Jerry and Irené Avis, who live in Great Malvern but also own a home in Filottrano in Italy, won a top international award for their Sant’ Elia Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The olive oil won a silver award in the quality category of the prestigious London International Olive Oil Competition.
“We fell in love with Sant’ Elia more than 20 years ago and have spent two decades restoring the house and the land, planting olive trees and vines and watching it come back to life,” said Mr Avis.
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“We’ve always known there’s something very special about this little corner of Italy and our olive oil and now it’s official.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have been recognised by a global body as prestigious as the London International Olive Oil Competitions.”
The couple is joined by their daughter, Chloe Brasier, and her husband Braz, who purchased the adjacent property to their Italian site to help continue the legacy of Sant’ Elia olive oil.
Every autumn, the family is joined by friends to hand-harvest every one of their 600-plus Frantoio, Leccino, and Pendolino olive trees.
The olives are then taken to the village press and pressed using only mechanical means, so no chemicals or heat are used.
The Avis farm sits on a 24-acre estate and each year it produces an oil with different characteristics.
The London International Olive Oil Competition is judged by a panel of 25 professional olive oil sommeliers from Europe and the Americas, who blind-taste each entry.
It receives around 700 entries from all around the world in a bid to gain recognition for one of its four categories – Quality, Packaging, Health, and Infused Oils.
Sant’ Elia Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil is currently stocked in Holloways in Suckley.
Dining and Cooking