Winners announced: 2026 Australian International Olive Awards

Challenging seasonal conditions and rising operating costs didn’t dampen the quality of extra virgin olive oils, flavoured oils and table olives entered for judging in the 2026 Australian International Olive Awards.

Winners of the annual event held by the Australian Olive Association have now been announced, recognising producers from Australia and around the world for the excellence of their olive products.

Judging was conducted during September by a 36-member Australian judging team, supported by international panels in New Zealand, Spain and China.

Australian International Olive Awards Event Convenor and Chief Steward Trudie Michels said organisers were pleased with both the quality and diversity of entries despite a difficult season for Australian olive producers.

“As always, growing and harvesting conditions vary between regions and individual sites, but we were delighted by the quality and diversity of olive products submitted from Australia and around the world,” she said.

“The extra virgin olive oils were generally of a very good standard, with a diverse range of flavour profiles and aromas making this year’s judging particularly interesting.

“Green and herbaceous characteristics featured strongly throughout the judging comments, with fresh-cut grass, green banana, tomato leaf and vine, apple and pomme fruit, rocket, fresh herbs, green olive, artichoke and green bean among the most frequently noted aromas and flavours.

“We also saw a very delicious selection of flavoured oils. It was particularly pleasing to see the continued improvement in agrumato oils, with the strongest entries showing excellent flavour, texture, persistence and purity.”

2026 winners

• Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Show — Boutique Volume was awarded to Devon Siding Olives for its Hardy’s Mammoth. Produced at Devon North in Gippsland, Victoria, the oil also won Best of State EVOO Victoria and the Class 3 Champion — Robust EVOO.
• South Australia’s Macaw Creek Olives won Best EVOO of Show — Commercial Volume for its Expression 2, which also took out Best of State EVOO South Australia. The awards cap a strong season for the Riverton producer, which has only been in the olive game since 2021.
• Best Flavoured Olive Oil of Show — Boutique Volume went to Olive Twist for its Orange Agrumato, produced in South Gippsland, Victoria. It also won Reserve Champion — Class 7 Agrumato Olive Oil.
• Best Flavoured Olive Oil of Show — Commercial Volume was awarded to Sahawiq, a collaboration between Adelaide Hills producer Rio Vista Olives and Adelaide chef Paul Farag. A selection of herbs and spices are added at the mill during pressing, creating a product that sits somewhere between an olive oil and a condiment. Sahawiq also won the Class 7 Agrumato Olive Oil Champion trophy.
• Best Table Olive of Show — Boutique Volume was awarded to Gooramadda Olives near Rutherglen, Victoria, for its Koroneiki olives. Grown beside the Murray River, the entry offered a welcome alternative in a category often dominated by Kalamata olives.
• Spain’s Goya en España S.A.U. (GOYA) won Best Table Olive of Show — Commercial Volume for the second consecutive year, this time for its Manzanilla olives stuffed with blue cheese paste. The producer also dominated the international table olive classes, winning both the Class 17 Champion and Reserve Champion trophies for its stuffed Manzanilla varieties.
• Phenolic Content Champion was awarded to Little Pier of Tuerong, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, for its Frantoio Leccino EVOO. With a phenolic content of 714 ppm, the oil impressed judges with its balance of fruit, bitterness and pepper.

Australian Olive Association Chief Executive Officer Michael Southan said the Australian International Olive Awards continues to demonstrate the quality of Australian olive products on the world stage.

“Australia may be a relative newcomer to the thousands-year-old global olive industry, but these results once again demonstrate the quality of our olive products,” he said.

“A key factor is our industry code of best practice, which supports sustainable growing practices and quality olive production while strengthening industry standards, brand integrity and reputation.”

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