Inspired by a land richly planted with olive trees and steeped in millennia of history, the Kotsonis family has been cultivating its olive trees for more than four generations.
Since the early 1900s, the taste of the estate's olive oil has become particularly appreciated by consumers. Since then, the family, closely following the progress in the production of quality olive oil, created the first mechanical and hydraulic oil press in the region, considered the most modern for its time. This decision, the result of the Kotsonis' love for the quality of its products, gives new impetus to production but also to the growth of the Estate. Since then, the family has dedicated itself to the production of quality olive oil, thanks to the sensory singularity of the indigenous Manaki variety of Argos.
In 2007, the Kotsonis estate evolved again, dedicating part of its olive groves to organic farming, well before the much-publicized consumer craze for organic products. This is how today, the Kotsonis family uses the most advanced extraction methods possible while maintaining the same objective for 4 generations: to respect the land by giving it the care it deserves and to get the best possible result from it.
Mycenae and the Peloponnese, or the cultivation of the olive tree for more than 5,000 years
The cities of Mycenae and Argos, cradle of the mythical Atrides dynasty, were famous in Antiquity for their wealth in gold but also for the fertility of their soil, in a civilization which honored the culture of the earth in the same way as the arts and letters.
The Linear B tablets found in Mycenae and Pylos testify to an economy based on the trade in olive oil. In the ideograms found on these plates, there are 3 different representations linked to the olive: the tree, the fruit and the oil, evidence of the importance that the peoples of the Peloponnese gave to the olive tree.
The Kotsonis family is therefore part of this Peloponnesian tradition, living in a nature that is often still virgin, teeming with olive trees and an astonishing biodiversity. Thus perpetuating this relationship of life and passion for the olive tree.
The Peloponnese, land of olive trees for 5,000 years, heritage also continues to practice the famous Greek "philoxenia". If you have the opportunity, visit the Kotsonis Estate and meet Mado Kotsonis, current manager, who will introduce you to her olive grove through the oleotourism activities offered.
