Established in Crete in 1999, Koronekes® is a small family business.
We, the Koutoulakis family, have a passion for olive oil that led us to build our state-of-the-art First Cold Pressed Olive Mill, at the very heart of our land, to ensure optimum quality olive oils from the tree to the bottle. We farm our olive trees in different groves surrounding the olive mill; this area benefits from the PDO Archanes Heraklion Crete since 1991.
We cultivate organically only one variety of olive in our groves, the Koroneiki.
Traditionally grown in the region, these olives are very rich in olive oil: they contain more than 28% of oil. Furthermore, the Koroneiki has a naturally high level of polyphenols if you harvest the olives at the right time.
We tend to our trees with respect and devotion. Our 2000 olive trees, many more than 200 years old, bloom in the white, chalky, well drained soil, far more prized than the red for the cultivation of olive trees.
Our trees are in certified organic farming since 2016; but it is really since 2011 that no pesticides and chemical fertilizers have been used.
The olives are taken to the olive mill at harvest time, arriving in batches several times a day. Harvest time starts in mid-October when the olives are mostly green.
The oil is carefully pressed, naturally decanted, clarified then stored at the mill in order to preserve its full flavor and qualities. We chose to make extra virgin olive oils using the ancestral traditional method of presses.
The olive mill is active all year long, bottling on the premises on demand. Only our olives go into the making of our oils.
Ancestral know-how and modern technology coincide at our family mill to bring you delectable oils with distinctive tastes.
Our mission is to control every step of the process.
Our small production and personal investment give us the possibility to ensure top notch, 100% quality at all stages: growing, producing and bottling. Not only do we take excellent care of our olive trees in order to produce healthy, tasty and rich olives, but we ensure a maximum delay of two hours between the harvesting and the pressing of our olives.
As a result we have the freshest extra virgin olive oils available! We sort our olives by hand before crushing them in order to remove all damaged olives, leaves and any impurity (such as a stone or snail!). Bottling is performed on the third lower floor of our factory; the oil is sent there by force of gravity alone. The stainless steel tubes in the mill connecting all our vats, from floor to floor, cover more than 8 kilometers!
Each bottle is numbered as required by the PDO regulations. We strive to bring to you unique extra virgin olive oils in the most natural way. Our oil literally seeps out of the pressed olive paste.
In our quest for sublimation, flavor and taste we discovered our unique Fleur d’Huile and bottle it for its specificity.
Fleur d’Huile extra virgin olive oil is the first oil that flows out from the crushed olives while the discs are being stacked for the press. Gravity and the weight of the stacked discs alone liberate this natural fruit juice. No external pressure is applied.
Once all the discs are placed, they are led to the presses where they will undergo a pressure of 400 bar. At this point, we collect our First Cold Pressed extra virgin olive oil.
We have also created three Condiments of Olive Oil using produce from our Estate. Trying to replenish the biodiversity in our olive fields, we have planted different trees and herbs amongst the olive trees. Our three flavors are: Lemon Zest, Orange Zest and Basil. These oils are no longer extra virgin, but nevertheless very tasty and fun to use.
Koronekes® Fleur d’Huile, Koronekes® Extra Virgin First Cold Pressed and Koronekes® Condiments are very fine oils produced with the utmost respect. They have not come into contact with heated water nor contain any chemical additives. They are not centrifuged. Koronekes® Fleur d’Huile seeps out of the olive paste naturally, while Koronekes® Extra Virgin First Cold Pressed is obtained through simple pressure on the vertical press. Our Condiments are not separated into Fleur and First Cold Pressed, the qualities are mixed together.
Through natural decantation and careful handling all Koronekes® oils are separated from the water they naturally contain. We have made this choice and chosen to bottle our oils unfiltered, in order to protect all the volatile flavours and aromas that give our oil its distinctive taste. This non-tampering ensures a totally natural and healthy product with all its qualities intact.
Discover our gourmet olive oils and how we produce them.