Makaria Terra - Award Winning Greek Premium Bio Extra Virgin Olive Oil Production Company

About us

Makaria Terra is a globally recognized, multi award-winning olive oil company, established in Skala Messinia in 2014 by Evgenia Andriopoulou and Achilleas Mavranezoulis. Our premium olive oil enjoys international recognition from the market, having awarded a number of more than 50 awards in world’s most well-established competitions. Very importantly, it has presence and is being traded in a number of important markets such us USA, Canada and Australia.

Our goal: To be able to produce consistently, every year, an outstanding, uncompromising premium olive oil, the complex flavours of which, will capture and transmit to the whole world the absolute harmony and peace of the soul of Makaria Terra land.

Environmental sustainability: Our operations are fully organic/bio certified. Sustainable organic cultivation practices are applied. Farming is traditional, non-intensive. Trees are exclusively rainfed with no use of irrigation and no use of chemical pesticides or herbicides. Innovative solutions are opted for product packaging (Bag‐in‐Box and Pouch‐Up) which are both environment friendly and protect the olive oil from light and oxidation.

Location: Our Koroneiki variety olive groves, native to the area, are right next to Ancient Messini, in the village of Skala Messinia, approx. 20km North of Kalamata. The land of Makaria Terra is a land full of history, culture and traditions of the ancient Greek heritage.

Operations Philosophy

We base our operations in three pillars. Organic cultivation, environmental sustainability and pursuit of absolute quality at all stages from cultivation up to final bottling/packaging, this irrespective of the costs involved.

Within a framework of unaggressive operations, our olive groves are treated as a closed natural system, with minimum inputs and outputs, where most of the elements are recycled inside the olive grove, ensuring sustainability; this being the cornerstone of our operations.

Trees are exclusively rainfed with no use of irrigation and no use of chemical pesticides or herbicides. Horses and sheep are largely utilised for eliminating organically the weeds and in parallel, deposit dung on the soil. Otherwise, the green manure is plowed into the ground as natural fertilizer.

Overall, the natural vegetal ecosystem creates a healthy growing environment for olive trees, defending the native varieties and flavours and improving the quality of olive oil naturally and responsibly. In parallel, our mode of traditional, low-impact way of operations contribute to reduced CO2 emissions and preservation of the environment.

History

Our olive groves are situated in the village of Skala in the area of Messinia, renowned as one of the world’s best olive growing regions. Skala is built on the remains of the ancient town of Isthmos, meaning canal. The famous historians Herodotus and Pausanias refer that in ancient times, this town sat at the edge of a huge body of water, which was fed from the river Pamissos and smaller rivers descending from Mount Taygetos. Over centuries, rich silt and soil brought down from the mountains built up until eventually, the area became a fertile plain known as Makaria Terra, or translated into English, “Blessed Land”. The special characteristics and origins of this land make it an ideal area for growing olives, and olive trees have been cultivated in this area for more than 4,000 years now.

Our past is our future

The majority of our olive trees were planted in the 1950’s by our grandparents, grandfather Konstantinos and grandmother Dimitra. Water was being carried by hands from wells, many times situated hundreds of meters far away from the plantations in order to plant and grow the trees during the first years of the olive trees’ lives. All cultivation care were performed manually with an axe, a saw and a hoe as well as with use of animals, horses, donkeys or cows.

In our era, we continue to show our ancestors’ commitment and respect; to them and to the olive trees. We grow further our olive estate and plant young olive trees for the next Makaria Terra generation that will succeed our generation.

Harvesting

The harvest begins early November, when olives are either still green or at the early stage of ripening. This means that less oil is extracted, but quality is far more guaranteed.

Harvest is done manually with the use of electric sticks shaking the olive tree branches. Olives are brought at the end of each working day to the nearby olive mill, where they are pressed within a few hours.

The oil is produced solely by mechanical means and by cold extraction at temperatures lower than 23°C at all processing stages in order to retain full flavor and nutrients. The end-result is a superior quality, extra virgin olive oil with very low acidity, distinctive color and taste, full of aromas and with multiple health benefits, being rich in nutrients, antioxidants, polyphenols and oleic acid.

Harvesting is a unique experience that we invite you to live and enjoy with us!

Storage-Packaging

The preservation of absolute quality does not end with the milling. Following filtering, the olive oil in stored at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks to prevent contact with light and air and all flavor and nutrients are fully preserved.

As regards packaging, the use of sustainable solutions that have minimal environmental impact and footprint is of paramount importance to us.

Our small sized products (100ml, 250ml, 500ml) are packaged in dark glass bottles, fully recyclable. Τhe bigger sized product (5lt) is packaged in “bag in a box” and pouch packaging which has low carbon footprint and is again recyclable.

The bottling process is sub-contracted to an outside facility which is closely supervised and operates in accordance with stringent international standards and certifications.

Our oil comes packaged in dorica dark glass bottles of 100ml, 250ml, 500ml and 5lt bag in a box.

Organoleptic assessment

Makaria Terra is a single varietal, premium EVOO of great complexity with extremely low acidity, middle fruity intensity and balanced bitter and spicy
flavor. Recorded acidity levels between 2014-2023 are very low, ranging between 0.12-0.22.

Various organoleptic assessments of our olive oil from internationally recognized panels and olive oil sommeliers are as follows:

“Gold award, in the class of the delicate with the organoleptic characteristics of Koroneiki olive, giving the most out of it, with a medium fruity aroma, filled with the fragrances of the Messinian land, with a light tomato flavour and a solid flavour of fresh olive and green fruits, with a slightly bitter and spicy aftertaste, while there is still another feature, that of artichoke.”

“A pungent, grassy, almost fresh garlic aroma, but the palate is gentle and creamy, with a touch of sweetness as of sweet almond, mild bitterness and warm pepper on the finish. A pleasing and versatile oil with a flavour arc that does not soar high, but is smooth and even, and includes a pleasing, warm finish”.

“An exceptional fruity green character, of medium height intensity, with classic pure Koroneiki aromas. It carries a distinctive pungency, with an after taste of green fresh grass and tomato leaf. The mixture of aromatic herbs, red pepper and citrus gives the point and the unique taste”.

“Very sweet aroma with strawberry, cinnamon and yellow banana. Good finish in mouth with sweet tropical taste, bit different from normal Koroneiki.”

“Indeed, great oil !! Lovely green note with rich persistency and aroma, complexity. Should be great example of well-made Koroneiki in the world this year!”

“This has a gorgeous green gold colour and lovely grassy notes on the nose. The bitterness was found quite acceptable and enjoying the arc of taste from grassy to bitter to peppery and back finally to grassy. We concluded that this is an oil that has real potential”.

Tasting Sensations 2020:
Black Pepper
Tomato Leaf
Parsley
Hot Chili
Exotic Fruits

Tasting Sensations 2021:
Ripe Notes
Artichoke
Eucalyptus
Almond
Pepper

Tasting Sensations 2022:
Fig Leaf
Arugula
Red Chili Pepper
Green Tomato

Tasting Sensations 2023:
Apple
Green Banana
Artichoke
Walnut
Flowers

“A well balanced Medium Extra Virgin Olive Oil with both aromas of fresh cut grass and earthy notes. Clear aromas of tomato leaf and red notes can be found. The combination of arugula and pepperoncino is very pleasant with an additional and distinct radish flavor with a hint of black pepper for final.”