Athinolia Olives
A prized dual-purpose olive from Laconia in the Peloponnese: an elegant, fruity oil and a fine table olive.
The Athinolia — also called Tsabelía or Psilolia — is a prized olive of Laconia, in the southern Peloponnese, the same region that gives the world the Kalamata. Dual-purpose, it gives an elegant, fruity, well-balanced oil and a fine table olive, and it ripens late, holding its quality. A refined Peloponnesian variety often grown side by side with its famous purple neighbour.
- Origin
- Laconia, Peloponnese · Greece
- Also called
- Tsabelía, Psilolia
- Type
- Table & oil
- Colour
- Green to black
- Flavour (oil)
- Elegant, fruity, balanced
- Ripens
- Late
- Best for
- Fine oil and table olives
Laconia’s refined olive
The southern Peloponnese is one of Greece’s great olive heartlands, and while the Kalamata gets the fame, the Athinolia is the connoisseur’s companion to it — an elegant, fruity, balanced oil and a fine table olive. It ripens late and keeps its character, and Laconian groves often carry both varieties, the Kalamata for the table and the Athinolia for a refined oil.
Athinolia oil is a lesser-known Greek pleasure — elegant rather than fierce, and usually excellent value given how cheaply fine Greek oil still sells. Look for a named Laconia or Peloponnese oil.