The municipality of Càlig, located in the Baix Maestrat region of Castelló de la Plana, has the best Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the Valencian Community. This is El Pobill Ecológico, produced by Pobill Ecològics, an oil of the arbequina variety from the “el Poubonet y Bovalar” farms in Càlig from olive trees planted seven years ago.
This has been decided by the tasting panel of the III edition of the Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs) contest organized by the Higher School of Olive Oil (ESAO) and the Organic Agriculture Committee of the Valencian Community (CAECV)
The characteristics of the winning EVOO lie in its cold extraction process of the olives (temperature below 27ºC), key in the quality of an extra virgin from the gastronomic and organoleptic point of view, since more aromas, flavors, textures are preserved. and colors. It is a young, fruity oil, with a taste of banana and tomato.
The second prize went to the Campiñero Ecológico EVOO, from Campoenguera Cooperativa V., from Enguera (València) It is a blend of two early varieties (arbequina and koroneiki) produced by a cooperative made up of some 2,000 members from the municipalities de Enguera, Anna, Bolbaite and Navarrés, dedicated mainly to the production and packaging of EVOO and which has a grinding line for organic oils and special care in agri-food quality.
The town of Relleu in the Marina Alta (Alicante) has taken the bronze. It is Señoríos de Relleu Organic Coupage, a blend of the best organic extra virgin olive oils from five varieties from the area and Arbequina, with a medium fruitiness, a slight bitterness and a medium-high spiciness from organic farming.
For the president of the CAECV, Vicente Faro, “that the three provinces of the Valencian Community have obtained recognition in this edition of the ESAO awards, demonstrates our potential in the production of organic oil and shows that this production system helps development rural areas of the interior of our territory”.
In this sense, it should be noted that the three award-winning municipalities are small towns (between the three they add up to less than 8,000 inhabitants) with personal or cooperative projects that give life to towns in the inland areas of the three Valencian provinces.
At ESAO they are satisfied with the development of the awards and congratulate all the winners. “Despite the fact that this campaign has been difficult for many producers and cooperatives, we have had the participation of oils with a very high quality” affirms Susana Romera, technical director of ESAO and person in charge of the ESAO Awards.
Finalists of the III edition of the ESAO awards for the best organic EVOO
The finalists for the best organic EVOO in the Valencian Community have been:
- Green Octobris BIO. Picual variety. Cañada, Alicante.
- Racó de Payá. Alphafarenca variety. Alcoy, Alicante.
- Villalonga variety. Millena, Alicante.
- Ripe Octobris BIO. Grosal and arbequina variety. Cañada, Alicante.
