Tuscan Extra Virgin PIRO. continues to “wow,” wins Gold at NYIOOC World Olive Oil 2021 Competition after Flos Olei's “Best in the World”
Among the highest in the world in polyphenols (which promote heart health, brain health, immune system function, and even prevent cancer), Piro. offers an unmatched flavor profile and antioxidant benefits for its award-winning 2020 high phenolic blend – a groundbreaking new contender in the premium oil olive market.
New York, NY - June 2021
By any industry standard, The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is the largest olive oil contest in the world and the most prestigious. An annual spring event in New York, the NYIOOC brings together virgin olive oils from around the globe, with judging based on the complexity, harmony and persistence of flavors and aromas. A top position here indicates a superlative product and this marks the third consecutive year that Piro. has won.
For Team Piro., headed by Romain Piro and Daniele Lepori at the oil mill Anteata Frantoio of Montegiovi, in the municipality of Castel del Piano in Tuscany, the latest award solidifies Piro.’s firm hold in the premium olive oil market.
Since its creation in 2018, Piro. has won multiple international awards and was named “Best in the World” of its category in the newest edition of the prestigious Extra Virgin Olive Oil guide, Flos Olei. The 2021 edition of Flos Olei, which covers 500 best extra-virgin olive oils from 54 countries on the five continents, listed the high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil Piro. as "Best of" the category blended, medium-fruity, extra virgin olive oil.
The 2020 harvest that swept the NYIOOC and impressed the Flos Olei judges features a fresh herb aroma with notes of grass, green almonds, hints of tomato leaf and medium pepper with a lingering finish. This is the second year in a row that Piro. has won the Gold award in New York, and the win is even sweeter for the team, given the difficult 2020 growing season. “It was a very dry and warm year,” said Lepori. “The olives came earlier and ripened faster, so our window for production was smaller – only four weeks.” The first mill in its area in Tuscany to harvest each year, Piro added, conditions are perfectly pristine, and post milling, “our oil is filtered immediately and stored in stainless steel containers under nitrogen gas, which creates an air-vacuumed environment that inhibits oxidation,” all but guaranteeing that a bottle of Piro. olive oil presents exactly the same quality and flavor once opened at home as it does when bottled at the source in Tuscany.
“Crafting our flavor profile goes hand-in-hand with maximizing our antioxidant phenolic content and therefore the health benefits of our oil, so the two components are truly related in our process,” said Piro. “Our polyphenol index of 700mg/kg is amongst the highest on the market, compared to 200-300mg/kg in most premium extra virgin olive oils.”
Unlike other premium oil olives that are usually reserved for finishing, and because of its exceptional phenolic content, Piro. is perfectly adapted for cooking at medium and medium/high temperatures, and for poaching and roasting, as recently noted by The Wall Street Journal which included it in its the best cooking olive oil feature.
Since its inception, Piro. has won 17 international awards, including gold medals here in New York, as well in Tokyo, London and Dubai competitions. Piro. is a premium 100% Italian blend coming from the 2,000 Olivastra Seggianese trees of Podere Anteata and from other local tree varieties including Leccino, Moraiolo and Frantoiano.
