It’s a pleasure to announce that Pacific Sun’s Proprietor’s Select Ascolana Extra Virgin Olive Oil won the “Best of Show” title at this year’s Napa Valley Olive Oil competition.

Aside from sharing the good news that a panel of expert judges picked Pacific Sun from more than 80 entries, we thought this would be a great time to explain what makes an olive oil a good candidate to win awards at this type of contest.

First, it’s important to note that the “Mario Solinas form” of evaluating olive oil is the set of guidelines that is most extensively used throughout worldwide olive oil competitions (based on the Spanish competition of the same name).

1. Olive oil tasting always begins with the appreciation of its perfume (generally called “Fruit”) and so do competitions. High quality olive oils can achieve remarkable aromas from a wide range of resemblances (flowers, ripe or green banana, avocado, grass, nuts, tomato leaf, spice, artichoke, among others). Therefore, the first rating a judge gives is for the scent or olive fruitiness of the sample.
   • Judges award additional points when the oil emits pleasantly noticeable scents of other fruits. In our case, the Proprietor’s Select Ascolana Extra Virgin Olive Oil has distinctive notes of Passion Fruit and Peach.
   • Later, judges seek green elements (like grass and leaves) in a sample. Our Proprietor’s Select not only emits the pleasant smell of green elements with gentle intensity, but it also contains other positive sensations, like the fragrance of the lily flower.
2. The second part of the tasting focuses on gustatory and retro-nasal sensations. This includes olive fruitiness, sweetness, bitterness, pungency, and the presence of green elements and other positive sensations.
3. The final step focuses on evaluating the complexity of the oil and the persistency of its taste. Good, healthy oils will journey through your mouth and nose entering one way, exiting another. After experiencing quality olive oil one can expect a very pleasant aftertaste and a clean mouth.

Overall, a key factor leading to an olive oil being considered of high quality is its harmony, which increases when the attributes are balanced. When you buy olive oil, it’s always useful to evaluate its fruit in order to determine its quality and to expand your enjoyment — and keep it simple: Good oils have nice perfumes, poor ones are odorless or smell defective i.e. rancidity, solvents, dirty, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to read this explanation and more importantly, for supporting Pacific Sun Gourmet. We hope we conveyed the many things that can be enjoyed from honest, well-crafted extra virgin olive oil and with this knowledge share in our enthusiasm about this magical food.

Interested in tasting these award winning olive oils? Buy the "Best of Class-2011 Napa Valley Olive Oil Competition" Olive Oil Three Pack>>