South Africa presses into extra virgin oil market
18 July 2005

RIEBEEK KASTEEL: South Africa's wines have won fans around the world, but few gourmets know about the country's other contribution to fine dining � extra virgin olive oil.

That could soon change if the growing number of boutique oil-makers in South Africa, who say their product compares with the best from Spain, Italy and Greece, have their way.

"Producers (in South Africa) are going really big � it's going to be an exciting industry in a couple of years," said Paul Robinson, marketing and sales director for Willow Creek, one of the country's top oil-makers.

Willow Creek, in the Nuy valley in the heart of South Africa's main wine-making region in the Western Cape, won a coveted Grand Mention Diploma this year at the Leone d'Oro dei Mastri Oleari olive oil awards in Perugia, Italy, which Robinson said put the oil on a par with the best in the world.