The medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil from Montenegro earned recognition at the world’s largest olive oil quality contest
Olive Oil Times |
Zeta, Montenegro — ORO Olive Oil has been awarded a Silver at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for ORO.
ORO is a medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil made as a blend of Oblica and Istarska bjelica with smaller amounts of Leccino and Pendolino. Produced inland near Podgorica, the oil reflects site conditions in Zeta, where warm days, cooler nights and a fertile plain contribute to the aroma and pungency that stood out to NYIOOC judges.
ORO Olive Oil is led by Balša Baletić, an olive grower and economist who began planting olives in 2018 with 35 trees and expanded into an approximately seven-hectare grove with about 3,000 trees. Baletić installed a Pieralisi mill on-site, a step that allows immediate processing after harvest and close oversight of each stage from fruit handling to bottling.
Baletić has emphasized careful variety selection and plant health as the grove expanded. He selected cultivars associated with higher polyphenol potential and tested nursery stock sourced from Croatia and Italy to compare performance, while also warning that inadequate controls on imported saplings can introduce disease that threatens entire plantings. During the most recent harvest, he said the family pressed fruit immediately in the on-site mill, which has a capacity of 500 kilograms per hour, using cold extraction and storing the oil in sealed stainless steel tanks in a cool cellar to limit oxidation.
“This is my first competition ever,” said Balša Baletić, olive grower at ORO Olive Oil. “The award means a lot to me and confirms I’m on the right path.”
Baletić also credited healthy fruit and limited olive fly damage to the grove’s conditions and farming practices. To reduce insect pressure from other pests, poultry roam the property, a low-input measure that also contributes manure for soil fertility.
The NYIOOC result has been seen by growers as a marker for Montenegro’s expanding inland olive sector, which has grown around areas such as Zeta, Tuzi and Podgorica over the past two decades, complementing the country’s traditional coastal heartland from the Bay of Kotor through Bar and Ulcinj.
The 2026 NYIOOC Silver places ORO among the world’s awarded extra virgin olive oils. In the Olive Oil Times World Ranking, ORO Olive Oil is ranked #2 in Montenegro, #126 in the Northern Hemisphere and #130 Worldwide.
The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, widely regarded as the world's leading olive oil quality contest, is a trusted reference for consumers and industry professionals.