Lucero Olive Oil wins international acclaim

Lucero Olive Oil's 2011 Arbequina was among the top five gold-medal winners at a recent competition held in Japan.

The competition, the first international extra virgin olive oil competition held in Japan, featured 140 extra virgin olive oils from 16 countries.

Awards were determined by 12 judges from Spain, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Australia, the United States and Japan.

Lucero Olive Oil's 2011 Arbequina received a Premier Award, which is bestowed on the top five gold medalists of the 32 gold medals awarded in the competition.

Lucero also took home three silver medals for Ascolano, Sevillano and Miller's Blend.

Dewey Lucero received the Gold and Premier awards at the Olive Japan Marché at Futako Tamagawa Rise in Tokyo last month. Chairman Toshiya Tada of the Olive Oil Sommelier Association of Japan, and Junichi Ishida, a famous actor who is the 2012 Olive Ambassador for Olive Japan, presented the honors.

"We are ecstatic to have received such a prestigious award in Japan, this not only recognizes Lucero as a top Extra Virgin Olive Oil producer world-wide, but it recognizes Corning as a top olive oil producing region, and the California Olive Oil industry itself as one of the best in the world," said Lucero.

Also in April, Lucero took home four gold medals, including two best of class, along with four silver medals at the Yolo County Fair. Lucero's Ascolano was also named Best of Show at the California Olive Oil Council's annual meeting for the second time in four years.

"In many ways, this is how the California wine industry took off over 40 years ago in California, and climbed it's way to being worldly renowned, by winning international awards," Lucero stated. "We are honored to be one of the pioneers in our industry, and hope to make the California Olive Oil Industry just as renowned world-wide."

The Lucero family has cultivated olives in Corning, California since 1946, and today runs an olive oil mill on Loleta Avenue in Corning.

Lucero products are available online, from their catalogs, in their store next to their mill, and at specialty stores in the United States and Canada, and now in Japan.