The Athena International Olive Oil Competition (ATHIOOC) is underway at the Navarino Dunes hotel in Costa Navarino, Messinia, with the participation of 295 olive oil samples from 10 countries.

The competition centers on extra-virgin olive oils from all over the world, including of course Greece. It is the only international olive oil competition organized in Greece, as evidenced by the high participation of foreign olive oils (this year comprising 45% of the samples) and judges from abroad, 13 out of 21 of whom come from 10 countries outside Greece.

Already since last year, when it was first organized under the Acropolis, “Athena” has created a lasting impression and has gained the trust of the olive oil world in Greece and abroad. This year the competition traveled to the emblematic Messinia, home of the koroneiki variety, the most famous Greek olive variety, which due to its high quality is now grown in many other countries.

The experts comprising the international judging panel will use their free time to visit the olive groves of Messinia, as well as archaeological sites such as Nestor’s Palace (where olive oil preservation jugs have been found), the famous Byzantine church of Christianoupolis and the bay of Navarino.

The competition will last for three days, until Wednesday, 22/3, and the results will be announced on webpage athenaoliveoil.gr on March 31, 2017.

The main sponsor of this year’s competition is the “Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos” Foundation. Other sponsors included many local and regional institutions, such as the Municipality of Trifylia, the Municipality of Pylos-Nestor and the Peloponnese Region.