Texas Hill Country Hojiblanca and Sola Stella earned Silver Awards, reinforcing the Texas producer’s long-running record at the world’s leading olive oil quality contest.
Olive Oil Times |
Austin, United States — Texas Hill Country Olive Company has been awarded two Silver Awards at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, recognized for the Texas Hill Country Hojiblanca and Sola Stella extra virgin olive oils.
The 2026 Silver Award for Texas Hill Country Hojiblanca honors a medium-intensity monovarietal produced from Hojiblanca olives. Texas Hill Country Hojiblanca reflects the producer’s focus on careful handling and freshness, an approach that has helped establish Texas among the growing number of non-California regions in the United States earning recognition on the international stage.
Texas Hill Country Olive Company also earned a 2026 Silver Award for Sola Stella, a medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil made from Arbequina olives. With the two awards, Texas Hill Country Olive Company’s 2026 results underscore the range the producer is able to achieve with distinct cultivars while maintaining consistent quality standards.
Texas Hill Country Olive Company, Inc. is the first award-winning producer of extra virgin olive oil in Texas and the first certified organic olive orchard in the state. The producer has won awards for its oils in competitions starting in 2010 and for 11 straight years since that time in competitions worldwide, building a record that has tracked the steady expansion of American olive oil quality beyond its traditional strongholds.
Located west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, Texas Hill Country Olive Company has operated in a climate that can be both distinctive and challenging for olive growing, with year-to-year variation influencing yields across varieties. Within that context, Texas Hill Country Olive Company has emphasized quality over quantity, a small-farm approach that has been central to its ability to compete in international quality contests.
Across its full participation at the NYIOOC, Texas Hill Country Olive Company has now earned 16 total awards, including two Gold and 14 Silver distinctions. The producer’s recent results include two Silver Awards in 2024; one Gold and two Silver Awards in 2023; two Silver Awards in 2022; two Silver Awards in 2021; one Gold and one Silver Award in 2020; two Silver Awards in 2019; and one Silver Award in 2018.
The 2026 results also strengthen Texas Hill Country Olive Company’s standing in the Olive Oil Times World Ranking, where Texas Hill Country Olive Company is ranked #26 in the United States, #72 in the Northern Hemisphere and #76 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.