The Kolovi variety took the spotlight

By olive oil taster, Kostas Liris (kostasliris@hotmail.com)

After the conclusion and announcement of the results of the New York International Olive Oil Competition, I thought it would be useful to devote a short feature to several oils and present them to the broader Greek public, not by ranking or commercial dimension, but mainly through these producers' willingness to showcase their distinctive characteristics and to expose themselves once again to public judgment.

Olive oil, or if you prefer, the olive oil market, has often been described as a closed space, where every outsider or newcomer finds it difficult to enter and even more difficult to stand out. Here we will look at several companies, mainly start ups, that are making a difference on their own. What impressed me is that awarded olive oils no longer come only from Greece's traditional production regions, but also from areas that have little to do with the familiar image of the Peloponnese or Crete. Many companies are also based in a completely different place from where their olive oil is produced and bottled. In other words, they select olive oil from Messinia, from their own estates, bottle it in Athens, and bring it to market.

And this is legitimate. Even if it seems unusual to us, or even if the purists of the sector do not like it, and even if, unfortunately, it is not always the best outcome for the countryside. These people, or better yet these companies, are winning awards, making an effort, and exposing themselves to the judgment of the consumer. We will get to know some of these companies in the coming days. This is a concise presentation of their products, without going into further judgments, simply conveying the image they presented at the latest olive oil competition in New York.

Melissinos estate

A family business that has turned entrepreneurship into a way of life. They are located in the Agrinio area, with estates of 3,500 olive trees of different varieties, most of them irrigated and in full productive age. They are people with a particular sensitivity toward the tree, the environment, and the consumer. They use traditional and gentle cultivation methods, with respect for the environment. It is characteristic that harvesting is done by hand, so that the fruit is protected.

This particular multi-varietal character of the olive grove gives the olive oil they produce its distinctive organoleptic characteristics. These qualities earned them the silver award at the NYIOOC 2015 competition in the DELICATE BLEND category. It is a product with mild flavor and aromas that do not overpower the foods they accompany, allowing those foods to reveal their own distinctive characteristics. It presents a gentle olive fruit aroma, lightly spicy and quite sweet. It gives low-intensity aromas of apple and wild herbs.

Eirini Plomariou

An olive oil from Mytilene, with everything positive that this may imply. A family business that brings a gold award to the island of Lesvos. An oil that comes from a variety which, when handled properly and with care, can deliver excellent results. It is no coincidence that harvesting is done by hand, without mechanical means, thus avoiding contamination with plasticizers.

Small production, therefore, and fully controlled, manages to bring this family business the gold award for a monovarietal olive oil from a particularly demanding variety in cultivation. Their dedication to what they do has brought them to the podium many times to date. EIRINI PLOMARIOU olive oil presents medium-intensity organoleptic characteristics, rich in fresh grass, bitter almond, and artichoke. Unique, rich, and full aromas elevate the distinctiveness of the Kolovi variety from which it comes.