Tradition

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

The Bioharvest Way

Growing conditions greatly affect the taste and quality of olives. High-density groves often use fertilisers, chemicals, and pesticides to boost production, negatively impacting fruit health. Ideal conditions include composted soil, proper irrigation, organic pest control, regular pruning, and a climate with long, hot summers and cool winters.

CHEMICAL FREE FARMING

Our orchard is full of green foliage, an indication of a non-chemical environment.

Theirs

Evidence of Chemical Farming and the damage to the soil found on other farms from the use of Glysophate

Ours

Our Orchard is Chemical and pesticide free Sustainable farming System

Compare

This is a perfect example of how different farming practices can impact the quality of the oil. The farmer on the left, who uses chemical-free methods, produces less oil, but it’s healthier. In contrast, the farmer on the right uses herbicides, which affects the overall quality of the oil and poisons your health.

The Road to the Estate

Fresh flowers line the road to the olive groves and speak to the natural farming practices used by our family. Flowers under the olive trees indicate the absence of chemicals and pesticides.

Traditional Organic TRAP systems

We exclusively use the ‘Syrup Trap System’ (STS) to manage bugs and pests, a method commonly employed to control specific insect populations. The system works by placing a small amount of corn syrup in a bottle or jar, attracting insects with its sweetness. Once inside, the insects either cannot escape or drown. For more stubborn pests, we mix the syrup with additional attractants, such as red wine vinegar or essential oils, depending on the insect we’re targeting.

Check out the video for an up-close look at our trap system

We use only approved substances for olive cultivation, adhering to minimum waiting periods and avoiding any contamination, while also protecting our valuable environment.

Compare Their Process vs Ours

THEM

Chemical and Pesticides

US

We use TRAPS, not pesticides

Fertilization

Mulching the ground with leaves and branches creates essential nutrients that are easily absorbed by the soil. It helps conserve moisture, suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, and improve soil health by adding organic matter as it decomposes.

The leftover pits, leaves, and stems from milling the olives are collected in trucks to be turned into natural fertilizer, which is returned to the farmers. A completely sustainable bioharvest farming cycle.

We use only approved substances for olive cultivation, adhering to minimum waiting periods, avoiding contamination, and protecting our valuable environment.

After milling, the leaves, stems, and pits are added to manure to produce a rich and nutritious fertilizer that is returned to the grove. This enriches the soil, promoting maximum health for the trees. Strong trees produce luscious fruit that are less susceptible to pests and disease.

We use sheep to graze our olive groves, helping to maintain the land naturally while creating fertilizer from organic sources.

Hand Picked

We carefully schedule the harvest when the olives reach the ideal stage of ripeness, ensuring they aren’t overripe. We take extra precautions to avoid injury from sticks or nets and refrain from using chainsaws to prevent contamination of the olive oil with mineral oils.

For transportation to the mill, we also use clean crates and sacks to ensure the olives are handled with care. We prioritize crushing within hours of harvest, maintaining the freshness and quality of the oil. Inside the mill, we take great care to keep different batches separate to prevent any degradation or mixing of oils with varying organoleptic profiles.

Nets are placed beneath the olive trees to collect the olives as they fall, ensuring they remain clean and intact for harvesting. These nets help reduce the risk of damage to the fruit and make the collection process more efficient

The Electric Olive Harvesting Machine efficiently collects olives by using vibrations to shake them loose, allowing them to fall into nets below. Powered by electricity, it offers a more sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.

After the olives drop from the trees, rakes are used to gather them from the ground. The rakes help to efficiently collect the olives into piles, making it easier to transfer them to the nets below. This method reduces the need for manual labor and speeds up the harvesting process while ensuring the olives remain intact.

Olives in Sacks are Moved by Tractor to the Mill

We use our own tractor to transport the harvested olives directly to our family-operated mill, ensuring minimal time between harvest and pressing. This hands-on approach allows us to maintain full control over the process, preserving the freshness and integrity of the olives for the highest quality olive oil.

Careful handling during transport is essential to prevent damage and fermentation. Upon arrival at the mill, olives should not be piled high to avoid overheating.

We use our forklift to carefully transfer the sacks of olives from the tractor to the mill, ensuring a smooth and efficient process while maintaining the quality of the olives.

Our Mill

Our family mill is conveniently located on the estate, just a short distance from the groves where our olives are harvested. This proximity allows us to immediately transport the fresh olives to the mill, ensuring they are processed within hours of being picked and preserving their freshness and flavor.

Once the olives arrive at the mill, they undergo a thorough washing process to remove any dirt, leaves, or debris. The olives are gently rinsed with fresh, clean water to ensure no contaminants remain before pressing. This careful cleaning step is crucial in preserving the purity of the olive oil and maintaining its high quality.

The washing process begins as soon as the olives arrive at the mill, where they are gently placed in a washing system designed to preserve their integrity. Using fresh, clean water, the olives are thoroughly rinsed in a controlled environment to remove any dirt, twigs, leaves, or other debris that may have been picked up during harvest.

At the mill, we prioritize cleanliness at every stage of production—from the washing system and crusher to the mixer, decanters, pipes, and separators. To ensure optimal quality, all processes from mixing to separation are meticulously maintained at temperatures below 25°C, with mixing times kept to 45 minutes or less, depending on the ripeness and maturity of the olives. This careful approach preserves the integrity and enhances the flavor of the final product.

Once the olives are washed, they are transferred to the crusher, where they are gently pressed to release the oil. The crusher grinds the olives into a paste, ensuring the process is slow and at low temperatures to preserve delicate flavors and nutrients. The resulting paste, rich in oil and water, is then processed to maintain its quality before moving to the next stage.

The natural juice of the olives, its high quality is directly linked to the practices applied from the grove to the mill, as well as the storage conditions and bottling process. We aim to filter our olive oil as soon as possible to prevent quality degradation due to moisture and solid residues from the production process.

The founder of Acropolis stands alongside the miller, Manos, during the milling process, overseeing every step to ensure the highest quality olive oil.

Storage

We store our olive oil in clean, stainless-steel tanks that are free from odors, residues, and sludge. To maintain optimal quality, the oil is kept under controlled temperature conditions, ideally below 20°C. The tanks are always kept full, or inert gas is used to prevent oxidation and preserve the oil’s freshness and flavor.

Bottled in-house – no third party touches our products.

We ensure that quality analysis—both organoleptic and chemical—are carried out on each batch of olive oil and printed on the label we are the only that does that in CANADA 🇨🇦

Olives That We Eat - Eatable Olives

Kalamata variety from Kalamata

Polopanesse Kalamata olives are renowned for their rich, bold flavor, these dark purple olives offer a perfect balance of fruity, tangy, and slightly briny notes.

Grown in the rich, fertile soil of the region, these olives are hand-picked at the peak of ripeness to ensure the highest quality.

Royal Green Variety

The Royal Green (Blonde) olives are named because, in the old days, they were served to royalty as the best olives. We make them naturally, never using any chemicals, and cure them with sea salt, not caustic soda.