Meet the Dafnis Family
The family behind The Governor Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For more than 100 years, the Dafnis family has produced olive oil on the Greek island of Corfu, caring for the island's centuries-old Lianolia olive trees and passing their knowledge down through generations.
Today, brothers Spyros and George Dafnis continue that family tradition. But their story is not simply about preserving the past. Over the last decade, they have helped rethink how Corfiot olive oil is grown, harvested, produced and understood, combining generations of experience with modern milling technology, scientific analysis and a determination to protect Corfu's historic olive-growing landscape.
For the Dafnis family, producing olive oil is more than a business.
It is a responsibility to their family, their island and the ancient trees they have inherited.
A family tradition rooted in Corfu
The Dafnis family's olive groves are centred around Agios Mathaios in southern Corfu, where the native Lianolia olive tree has shaped the landscape for centuries.
Many of the trees found within the groves are several hundred years old. Unlike the intensive olive plantations found in some producing regions, Corfu's traditional olive landscape features large, mature trees across the island's green hillsides.
The Dafnis family has worked with these trees for generations.
Rather than replacing Corfu's traditional olive variety with a more commercially familiar cultivar, the family chose to focus on Corfu's Lianolia and explore what could be achieved by harvesting and milling the fruit specifically for high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
That decision eventually became central to The Governor.
From family mill to The Governor
Spyros and George established Olive Fabrica, bringing the cultivation, harvesting, milling, storage and bottling of their olive oil under close control.
Their approach combines traditional land knowledge with modern production practices. They harvest olives carefully, transport them quickly to the mill, and process them under controlled conditions designed to preserve the fresh fruit's characteristics. The oil is then stored in stainless-steel tanks under controlled conditions before bottling.
This emphasis on traceability remains central to the family's philosophy.
As Spyros has explained when discussing the identity of producer-made olive oil, consumers should be able to understand where, when, how and by whom their olive oil was produced.
A simple principle continues to guide The Governor: We produce what we offer, and we offer what we produce.
Why is it called The Governor?
The name The Governor was chosen as a tribute to Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Corfiot statesman who became the first Governor of independent Greece.
For the Dafnis family, the name reflects both their Corfiot identity and their ambition to create something that would help revive the island's olive-growing heritage.
The bottle itself has become part of that identity, but the story behind it begins with something much older: Corfu's native Lianolia olive tree.
Tradition supported by innovation
The Dafnis family's philosophy is not to choose between tradition and technology.
It is to use both.
Centuries-old trees and inherited knowledge remain at the heart of production, while modern milling equipment, temperature control, laboratory analysis, and evolving cultivation practices allow the family to understand and protect the oil's quality in far greater detail.
As Spyros has described it, their approach brings together three elements:
tradition, innovation and scientific research.
This approach has helped The Governor earn recognition in international olive oil competitions and become the subject of scientific research into high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil.
The Governor’s use in scientific research does not mean that the olive oil has been shown to prevent or treat disease. Rather, its inclusion in these studies reflects the Dafnis family’s long-standing interest in the science of high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil and in understanding its distinctive chemical composition and naturally occurring compounds.
Sharing what they have learned
The Dafnis family also believes that understanding olive oil begins at its source.
That philosophy led to the creation of Corfu Olive Tours, where visitors can explore the groves, see traditional and modern olive oil production and learn how extra virgin olive oil is tasted and evaluated.
Education is not limited to tourists.
The family and their team have hosted educational programmes for more than 6,000 students from Greece and overseas, sharing knowledge about olive cultivation, production and Corfu's agricultural heritage.
Visitors can also experience olive oil at The Olive House in Corfu's old town, created as a space dedicated to tasting, gastronomy and olive oil culture.
For Spyros and George, educating the next generation is part of protecting the future of Corfu's olive groves.
The people behind every bottle
One of The Governor's defining characteristics is that identifiable people stand behind the product.
The olives do not simply arrive from an anonymous supply chain.
- There is a family.
- There are groves.
- There is a mill.
- A native Corfiot olive variety.
And there are people whose lives are closely connected to the land where the oil is produced.
That traceability from the olive tree through harvesting, milling, and bottling is central to how the Dafnis family thinks about quality.
Looking to the future while protecting the past
The Dafnis family's story began long before The Governor brand existed, and their plans extend beyond the current generation.
In 2026, Spyros described plans for a new, technologically advanced olive mill designed not only for production, but also for education, gastronomy, and training, with public visits planned from 2027.
More than olive oil
For the Dafnis family, The Governor represents more than producing premium Greek extra virgin olive oil.
It represents their family's history, the landscape of Corfu and a belief that traditional agriculture can have a meaningful future when knowledge, innovation and community work together.
From neglected groves to award-winning extra virgin olive oil, their journey demonstrates what can happen when a family chooses not simply to inherit a tradition, but to invest in its future.
Meet the family. Know the grove. Know who produces your olive oil.
The Governor has been so far studied for...
The polyphenols in the Governor EVOO are measured by NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. NMR is very expensive to use but it is proven to be the most accurate way for producers to identify their olive oil as high phenolic olive oil.
The oleocanthal concentration in EVOO can vary considerably. This is due to several factors, including the variety of olive, geographical location of the olive trees, olive maturity when pressing, cultivation and production techniques.
Research context: The Governor EVOO has been supplied for many academic studies investigating high-oleocanthal olive oil. Participation in research does not mean the product has been clinically proven to prevent, treat or cure disease.
- Olive Compound Oleocanthal: A New Possible Treatment Approach for Aggressive Prostate Cancer - Published November 2025
- High Polyphenol Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Metabolically Unhealthy Obesity: A Scoping Review of Preclinical Data and Clinical Trials - Published February 2025
- The Olive Oil Phenolic S-(-)-Oleocanthal Suppresses Colorectal Cancer Progression and Recurrence by Modulating SMYD2-EZH2 and c-MET Activation - Published January 2025
- Acute Antiplatelet Effects of an Oleocanthal-Rich Olive Oil in Type II Diabetic Patients: A Postprandial Study - Published May 2024
- Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death - Published May 2024
- Extra virgin olive oil enhances the blood-brain barrier function in Mild Cognitive impairment - Published December 2022
- Oleocanthal Attenuates Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression and Recurrence by Targeting SMYD2 - Published July 2022
- The effect of Dietary Intervention with high oleocanthal and oleacein olive oil in patients with early stage chronic Leukemia - Published 21 January 2022
- Olive Polyphenols: Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties - Published June 2021
- Oleocanthal is inhibiting lung cancer – published 11 June 2020
- Safety Evaluation of single dose of Oleocanthal – published 20th January 2020
- Oleocanthal combine with lapatinib treatmentsynergized against HER 2 breast cancer – published 15th February 2020
- Alzheimer and cancer cells at the ULM and hunter college of New York ( Cornel University)
- Oleocanthal rich restores the blood – brain barrier – Accepted 12th June 2019
- Hydroxytyrosol, Tyrosol and Derivatives and Their Potential Effects on Human Health - Published May 2019
- Oleocanthal on its oral anti breast cancer activity – published 9th April 2019
- Optimization of taste masked oleocanthal – 5 October 2019
- Oleocanthal rich enhances donepezil effect by reducing amyloid b and toxicity of Alzheimer disease – 8th may 2018
- Olive oil intake is inversely related to cancer prevalence: a systematic review and a meta-analysis of 13800 patients and 23340 controls in 19 observational studies - Published July 2011
Scientific Advisors
Dr. Prokopios Magiatis and Dr. Eleni Melliou are at the forefront of olive oil research. Dr. Magiatis is a co-founder and vice-president of the Oleocanthal International Society and co-founder of the World Olive Center for Health in Athens. Dr. Melliou is co-founder and general secretary of the Oleocanthal International Society and co-founder of the World Olive Centre for Health in Athens.
The World Olive Centre is a specialised organisation dedicated to the study of the health benefit’s of Olive oil. Its main objective is to provide support for clinical trials using high phenolic extra virgin olive oil.
Prokopios Magiatis research is focused on the isolation, chemical synthesis and bioactivity of natural products especially olive oil. He is an expert on the analyses and measurement of bioactive compounds like oleocanthal in olive oil. Dr. Eleni Melliou research is focused on the chemistry of natural products and particularly on isolation and structural identification of bioactive small molecules from foods with the use of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods.
“We can certify that The Governor is an extremely rare extra virgin olive oil that stands out from the usual oils. It is an oil highly recommended to all consumers looking for olive oil with enhanced properties for health protection”
Prokopios Magiatis, Associate Professor – Athens University Faculty of Pharmacy
