On 18th May 2001 at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne, the Olive Business Awards 2001 were announced. Moutere Grove, single estate, extra virgin olive oil came 'First in Class for Commercial Bitter / Pungent Season 2000[', with Mount Heslington taking 2nd place in the same class. Both these oils are organically grown olive oils from the Nelson region, pressed on a centrifugal press by Tony Johnston.

Moutere Grove also won the top award of 'Highest Score in All Classes', beating fresh oils from the 'Early Season 2001 class'. Ed Scott from Moutere Grove received this award from Judy Ridgway, international olive oil expert and judge, food writer and broadcaster, and author of the authoritative Olive Oil Companion.

Ed Scott (right) with Judy Ridgway and Tony Johnston at the Olive Business Marketplace at the Melbourne Showgrounds

This is a major achievement for an oil which is almost a year old. For full results visit http://www.olivebusiness.com/OliveBusinessWeek/OB2001/OBAwards2001/OB2001Aw_oil.htm

The competition was very meticulously organized with all oils undergoing rigorous scrutiny. All the entries underwent organoleptic assessment by the Australian organoleptic tasting panel and also chemical analysis. By these means, oils which did not reach extra virgin standard were not presented to the judges. The judging panel was a panel of prominent food industry personalities from Melbourne; chefs, fine food distributors and food writers. Each oil was subjected to blind tasting by this panel, who scored each oil, according to a formatted score sheet, for its taste attributes. These scores were then added up to give the final scores. The judges may have been surprised to have picked a New Zealand oil! Simon Field, the organizer of the Olive Business Conference and Awards, commented that the judges were remarkably consistent in their assessments.