You open the first bottle, and a rich aroma of freshly cut grass, tomato leaves, chamomile and artichoke bursts out from the elegant container. The oil is golden-green; its flavor is complex and beautifully balanced, with vibrant peppery notes. You open the second bottle, and you’re treated to the scent of green olives, fig leaves, pear and, yes, freshly cut grass.

These are the ELAiKOS early-harvest extra virgin olive oils – of the Megaritiki and Thasitiki varieties – which secured first and second place in this year’s blind tastings organized by Gastronomos, in collaboration with the Kalamata Olive Oil Tasting Laboratory of the University of the Peloponnese. Their producers, Christodoulos Roumeliotis and Froso Vatkali, have succeeded in creating olive oils that impress not only with their quality but also with their consistency.

The ELAiKOS olive groves are located in the coastal area of Nea Peramos, Kavala, in northern Greece. The groves have around 1,300 olive trees, all cultivated according to strict principles of sustainable and responsible farming, with no chemical fertilizers and ongoing efforts to adapt to climate change. Pesticides aren’t used, either altogether; they manage weeds through mechanical cutting, and they recycle the pruning residues – branches and leaves – by shredding them and returning them to the soil as natural nutrients. This process helps store carbon in the soil while simultaneously improving its fertility.

The olives are harvested early, by hand, in the first weeks of October, and placed in the shade in small, perforated crates so they stay cool and remain aerated. Milling takes place daily at a nearby two-phase olive mill, just a kilometer and a half away. The temperature never exceeds 27°C, and the fruit remains in the malaxer for no more than 25-30 minutes.

The fresh olive oil is then stored in stainless steel tanks, under a nitrogen atmosphere and at controlled temperatures, to protect it from light and oxygen. And if all this may sound excessive – quirks or eccentricities of Roumeliotis, as many locals might say – for him, it is simply the proper way to produce olive oil.

A love for fine olive oil began first with Roumeliotis’ grandfather, who graduated from the Agricultural School in Paramythia, Ioannina, in 1931. At a time when most people piled olives into large sacks and left them in the sun for days before taking them to the mill, he would spread them out in a single layer in the shade, turning them regularly so they could aerate and avoid high temperatures, actions that often drew skeptical comments from his fellow villagers.

Perfectionism in the Service of Olive Oil

“Reading my grandfather’s writings, it’s striking that – apart from some technology involved – very little has changed in cultivation and olive oil production. And sadly, I realize that so much knowledge, instead of evolving, has been lost,” says Roumeliotis, adding: “When our family business closed in 2010, in the midst of the crisis, my wife Froso and I decided to dedicate ourselves professionally to olive oil. We were on our own. Do you know how difficult that is? Everyone told me that, to achieve the quality I wanted, I would need a fully integrated operation, with my own olive mill. But that’s not easy – it requires significant investment.

“After years of effort, setbacks, and many seminars with Vasilis Frantzolas [olive oil taster and quality consultant], I managed to find the right people – olive growers who share my philosophy – and an excellent miller, Kostas Kazantzidis. Together, we achieved this result: ELAiKOS olive oil. This has been, above all, a victory for collaboration, and this is a truly important thing.”

Accepting the award, Froso Vatkali told us: “Our goal from the very beginning was to produce the olive oil we would want on our own table, for our family, for our children. We thank you for this award. This recognition will give us strength during the difficult moments of production. I come from a farming family, where the needs of each crop always came first. Those had to be met before our personal needs. I would like to share this award with all producers, so they can continue their demanding work.”

This article was previously published in Greek at gastronomos.gr.