This is my great-great-grandfather, Giannis Perakis, the first guardian of our family’s olive oil tradition. He had a remarkable gift for grafting wild olive trees, transforming them into thriving producers, and he knew each one by heart. He cared for and harvested these trees year after year, supplying olive oil for his family and trading it within the nearby villages. It was through his hands and dedication that our family’s legacy as olive oil producers began.
The Story Starts with my
Great Great Grandfather
THE PERAKIS FAMILY
In 1980, as a young boy, I joined my family in Crete for the olive harvest just before Christmas. Three generations worked side by side in the orchards—cutting branches, spreading nets, and gently striking the trees to release their fruit. Under my grandfather’s guidance and my father’s watchful eye, what began as chaos slowly became rhythm, tradition, and purpose.
That evening, they announced we had produced nearly six hundred kilos of olive oil. We gathered around the table, sharing a simple meal of wild greens and goat soup, drenched in the fresh, peppery oil we had helped create that very day. My grandfather tasted it, smiled, and called it “good.” In that moment, I understood that we were not just harvesting olives—we were continuing our family’s legacy as olive oil producers.
OLIVE OIL IS OUR HERITAGE
When my family couldn’t travel to Crete for the harvest my grandfather would call and tell us that “our” olive oil had been shipped to Athens. The next day, 150 litres of freshly harvested “green gold” would arrive for our family of five—our entire yearly supply.
My father’s siblings received their own shares too, all sent from my grandfather’s groves. On our next visit, I discovered large clay jars in his cellar holding hundreds more litres, reserved so none of his children would ever need to buy olive oil elsewhere. It was then I first understood the scale of our family’s production—and how deeply olive oil was part of our heritage.
THE STONEMILL NAME
In 2008, I made the decision to honour my family’s olive oil tradition by officially certifying and bottling our extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil. My vision was to place our small village of Emparos village — and the neighbouring mountain communities devoted entirely to olive cultivation — on the map of high-quality olive oil production worldwide. By sharing this exceptional oil beyond Crete, I hoped to open new opportunities for local families while preserving the heritage passed down through generations. The name Stonemill is inspired by the traditional marble stone mill that stands on our land, once a water-powered mill used in ancient times — a lasting symbol of craftsmanship, history and our deep roots in the land.
