The EVOO and its producer: Isabella Cristiano.

The award-winning EVOO: Tenute Cristiano Grand Cru, Carolea and Nocellara Messinese olive varieties.

The company’s favourite slogan is “discovering new traditions”. A family estate of 45 hectares, with 8,000 trees, almost all 100 years old, commanding a view of the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean in Lamezia Terme, Calabria. The company, founded by her grandfather, a doctor who believed in the extraordinary health benefits of extra virgin olive oil “done as it should be”, now boasts an all-female team, with Scarlett and Isabella – mother and daughter – at the wheel of the estate and Barbara Gugliotta – quality manager – adding the final touch to the women’s team.

We meet Isabella among the hundred-year-old Carolea trees: “I grew up playing with my sister and cousins in the family olive groves, embracing a genuine love for our land and our breathtaking landscape. We all learnt to follow the seasons, the slow growing process that requires calm and empathy for the cycles of nature. Inspired by this important heritage, my family, now in its third generation, continues to invest in quality, innovation and sustainable agriculture, opening Tenute Cristiano’s doors for connoisseurs in search of the highest quality extra virgin olive oil made in Italy”.

Tenute Cristiano is a multi-award-winning extra virgin olive oil, which takes part in some of the most prestigious international competitions, a true expression of Italian excellence, produced in a sustainable way. As a distinctive feature, the label bears the profile of Ligea, one of the three Sirens who tried in vain to bewitch Ulysses with her lovely voice. A design inspired by an ancient coin depicting the sensual creature, found in the vicinity of one of their olive groves. Tenute Cristiano is no stranger to EVO IOOC Italy’s absolute awards, having already won the Special Award Best of Regione Calabria in 2020, performed again in 2023. Today, Tenute Cristiano is defending its prestigious award in the eighth edition of the EVO IOOC Italy, the Special Award Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Regione Calabria, a category in which it is the champion in the year 2023.