The very name Chiavalon brings a smile to my face.
Every time.
As I write these words on October 28, 2018, I realise from my diary that it is almost a year to the day since I met arguably the happiest man in all Croatia, working with a product which industry experts have judged to be not only organic healthiness personified, but among the top 15 olive oils in the whole world.
About this time last year, I was fortunate enough to meet the olive oil phenomenon that is Chiavalon, a small Istrian family business which is getting larger by the day and touching all corners of the planet, but with a humility and dedication of two brothers who have found their calling in nature and simply love what they do. And, as luck would have it, we arrived just as the first olives of the 2017 harvest came in from the Chiavalon olive groves. You can read about last year's olive pressing experience here (and watch it in the video below).
Chiavalon is about much more than olive oil. If you believe in karma, I suggest you visit, for there is such contentment and dedication to excellence at Chiavalon, that it really is a privilege to experience it. Here is the Chiavalon story from the official website told by Sandi Chiavalon, which tells you more than I could with my words:
"Ever since my earliest days, my love for olive trees grew each time I visited our little olive grove with my grandfather. I have always been fascinated by its slow growth, its beauty and the gift it gives us after all the hard work. Until 1997, we cultivated only 50 olive trees, about 300 to 400 years old. After my grandfather fell ill, there was nobody left to cultivate our olive grove, so while my peers were busy collecting football cards and riding their bikes, I had a somewhat different hobby. My only goal was to learn each and every fact about this beautiful tree and to produce extra virgin olive oil that would make my whole family happy." (Read more)
From those handful of olive trees all those years ago, Sandi Chiavalon explained to me last year that he was expecting about 16,000 litres of oil from the olives which would be pressed at his new state-of-the-art mill near Vodnjan. And the awards followed. As I wrote last year:
"We have written about the outstanding success of Chiavalon Extra Virgin Olive Oil several times this year, as international recognition has followed international recognition: back in March Chiavalon was awarded an extra gold medal in the category of the world's best organic extra virgin olive oil at BIOL in Italy; in August, it was named 13th best olive oil in the world by World Best Olive Oils; and in May, it was named best organic extra virgin olive oil of all at Olive Oil Award in Zurich. No disrespect to the excellent quality of my father-in-law's wonderful oil, but that is some seriously impressive recognition."
Since my visit last year, the good news has not stopped coming. Flos Olei awarded the Istrian olive oil producer 95/100 last December, placing it once more about the world's top olive oils, following its top 15 appearance for its Ex Albis in 2008. And a quick look at the Chiavalon news page shows that all is well with the two happy brothers.
The early signs for this year's harvest are extremely encouraging. Tedi Chiavalon took a few minutes from the harvest to give a quick update earlier today:
"We are still harvesting. This year harvest is amazing! The quality of the olives is fabulous, practically we had a year without diseases. The Mlado/First of this year is a blend of buza, bianchera, Rosignola and leccino. It’s very intensive on taste, bitter and spicy and very green on smelt as is coming from the first three days of early harvest. This year we produced 2.500 bottles of it half of which are going to Japan. Our fans can order it directly from our webshop."
I have seen a LOT of family producers in Croatia who make outstanding products, but who fall down on marketing and sales. Not so with Chiavalon, whose marketing and sales strategy is among the very best in the business. The launch of the website will be great news for the growing army of gourmet fans. You can visit the online shop here, but I would really encourage you to visit Chiavalon - the karma is unforgettable.
