Cold off the press

AT the Midleton Farmers Market this weekend, we’ll have the first of the new season’s olive oil for customers to taste.

This is the second year we've brought Mani extra virgin olive oil directly from Greece. The fruity green oil is cold pressed from the Koroneaki olives in a traditional stone mill in the Mani peninsula in the southern Peloponnese.

Just before Christmas we visited Fritz and Burgi Blauel in Mani to see the harvest and the production. The drive from Athens via Epidavrous and the neo-classical city of Nafplio is spectacular, rugged hilly countryside, stupendous views.