Greece has the highest olive oil intake per person in the world as Greeks consume, on average, 24 litres per-person-per-year, according to the North American Olive Oil Association, with Spaniards and Italians consuming about 15 and 13 litres-per-person-per-year respectively. Moreover, 19 Greek olive oils earned a coveted spot as ‘one of the world’s best’ at the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) in 2014, with 12 in all receiving the Gold Award status. Kalamata, Crete and Lesvos all presented some superior quality olive oils.
Australia now has a new high-end Greek oil, Dionysus Australia, a product of the Gizas family, which has a long tradition of producing olives and olive oil from Aipeia since 1662. The Gizas’ ancestors originally hail from Koroni, and joined the Venetian uprising against the Ottomans from the mid-1650s till the early 1660s. The Ottomans recaptured Koroni and Methoni between 1660-2, when the family fled and resettled in Aipeia.
Dennis (Dionysios) Gizas is the last commercial grower within the family and learned the ropes from his grandfather, the first Dionysios Gizas.
“Expanding our distribution originally to family, then friends, and now more widely to Australian customers, creating the Dionysus brand has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding parts of my life,” Dennis Gizas tells Neos Kosmos.
“It has been wonderful introducing and educating more Australians to the high-quality olive oil which we southern Europeans have known for thousands of years.”
“I like sharing the history of my family and our centuries of wealth of knowledge and culinary expertise in producing and enjoying our Kalamata extra virgin olive oil,” he continues.
The family business produced olives and oil for the Greek domestic market and went into exporting to the European markets of Venice, Antwerp and Luxembourg in the early 18th century, establishing a solid export network in the 19th century. Dennis started importing the family’s Kalamata varietal extra virgin olive oil direct from the family farm in Greece over 10 years ago and it’s been a wonderful decade of learning and progress for him.
Gizas’ father returned to live permanently at Aipia in 2000, while Dennis visited periodically. Their oil-making mentality is based on an anti-modern, natural approach. They have goats that feed off the ground, keeping the weeds down and creating fertiliser.
“We began restoring the family farmhouse and pressing oil from our Kalamata olive trees again,” he tells.
“We are mountain growers and we have never used machinery.”
Later, Dennis, who works as a political-science lecturer, began bringing the oil into Australia for friends and family. Dionysus the label, named not only after the Greek god of wine, known for his orgiastic bacchanals, but after Dennis and his grandfather, was established in 2009.
“The Australian market is difficult for any new and especially international brand,” he admits.
“It does not help that Greek Australian distributors don’t support new brands, which is only a fraction of the problem.”
According to Dennis, it is not only Australian Greek distributors who do not want to change their ways – it is also Greek government agencies, producers and manufacturers.
“One of our biggest problems is that Australian consumers, especially older generation Greek Australians, associate Greek products as ‘cheap’, budget-priced and low quality.”
“Myself and other quality producers, even though we produce high-quality products, are constantly selling ourselves short and trying to compete across the broad range with budget and cost competitive prices,” he adds.
This in turn, he stresses, makes some producers, especially the larger producers and manufacturers, dilute their quality to match price competitiveness, leading into a downward cycle.
“I produce a high-end olive oil, without compromise,” he continues. “I find clients who want and need this level of olive oil, such as restaurants and food retailers, and then the time-consuming process of marketing, promoting and educating consumers in terms of the ‘reality’ of high-end production of olive oil and other Greek products.”
Dionysus, Gizas believes, stands out because of its distinctive taste and thickness. His sales are conducted mostly online or directly to delicatessens and high-end restaurants, where he has been rather strong.
”It has a thick viscosity and the classic Kalamatan bitterness comes through,” he says.
”Moreover, Dionysus has a slightly higher heat tolerance, therefore you can push it a bit more while cooking,” he says.
The Mediterraneans, and especially the Greeks, are known for their liberal use of olive oil, which is extensively featured in most recipes. Olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), is considered a healthy dietary component even for fat loss.
“Olive oil is a fat obtained from the fruit of the olea europaea, aka the olive tree, and as opposed to saturated fats and trans fats it is not only delicious but helps to prevent several diseases, including certain types of cancer and depression, while its components make it one of the most effective beautifiers in cosmetology.”
The Gizas family focuses on the quality of its product, but also on proper storage techniques for olive oil, which are essential to preserving its delicate taste as well as to ensure that it does not spoil and become rancid, something that will have a negative effect on its nutritional profile. They also like to separate
the oil into two different categories, based on the olives they use.
”Different slopes produce different intensities, hence the separation of the two,” he says.
”Harvesting all my trees and calling Dionysus a generic Kalamatan olive oil didn’t quite resonate with me.
“Just as wine drinkers might like a strong or more delicate flavour, like a merlot or a shiraz, different foods require an oil of different intensity,” he explains.
Dennis is in the process of searching for other high-end quality products to bring into Australia, however, not cheap or budget priced.
“This perception has been and is, my biggest barrier, but when you compare the product, when you actually taste the difference, you understand,” he confesses.
“We conduct tastings at various stores and exhibit our olive oil at food fairs and events as well as at specialty weekend markets and have strong presence in several stores located in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.”
“We also have many chef-ambassadors who have loved our oil and are using it on their TV shows, restaurants and workshops. Mary Valle is taking Dionysus to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival,” Dennis Gizas says.
Born to Greek parents, Mary grew up surrounded by tradition and a love of food. With a passion for travelling, she often spends time in her family’s home in Greece and nearby Mediterranean countries where she learns new techniques and recipes to add to her kitchen. Mary teaches Mediterranean-style cooking in Melbourne, sharing her passion and love for food with others. In addition to this, she runs gourmet culinary tours around Greece and contributes to magazines regularly. Presenting cooking classes showcasing the Greek cuisine and the benefits of olive oil at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Mary will use Dionysus oils.
Mary Valle has shared some of her olive oil inspired and infused healthy and delicious recipes. As we say in Greece before sitting down with family and friends for a meal, καλή όρεξη.
*For more information visit www.dgeoliveoil.com.au and for recipes www.maryskitchen.com.au