Cultivation

Olives
The Mani region offers the best conditions for olive cultivation: a combination of high light intensity and duration of sunshine, a few hours of rain and stone and mineral rich mountain soil near the sea. Here the Koroneiki olive variety thrives, producing one of the best olive oils in the world. The cultivation and management of the olive trees is done following organic principles. This means, among other things, that no chemical fertilisers and pesticides are used, thus safeguarding biodiversity and pests are controlled through biological methods. In the olive groves, under the trees there is a natural cover crop of grasses, legumes and weeds to keep the soil protected and fertile. Additional irrigation is not necessary. Organic farming requires intensive care and a lot of hard work, but it is a system which protects the soil and water. We believe that a healthy environment is reflected in the taste of the products it produces.

Another feature of the special cultivation of the Mani olive trees is the severe pruning, which contributes to the unique quality of the olives. Once a year the trees are very heavily pruned. In contrast to the usual oil yield of about 5 to 15 litres per tree, the smaller Koroneiki olive tree in the Mani only produces 1 to 3 litres of pure “green gold”. Here the focus is definitely on quality not quantity.

The second “star” of the area is the famous Kalamata table olive.  Kalamata olives have a slightly thicker skin and a firmer flesh than other olives, so they are well suited to transportation and processing even when fully ripe. This allows the farmers to wait for them to reach the right stage of ripeness on the tree, and then picking by hand selecting them one by one. Tree ripened olives are quite a rare luxury to find on the market so look out for the MANI label. Kalamata olives are characterised by a ripe fruit with a rich flavour, crunchy texture and plenty of beneficial nutritional components.

Origin of other products
The sunny, fertile region of Lilantio Pedio on the island of Evia (Aegean Sea) offers the best conditions for the natural, gentle drying of fresh tomatoes. For the sundried tomato mezes only ripe tomatoes, of the “San Marzano” variety are carefully picked by hand. They are particularly firm, deliciously sweet and deep red in colour.

The capers, salt and balsamic vinegar come from long-term collaborators who produce authentic, great tasting Greek natural products according to MANI’s high quality and ethical standards.