A MALVERN family have won a top international award for the balsamic vinegar they make on their Italian estate.
Jerry and Irené Avis, who live in Great Malvern, picked up a Silver Guild of Fine Food top honour – a Three-Star Great Taste Award – for a white balsamic vinegar produced on their Sant’ Elia estate in Filottrano, on Italy’s Adriatic coast
The award is reserved for just 250 out of more than 14,000 entries worldwide, and judges praised the vinegar as ‘beautifully clear, with a gently acetic nose’ and ‘balanced and moreish’ with a ‘fabulous aroma.’
Sant’ Elia also secured a Two-Star Great Taste Award for its traditional Balsamico di Modena, rounding off a triumphant season for the artisanal producers.
Owners Jerry and Irené Avis, alongside their daughter Chloe Brasier, who co-owns the business, were already celebrating earlier this month after their Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil took silver in the Quality category at the London International Olive Oil Competitions.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” said Jerry Avis. “To be given two and three-star Great Taste Awards is amazing.
We’ve always known our balsamic is exceptional – the feedback we get from foodies and chefs alike is always fantastic – but to have been recognised like this by the Guild of Fine Foods is just incredible.”
The family has spent over 15 years cultivating their organically run estate in Filottrano, on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
Each year, they hand-harvest olives from more than 600 Frantoio, Leccino, and Pendelino trees with the help of friends and family to produce their acclaimed olive oil.
Worcestershire stockists include Holloways in Suckley.
Dining and Cooking