Calivirgin wins best of show at California State Fair
For 2017, Coldani Olive Ranch grabbed a symbolic 17 awards at the California State Fair — including best of show for the Flavored Olive Oil category.
Both the Calivirgin Guilty Garlic and the Calivirgin Lusty Lemon olive oils won double-gold, the top award in the State Fair Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition — the only two oils in the competition to do so.
Lusty Lemon nabbed the top spot in the state for flavored oil, and Guilty Garlic came in close behind with best in class.
The best of show win is a first for the Coldani team, and they were surprised but ecstatic to receive the news.
“We have not won a Golden Bear yet, so it was very exciting for us,” said Julie Coldani, who helps run the family-owned business with her husband Mike Coldani, along with his sister Gina Sans and her husband Scott.
The best part in the Coldanis’ eyes is that the State Fair competition is open only to olive oils grown, processed and bottled in the state, which isn’t the case for most of the competitions they enter.
“We were very honored to be recognized at such a high level,” Julie Coldani said.
The Coldanis have farmed in the Lodi area for almost a century, but it wasn’t until 2005 that the family decided to jump on the olive oil revolution. Their first harvest was in 2008.
“When we planted the trees and decided to go down this road, you never know what’s going to come of it. I’m not sure that any of us knew this was where we would be 10 years from starting all this, but we’re all excited and thrilled,” Julie Coldani said.
The idea to grow olives was Mike Coldani’s, and as the ranch’s main miller, he was ecstatic to receive the news of their win, Julie said.
But all of the Coldanis and their employees are basking in the glow of their accomplishment.
“It takes a team effort to get all of this done,” she said.
In addition to the two double-golds, the Coldanis took home a gold for their Calivirgin Premium Arbequina and a handful of silver and bronze medals for a number of flavored and unflavored extra virgin olive oils for Calivirgin and their other venture, Lodi Olive Oil.
The other best of show winner may not be from Lodi, but they’re still proving that olive trees in the local region produce premium oil.
Karen and Malcolm Bond own Bondolio in Yolo County, which won best of show in the unflavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil category.
Karen Bond told the Sacramento Bee that when State Fair officials called her, at first she was confused.
“(Then) the caller said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve won best of show.’ I was in disbelief, and I was so proud and so excited. I couldn’t wait to tell my husband,” she told the Bee.
It was the Bonds’ first time at the State Fair competition, but their extra-virgin oil had racked up gold ribbons at long-running contests such as the New York and L.A. international competitions.
The Bonds bought their farm in 1986 but didn’t plant their olive trees until 2006. The property had almond trees on it when they acquired it, and they tried unsuccessfully for years to make a healthy profit off them. They began to consider planting olive trees because Karen Bond loved cooking, and she loved the taste and health benefits of olive oil.
Lodi’s Corto Olive Co. also did well at the State Fair, earning silvers for their Arbequina and Koroneiki oils, and bronzes for their EVOO blend and Arbosana.
The California State Fair began hosting its Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition in 2015. Every California oil entered is judged on a 100-point system, much like wine is. Fifteen judges in a “blind tasting” analyzed the 170 entries using blue-tinted glasses so that the oils could not be distinguished by color.
Double-gold winners must earn 98 points or better.
“The entries won awards based on the quality and complexity of their flavor characteristics, as well as their balance of aroma and flavors,” said Nancy Ash, head judge for the competition and president of Strictly Olive Oil LLC. “I, for one, can’t wait to use these 2017 medal winners in my own kitchen.”
The award-winning olive oils will be featured and at the fair, which runs July 14 through 30, and at the Best of California Tasting Event on June 22 at Cal Expo. Calivirgin’s oils will be available for tasting and purchase July 15, 16 and 22.