Peloponnese, Crete, Chalkidiki

Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Greek extra virgin olive oil is dominated by one cultivar, Koroneiki, which accounts for the large majority of plantings in the Peloponnese and Crete. It is a small, oil-rich olive that ripens early and delivers a green, herbal, distinctly peppery oil with naturally high phenolic content. Greece also has an unusually high proportion of extra virgin within its total production, and a domestic culture of buying oil by the tin from a known grower — which is why so many Greek oils reach the US with harvest dates that are genuinely current.