Olive Fabrica in Agios Mattheos

At St. Matthew, the village of Kefalochori in the South Corfu, there is a printing house that changed the image of the island's oil. This is the Olive Fabrica of Daphne family who created it The Governor, the first and only single-variety olive oil of Lianolia Corfu that appeared on the world market and the first in the world with a Health Claim.

Governor is a special product, limited production (10.000-15.000 bottles), which put Corfu on the map of olive production and Greece at the center of what some consider to be the new, almost untouched worldwide market for olive oil: products with health protection action. We met him Spiro and George Daphne in their village and we got to know their production unit up close, we attended an olive oil tasting class and of course we followed a walk program in the olive grove of Agios Mattheos.

"We wanted to break a negative tradition of years, which wanted our country to produce the worst oil in the world! We managed to turn the ugly duckling into a swan. Our oil, which is sold in a transparent glass package of 500 grams at the price of 35 euros but also in a collectible with a white bottle at 40 euros, has met an enthusiastic reception abroad, a fact that can be seen from the awards and publications, with As a result, 80% of our production is directed to many foreign countries (including Harrods, London). Our olive oil has been awarded a gold prize for the highest oleander content in the world (966 mg per kilo) from the International Oleander Company, opening the prospect of being used as a "medicine" - dietary supplement, since it has - is clinically proven - significant health protection against diseases such as cardiovascular. It is also characteristic that the authors of the specialized media are impressed by the fact that the fruit comes from centuries-old olives, which even now we consider to be useless for production ".

The revolution with Olive Fabrica attempted by Spyros and George Dafnis, fourth generation of oil producers succeeded. Refusing to reproduce the usual model of Corfu oil production of the series and wanting to give a breath to the centuries-old population of 4 million olive trees, with its fruit Lianolia abandoned in bulk distribution and with an olive oil without any added value but no added always from cultivation, harvesting, oiling, to processing and promotion.

The unit of the Daphne family is tidy. The mill and the printing press in one corner, in another the family museum with old family machines, such as the first steam industrial industrial separator of 1905 or the older manual presses. The tasting room is a beautiful place where tastings and combinations of oil and food are made. The tour program includes a visit to the neighboring vineyard, where you can admire the typical tall olive trees of the Corfu olive grove, and some Centennial olive trees of astonishing beauty.

The lads of Olive Fabrica who still have time to turn thirty, opened, a great road. I wish them good luck and find imitators.