Ariston Specialties is tucked away in the Kalamata region of Greece lies an 8,800 acre olive plantation and olive oil processing facility owned and operated by the Doukas family for the past 200 years. As the story goes the Doukas family harvested their olives and this was their family’s main source of income. I learned speaking with Tom Doukas son and current business owner, that it was the low acidity factor in their family’s soil which always lead to the Doukas family producing the regions finest olive oils.
Tom indicated a few thing which everyone should know when purchasing olive oil. He said first look for the color of the oil in the bottle, don’t be fooled by companies selling their olive oils in green tinted bottles giving their oil a rich olive color like it should look. Tom said the lighter the color of green, closer to a yellowish green is the indicator that, the olive oil has a higher concentration of acid. Acid gives a strong punchy taste and isn’t easy to swallow compared to a smoother texture of an olive oil grown in a lower acid soil such as on the Doukas plantation.
As time passed Tom Doukas imported his high quality buttery textured olive oils into Connecticut where Ariston had their central distribution center. In the distribution center all the various bottles are filled, labels are placed on the bottles and the famous Ariston olive oils are shipped all over the world.
I have had the privilege of working with Tom Doukas on his advertising development and have seen the world wide growth of Ariston Specialties over the past eighteen years in the United States from his superior fancy foods. Tom is also the pioneer of the famous “Refill Program” which has been copied and is seen in many olive oil boutique stores and high end epicurean markets. Tom Doukas created the program so the consumer can purchase Ariston Olive Oils and his imported award winning flavored balsamic also! The next step is the consumer brings the bottle back for a refill and receives a two dollar discount on their purchase. For more information about this world acclaimed award winning olive oil producer go to: www.Aristonspecialties.com
