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Il Magnifico 2018 – The European Extra Virgin Olive Oil Award is here. Registrations are now open for the contest which will decide which oil is declared the “Magnifico” on March 15th. The deadline for submissions will be 12th January 2018.

The competition that promotes the “Quality rEVOOlution” and celebrates olive oil will have some new features this year. The contest is open to European producers, in line with the recognition that Europe is a “Magnificent land”, where olive oil production excels both in quantity and quality.

The big news is that this year it will be possible for all participants to join AIRO without any additional costs. AIRO is the association that puts its efforts into connecting olive oil producers and the restaurant industry, and that also collaborates in the organisation of Il Magnifico Award.

Another new introduction to the award is the collaboration with MERUM, which is born from the common goal of identifying the best olive oils. Thanks to this, the producers will be able to send a single sample to participate in the two selection processes.

Thanks to the collaboration with the Consorzio Chianti Classico DOP, the Magnifico has also “found a home”. It will in fact be in their headquarters that the competition tastings will take place.

The expert tasters of the Consorzio Chianti Classico DOP together with ANAPOO will be the “Magnificent Tasters” for the first selection step.

The selection process

The selection process is rigorous and includes the “Reacquisition Campaign” for the 12 finalists in order to guarantee transparent, impartial and professional results.

The first selection step involves the evaluation of the samples, which are made anonymous by ValoreItalia. The factors taken into consideration include: the olfactory, gustatory and tactile components, harmony and overall cleanliness.

The tasting Panel will consist of experienced tasters registered in the Elenco Nazionale degli esperti assaggiatori di olio di oliva (National List of expert olive oil tasters).

Subsequently, the samples with the highest score in the sensory evaluation, will be subjected to chemical analysis using the HPLC method.

The 12 finalists, that represent the best of European olive oils, will then be subjected to a reacquisition campaign, to compare the oil on the market with the samples sent to the competition.

The final tasting of the 12 samples will be done by the Top Panel. The major European tasters will finally declare “Il Magnifico 2018” under the guidance of the head of the Magnifico Panel Fiammetta Nizzi Grifi.

The Awards

  • Il Magnifico 2018 – European Olive Oil Award
  • Premio Marco Mugelli – alla Carriera 2018 (Lifetime Achievement award)
  • Premio Massimo Pasquini – personaggio dell’olio 2018 (personality award)
  • Premio “Estra Energia” – packaging 2018
  • 12 Golden medals for the European finalists
  • 24 Honorable mentions “Olio Magnifico”
  • Selezione AIRO – 4 Oils selected by AIRO award
  • Chef dell’Olio 2018 – Premio AIRO
  • Ristorante dell’Olio 2018 – Premio AIRO
  • Pizzeria dell’Olio 2018 – Premio AIRO
  • Sponsors Special Awards

The main stages of the Il Magnifico 2018 award

  • 1st December 2017 registration opening
  • 12th January 2018 submission deadline
  • March 15th 2018 The Magnifico 2018 Awards ceremony at the Antinori cellars in Bargino, San Casciano Val di Pesa

To participate in Il Magnifico 2018 – European Extra Virgin Olive Oil Award: www.premioilmagnifico.org/partecipa.

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