The Extra Virgin Olive Oil made by Viveiros Monterosa Lda in Moncarapacho, Algarve, was awarded 4 Gold Medals at the New York International Olive Oil Competition where 702 olive oils from all over the world were judged this week.
The company, originally an ornamental plants nursery, planted 20 hectares with olive trees in the year 2000. The goal was to test if it is possible to make top quality olive oil in the Algarve.
“After 14 years of trial, error and adaption we now have the answer, which is yes,” says Detlev von Rosen, partner responsible for the olive project. “The climate and soil in all of the Algarve are suitable for olive production.”
Monterosa makes 4 monovarietal Extra Virgin Olive Oils, each from a different variety of olives.
Verdeal, Picual and Cobrançosa were all awarded Gold Medals while the variety Maçanilha won the distinction Best In Class in the category “Northern hemisphere, nonorganic, monovarietal, delicate”.
It was the only Portuguese olive oil awarded this distinction in the competition.
