Ave Maria Now Home to Company Importing Olive Oil, Wine
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Published on Monday, 17 June 2013 21:31
When Michael O'Neill visited the ancient groves on Cyprus owned by the family of his wife, Lena Anastasiades, and tasted the olive oil produced there, his first thought was, "I have to find out where I can get something like this back home." When he was told he'd never find that distinctive flavor in any of the olive oil products sold in the U.S., his second thought was, "We have to export this."
Now, the couple, who met during their first year at Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and who live in Emerson Park with their children, are working with several partners to bring three brands of olive oil and a fortified wine, Triumph Commandaria, to markets in America.
"I must use a half a bottle of this olive oil every day," said Mr. O'Neill, pointing to an 8.5 oz bottle. "We used it to fry eggs, we use it on popcorn, I put it on bread. It's full of anti-oxidants."
Mr. O'Neill, who has some questions about the quality and claims of many olive oils typically sold in American supermarkets, praised the superior quality of Villa Cyprus oils, produced both as organic and conventional oils. "And the Villa Melousia oil is very special – that's grown from the oldest groves, planted 200 years ago."
The couple now own a five-acre grove on Cyprus. They, along with their three business partners, are also marketing Triumph Commandaria wine, a fortified wine made only from grapes grown in a collection of 14 villages in the Commandaria Region of Cyprus. Said to have been in existence for 5,500 years, Commandaria wine is believed by some to have been used at the Last Supper. It is said to have been a favorite of Antony and Cleopatra, and Richard the Lionhearted who had it served at his wedding to Berengaria of Navarre which took place on Cyprus during the twelfth century, famously called it "the wine of kings, and the king of wines."
Mr. O'Neill and Ms. Anastasiades hope to have the olive oils marketed in such stores as Wegman's, Kroger's, Winn Dixie and Publix, and hope to see their Commandaria wine on the shelves at Trader Joe's and at The Queen Mary Pub. Eventually, they plan to expand the line to include sea salt.
The stunning landscapes of the groves and hillsides that are home to their products can be seen in the picture (right) and there are more pictures on the Villa Cyprus web site - www.villacyprusimports.com - which also has information on ordering and product availability. Mr. O'Neill says he shares new pictures regularly of the adventures he and his wife have had in the Mediterranean and in the countryside of Cyprus. "I like to visualize Lena's ancestors there," he says. "I imagine them wearing the clothes of an earlier time, maybe singing, as they harvest the olives."
