AOVE World Cup 2027: judging

Judges see only an anonymous code on a dark, covered glass: no producer, brand, country, category or packaging. Panels of 8 to 12 judges taste up to four oils a session, and when the top scores sit close together the leading oils go through further blind rounds with more judges. The panel head for 2027 is Amparo Ruiz de Adana, and the jury listed on the organiser's site brings tasters from Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

An award becomes final only once a commercial bottle of the winning oil has been opened and matched against the reserve sample that was judged. Each stage of the competition, from the close of entries to the final result, is versioned and sealed with a cryptographic fingerprint, and the organiser publishes a certificate that lets anyone check the record has not been altered since.

The five main titles are the World Champion (the best extra virgin olive oil, from a lot of at least 2,000 kg), the best organic oil, the best Picual (El Toro Bravo del Aceite), the best blend and a small-batch title for lots under 2,000 kg. An oil can win only one of the five, taken in that order. Further awards go to single varieties, regional champions, co-operatives, newcomer brands and packaging design, and the 48 highest-scoring oils make up the Guía 48 Kilates ranking.