The California producer earned Gold for Rancho Milagro Frantoio and Rancho Milagro Field Blend in the world’s leading olive oil quality contest.
Olive Oil Times |
Livermore, United States — Rancho Milagro has been awarded two Gold Awards at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for Rancho Milagro Frantoio and Rancho Milagro Field Blend.
Rancho Milagro earned Gold for Rancho Milagro Frantoio, a medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil produced from Frantoio olives. The award-winning oil is distinguished by herbaceous aromatics and a layered palate in which fig leaf, chicory and vanilla are carried through by a steady peppery edge.
Rancho Milagro also received a Gold Award for Rancho Milagro Field Blend, a medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil produced from Frantoio olives. Together, the two 2026 awards extend Rancho Milagro’s track record at the World Competition to six total distinctions, including three Gold Awards and three Silver Awards, with prior results spanning the 2025, 2022 and 2021 editions.
Rancho Milagro began planting olive trees in 2013 in the California hills south of Livermore and harvested a first crop in 2016. The grove was established with four varieties—Frantoio, Coratina, Hojiblanca and Picual—supporting both a field blend and, from newer plantings, a Frantoio single-cultivar bottling. Today, Rancho Milagro has about 3,000 trees across 16 hectares.
In 2025, an Olive Oil Times report on California producers highlighted how the prior harvest season tested growers across the state with unseasonable heat and rain during harvest, while logistical pressures and labor costs remained elevated. The same report described how Rancho Milagro navigated an especially difficult year marked by the unexpected death in October of the ranch’s longtime manager, leaving Nancy Frishberg to step into harvest leadership while learning a role she had not anticipated.
According to the report, Frishberg’s background in marketing and linguistics—and later work in user experience and human-computer interaction—stood in contrast to the agricultural expertise her late partner brought to the ranch. As Rancho Milagro refined its approach to blending, Frishberg brought in outside help to develop a more deliberate blending strategy designed to reflect the character of the ranch and better integrate multiple varieties across available lots.
The 2026 results add to Rancho Milagro’s standing among award-winning producers. In the Olive Oil Times World Ranking, Rancho Milagro is ranked #30 in the United States, #78 in the Northern Hemisphere and #81 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.