Hawke's Bay secured a glittering haul of medals at the national olive oil awards, which were announced yesterday.
Judges at the 2010 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards bestowed four Hawke's Bay olive oil producers with medal status wins, with the Matapiro Olives Smooth beating all others in the light blend commercial category.
Judges described the Best In Class drop as "mature ripe olive with a floral component with tropical fruits".
Matapiro Olives also won gold for its medium blend and silver for its intense blend.
Waimarama Olives proved it too, produced top-quality oil with two gold awards for its medium piqual and barnea blends.
It was the third time the Waimarama Olives had entered the awards, but the first time it struck gold.
Owner Paul Corke was pleased but modest about the win. "It's a bit of luck when you pick," he said. "You've got to time it right and we did have a wet season. We knew we had a good season, albeit the yield was smaller."
Esk Valley Olives also improved on last year's haul with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.
The company said its success came down to their attention of the olive trees. "We prune them, we talk to them, we threaten them with chainsaws. It's a full-time job," co-owner Rod Harford said.
Hastings' Aquiferra was awarded silver for its medium blend.
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