The Beas de Segura Market (Jaén) hosted the awards ceremony for the Sierra de Segura Designation of Origin Ardilla Awards 2026, which recognize the excellence of extra virgin olive oils from the 2025/2026 campaign and the dedication of key professionals and entities for the olive oil sector.
The president of the Regulatory Council of the Sierra de Segura Designation of Origin, Pedro Julián Gómez, has emphasized that the continuity of the mountain olive grove transcends mere economic profitability and becomes a social and environmental issue of the highest order. He warned that if the olive grove disappears, towns suffer, schools close, and the natural environment deteriorates, which is why he defended that supporting this crop through the Designation of Origin means protecting a living heritage and certifying the excellence of the territory.
Along these lines, he insisted on the importance of reinforcing the prestige of the region's origin and quality seal: "For our history, for the prestige of our brands, and for the future of new generations, let us reinforce the value of our origin, bet on differentiated quality, and together and united consolidate the leadership of our quality seal."
For her part, the acting delegate of the Andalusian Government in Jaén, Ana Mata, has valued these awards, which distinguish the quality of a product she has defined as "the soul of our land, a fundamental engine of the province and this region."
The regional representative has stressed the need to "maintain everyone's involvement" in order to "produce more and better, be increasingly competitive, open doors to new markets, be efficient, and be sustainable." In this context, she recalled the launch of the I Andalusian Strategy for the Olive Grove Sector, "an initiative that prioritizes boosting the sector to consolidate its position as a driver of wealth and employment generation and also as an element that anchors the population to the territory."
Also the deputy of Environment and Fight against Climate Change, Isabel Uceda, has highlighted that these awards are a stimulus for farmers, encouraging them to continue betting on the quality and sustainability of extra virgin olive oil. As she has pointed out, "these awards stimulate producers to obtain oil of the highest quality, to spread the culture of the olive tree and olive oil among the population and to promote the consumption of the star product of our province, such as AOVE".
Uceda has also valued the work of the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin of Sierra de Segura, which works to promote the production of high-quality olive oils and encourage their consumption. In her opinion, "for the consumer, purchasing a bottle of oil certified by a designation of origin or an IGP is a guarantee that they will consume a quality, healthy product and the best natural fat that exists".
After the official opening of the event by the authorities, the different recognitions were presented. The Ardilla Awards trophy represents a winery in which the columns symbolize the tanks of the oil mills and, in the center, appears the emblem of the squirrel, conceived as a link between all the oils protected by the Protected Designation of Origin Sierra de Segura.
Squirrel Ambassador and Oil Mill Master Award
In this edition, the Squirrel Ambassador Award has gone to Soledad Román, a native of La Puerta de Segura. A graduate in Biological Sciences and a specialist in elaitechnics, she has accumulated more than 25 years of experience linked to the olive oil sector. She is currently the managing director of the Olive Tree and Olive Oil Association, from where she coordinates the Úbeda Interpretation Center and leads training projects, outreach activities, and promotion of olive oil tourism on a national scale.
On a technical level, her role as an external auditor for ENAC and her previous stage at the DOP Sierra de Segura itself, where she was head of the tasting panel and responsible for the laboratory, stand out. In addition to her management role, she has a consolidated career as a communicator, speaker, and author of specialized articles on the quality and sensory analysis of AOVE.
The recognition as Mill Master has been awarded to Justo Sánchez, head of production at the Sierra de Génave Cooperative. A native of Génave and 46 years old, he joined the cooperative in 2001 in charge of the bottling plant and, just a year later, took over the direction of the oil production process. With a quarter of a century of experience, he has become a key figure in the development of this cooperative, a benchmark in organic farming, which has been distinguished on numerous occasions with Ardilla Awards for quality.
Entities awarded for production and quality
For the second consecutive year, entities registered with the DOP Sierra de Segura with the highest proportion of extra virgin olive oil produced have been recognized. In the Large Production category, the first prize has gone to SCA Virgen del Campo (Torres de Albanchez), while SCA Agrosegura (La Puerta de Segura) has received the honorable mention. In Medium Production, SCA San Marcos (Beas de Segura) has taken the top award and Oleofer (La Puerta de Segura) has come in second place.
In the Small Production category, SCA San Isidro (Benatae) has won the main prize and Potosí 10 (Orcera) has received the honorable mention. In addition to these awards, the Ardilla Awards for Quality have been presented, decided last December after a strict tasting competition held at the Antigua Fábrica de Aceites La Vicaría Museum, in Puente de Génave.
In this call, the EVOO distinguished for its quality have been Agrosegura Premium, from SCA del Campo Agrosegura (La Puerta de Segura); Oleaí, from a group of organic farmers from Beas de Segura and produced at the Oleofer mill (La Puerta de Segura); and Saqura, produced by SCA San Francisco de Arroyo del Ojanco and marketed by the Jaencoop group.
In addition to its annual awards, the Regulatory Council has wanted to dedicate a specific recognition to the cooperative effort of Beas de Segura, represented by the three cooperatives in the municipality integrated into the Denomination of Origin.
The DO Sierra de Segura, a historical benchmark for mountain olive groves
The Denominación de Origen Sierra de Segura covers more than 40,000 hectares of olive groves, of which more than 16,000 are located within a protected natural area. It is the oldest DO in Andalusia and the third oldest in Spain, making it a historical benchmark in the protection of mountain olive groves.
In the 25/26 campaign, this DO has registered a production of 25,510 tons of oil, a figure that remains at the average of the last ten years. Throughout the campaign, the registered entities have collected 119,751 tons of olives which, after their milling and with an average yield of 21 percent, have resulted in those 25,510 tons of oil.
Although the results are within the historical average of the last decade, the figures show a decrease compared to the previous campaign, when 31,000 tons of oil were reached, which highlights the productive difficulties that the sector continues to face.