigorous standards.
• Trying new brands: Awards offer trust. Rather than hoping the company's story translates to quality, you can see that independent experts confirmed it.

This matters because quality standards for California olive oil are stricter than international standards, and standards require that extra virgin olive oil have no rancidity or other off-flavors resulting from poor-quality fruit, processing or storage. Unfortunately, not all bottles labeled "extra virgin" actually meet those standards.

Olive oil awards tell you:

• The oil was fresh and high-quality at the time of competition
• Experts confirmed it tastes like what it should
• Production quality met rigorous international standards
• When a brand wins repeatedly, it demonstrates reliable quality control

They don't tell you:

• Your personal taste preference (you might prefer mild oils while someone else loves peppery ones—both can be award-winners)
• Best use case for your specific cooking needs

Think of awards as a guide for quality, but not your specific tastes. They confirm an oil meets high standards, but you still need to match it to your needs. 

What Our Awards Mean to Us & Our Commitment to Quality 

Pasolivo’s awards are a testament to our family tradition and dedication to quality. We're always honored when we receive recognition from prestigious competitions like the LA International Olive Oil Competition, and receiving awards reaffirm our commitment to our craft.

At the 2026 LA International competition, we earned 19 awards, including Best in Class wins for our Lemon, Basil, Citrus, and Red Jalapeño  oils. Our Lemon Olive Oil received the Margaret Edwards Award, which is the competition's highest honor awarded to just one oil out of all entries.

These recognitions matter to us because they reflect what we've always prioritized: growing and sourcing only the best ingredients, and ensuring our harvest and production process continue to deliver taste profiles that reflect the quality of our olives.

When you see a brand winning consistently—not just once, but year after year across multiple competitions—it shows a dedication to maintaining those standards at every step. From hand-harvesting our olives to cold-pressing within hours of harvest, to storing every batch in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, we control the entire process to protect the quality that goes into every bottle.

Crafted in Paso Robles and shipped nationwide, these award-winning oils bring California's olive-growing tradition directly to your kitchen.