The decision to award Konos – Michelis Estate was an emotional one. On the one hand, we at Gastronomos had in our hands one of the most amazing olive oils that we and the participants of the blind tasting that we organized together with the Kalamata Olive Oil Tasting Laboratory of the University of the Peloponnese had ever tasted. An excellent extra-virgin olive oil produced by one of the oldest olive oil producing families in Greece, which has won top awards in the most demanding international competitions.
On the other hand, we don’t know when this olive oil and the other products of the Konos company will be produced again. This is no exaggeration. Last August’s fire, which burned almost half of the area of the Evros regional unit, almost completely destroyed the private olive grove of the Michelis Estate, which is spread over Konos Hill in Makri, Alexandroupoli. Countless olive trees, many of them over 200 years old, all of them of the excellent local Makri variety, and agricultural equipment worth hundreds of thousands of euros, were burned. The blow was severe, not only on a practical level, but also on an emotional level, since it took only one day to destroy the family olive grove, which had a 90-year history. The efforts and hard work of four generations of the Michelis family were reduced to ashes. What heart it takes to continue recovery efforts, essentially starting from scratch.
We are sure that a decisive factor that gave significant motivation to the fourth generation of the family, agronomist Dimitris Adamidis and his brother Vassilis, was precisely this long history of the family uniting generations under the common concept of dedication to a wonderful enterprise. The story is as follows: In 1935, Ioannis Michelis, a native of Lamia, arrived in Alexandroupoli with his family and planted the first olive grove, mainly with wild olives, grafted with the native Makri variety. The next generation, Dimitris Michelis, introduced innovations, the most important of which was the drip irrigation system for the olive trees, as well as an integrated management system for the olive grove, which he gradually expanded. Each generation of the family put its own stamp on the evolution, with Maria Micheli, now the third generation, investing in state-of-the-art equipment for the olive mill, where she used the cold pressing method to obtain the best of the fruit. It should be emphasized that the specific method used by Konos is not the pressing of the fruit, but the crushing of the fruit, during which only the flesh of the olive is crushed, not the kernel, giving top aromatic and flavorful characteristics to the oil. The harvest, which began at the end of September and ended in November, was carried out with a special machine that embraces the trunk of each tree, depending on its thickness and inclination, and applies a vibration, causing the fruit to fall onto sheets of cloth spread under the trees. The oil production of each batch is carried out on the same day as the harvest.
![The characteristic feature of the Makris olive is its round shape, as shown in the photo above [Konos olive oil mill archives]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/vraveio-paragogis-elaioladoy-konos-ktima-michali-gastronomos7-1536x864-1.jpg?1712840067399)
The philosophy of continuous development and bold innovation, which is reflected in the label of each product with the phrase “We dare to differ,” was passed on by Maria Micheli to her sons, Dimitris and Vassilis, who continue to follow the methods of integrated management, from the cultivation stage and the planting base to the final product, the olive oil, which comes from 100% Makri olives and is certified PDO.
The Michelis Estate was the first to standardize edible olives and has a deep knowledge of the different treatments required depending on the ripening stage of the fruit. Konos’ unique Byzantine Olives, for example, are a complex condiment created by the Konos team in collaboration with the Ethnological Museum of Thrace and its president, Angeliki Giannakidou. It is a product that came about after two years of experimentation and research: Makri olives in four different treatments, unripe and ripe, some dehydrated like truffles and others “pressed,” that is, by applying pressure to the ripe olive between layers of salt as a method of gentle maceration.
The family’s knowledge of the flavor and aroma profile of the Makri variety is also reflected in their range of olive oils: Nocturnal Harvest (made from olives harvested at night, during the first full moon of October), Filoso, and the Premium Edition with a label in a pale light blue with dark speckles, representing the color on the shell of ravens’ eggs, which once stormed the olive grove after the harvest to feed on the leftovers of the harvest – a deeply emotional image lost after the devastating fire.
What a tragic irony! An assortment of such high-quality products and it’s unknown when and if they will be produced again. This year, the family will focus exclusively on “healing” the olive grove, taking care of the few trees that were not burned to the ground and helping them recover so that in the coming years they can begin a gradual return to olive oil production.
This is exactly why we at Gastronomos decided to award the Konos company. This award is not only another confirmation of the superior quality of Konos products, but also a message of support and sympathy to the people of the estate, and may give a little impetus to Dimitris and Vassilis Adamidis to continue the good fight so that their top-quality olive oils will one day return to the market.
When they took to the podium to receive their award, they said: “We are farmers and producers, and we will continue on this path regardless of circumstances and difficulties. A quote that we can identify with is, ‘The magic we seek is found in the work we avoid.’ And that is why we never avoid the work that needs to be done. We hope to see you again soon.”
Konos – Michelis Estate, Makri, Alexandroupoli, Evros, tel 6973.743.365 & 6982.169.711.
Where to find them: This year, as expected, there is no production. The quantity of table olives and olive oils from last year’s harvest is small, but select, and can be found at Maison d’Olive in Athens and at Olicatessen and Edodimon delicatessens in Thessaloniki. For more information and to order directly from the Michelis Estate through their e-shop, visit konoshill.com
