Our Olive Oil Story
OUR BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
For centuries, The Callos (KALOS) family has produced wine, organic sea salt and Olive Oil in the Alykes beach region on the Greek island of Zakynthos, located in the Ionian Sea.
As a young boy on my Grandfather’s knee, and through my early-20s, I vividly remember his stories of Olive harvest and brining by submerging gunny sacks loaded with olives right into the ocean in front of our ancestral home on the beach.
Today, driven largely by economic necessity, my family’s Olive Oil production has been slowly abandoned as they’ve shifted their efforts toward building hotels, managing restaurants and serving European tourists.
Sensing that that the family’s tradition would be lost to the ages, I sought to rekindle and save an important part of our heritage.
In 2017, I learned of an opportunity to save an ancient olive grove slated for removal by housing developers. I drove 300 miles in an urgent race to save the trees and hand-selected 25 of the finest examples; the trees were transplanted within a week and so began our bespoke Olive Grove in Los Olivos, CA.
LIMITED PRODUCTION:
Our first limited production of Olive Oil was in 2019 when we produced 14 gallons.
You may notice that our Oil is a rich, deep caramel color, far different from the translucent oil sold commercially. You may also see a bit of settling at the bottom of the vessel; this is natural and contains all the rich organic flavor components; simply shake and mix the contents.
Normally, Olive Oil is racked for long periods, then filtered so that all organic sediment is removed. This process results in a highly-refined oil, ideal for long term warehousing, trans-continental shipment and a long commercial shelf life. But this approach strips the flavor from the oil to such as an extent as to homogenize all commercial Olive Oils with a very similar, rather bland flavor profile.
Since our production is so limited, demand far exceeds supply and we have no need to store our Oil for long periods. Therefore, we encourage our wholesale clients, the finest and most demanding culinary proprietors and private chefs, to enjoy the full expression of our unfiltered, extra virgin Olive Oil, just as my family has done for generations in Greece. It doesn't get any better or more fresh than that!