The Olive Press Takes Top Sonoma County Harvest Fair Award for “Best of Show” Olive Oil

August 04, 2016

The first results are in for the Sonoma County Harvest Fair’s prestigious 2016 Professional Food & Wine Competition and the top award for Olive Oil goes to Sonoma’s The Olive Press. The winner is The Olive Press Sevillano, a delicate California-grown olive oil. It received a Double Gold medal in the California Grown “Delicate” category and was named Best of Show. Additionally in the “Delicate” category, The Olive Press received Golds in the California Grown category for its Arbosana and Mission, and for its Clementine in the California Grown Flavored “Citrus” category. In the California Medium, Olive Press won Double Golds for its Arbequina, and for its Picual. Olive Oil is the first category to be judged for the annual competition, which invites the food and wine community to enter their most delicious creations in hopes of earning prized Harvest Fair honors.

The Professional Olive Oil Competition draws dozens of entries in two divisions; the oils must have either been California grown and custom blended by a Sonoma County processor or made with olives grown in Sonoma County and designated as such on the label. The California grown oils are further divided into three different flavor categories: Citrus, Herb and Other. The Sonoma County grown oils are further divided into three distinct classes: Delicate offering light fruitiness and intensity, Medium being slightly richer in fruit and intensity and Robust offering intense fruitiness. Of the oils submitted this year, seven received Double Gold medals and eight received Gold medals.

Olive oil producers who earned gold medals in this year’s competition include:

  • Dry Creek Olive Company
  • BR Cohn Olive Oil
  • River Road Olive Oil
  • Ferrari-Carano
  • SRJC Shone Farm
  • Alexander Valley Vineyards
  • Capay Fold Olive Oil
  • Deergnaw Olive Oil
  • The Olive Press

These award winning olive oils can be sampled at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, September 30 – October 2, 2016. Guests will enjoy a complete weekend of culinary delights, tasting award winning foods, wines, beers and ciders. The Best of Show and Gold Medal winners from this year’s Professional Food, Restaurant & Wine Competitions will be featured in the Tasting Pavilion for three full days. Results for this year’s remaining food and wine categories will be released in August and September.

Admission to the Sonoma County Harvest Fair is FREE with the donation of 4 items of food for the Redwood Empire Food Bank or $5.00. Admission includes entrance into the Wine Country Marketplace, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting seminars, educational presentations and the World Championship Grape Stomp. Entrance to the Tasting Pavilion (21+) per day is $55 per person; or $100 for two (pre-sale only). This all-inclusive tasting experience includes medal winning wine and food from this year’s professional competitions, as well as local beer and ciders. Gates open Friday, September 30 at 4:00 pm, with the Tasting Pavilion open from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Gates open Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2 at 10:30 with tasting from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

For a complete and detailed list of this year’s medal winners go to: http://www.harvestfair.org/content/professional-food-competition

For more information, visit HarvestFair.org or call (707) 545-4203.