Olio Calvi has won first prize for the second time in three years at the Mare Mosto Competition, organized by the Ligurian Section of the Italian Sommeliers Association in collaboration with Olioofficina. President of the Jury: Luigi Caricato.

The extra virgin olive oil that won the coveted award is the Riviera Ligure dop Sant’Andrea, an organic extra virgin olive oil produced by Giuseppe Calvi & C. with organic olives from their own olive groves as part of their agricultural company Sant’Andrea.

Sant’Andrea extra virgin olive oil is a new product from 2025. In Autumn 2024, the Sant’Andrea Agricultural Company completed the three-year conversion period and became organic: we decided, therefore, to celebrate by producing an organic Rivera Ligure DOP using Taggiasca olives exclusively from the Sant’Andrea olive groves.

You can find out more about the Riviera Ligure Dop organic “Sant’Andrea” here

It’s important to note one thing about organic Taggiasca extra virgin olive oils: they differ from conventional extra virgin olive oils not only in the use of organic products to combat olive fly and other pests, but also in the use of exclusively organic fertilizers. However, organic pest control is often less effective, and fertilizers not supplemented with chemical components may have a lower concentration pf nutrients. The plants, therefore, need to accustom themselves to being less “pampered,” a condition more similar to that of a wild plant. This can also affect the characteristics of the resulting oil, which can differ from conventionally grown oil. However, this difference isn’t necessarily a negative one, if this organic Taggiasca was judged the best Riviera Ligure DOP of the year!