
The Cypriot wine industry
ranks 50th in the world in terms of total production quantity (10,302 tonnes), and much higher on a per-capita basis. The wine industry is a significant contributor to the Cypriot economy through cultivation, production, employment, export and tourism.
Overview
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
has been a vine-growing and wine-producing country for millennia and wine used to be a major factor of the Cypriot diet. There is archeological evidence that winemaking on the Mediterranean island may have existed as many as 6000 years ago.
Most wine production remains based on a few varieties of local grapes such as
Mavro and
Xynisteri ''(see table below)''
The most planted grape type is Mavro, it has dark color and literally translates as ‘black’ from Greek. Mavro is mainly used for producing the region's renowned wine Commandaria. The wine combines natural sweetness with high alcohol level and has similarities with a Passito or fortified wine. Commandaria can also be produced with the white grape variety Xynisteri.
History

The history of wine in Cyprus can be broken down into four distinct periods.
Ancient
Exactly how far back wine production in Cyprus goes is unknown. Wine was being traded at least as early as 2300 BC, the date of a shipwreck (similar to the
Kyrenia ship
''Kyrenia'' is a 4th-century BC ancient Greek merchant ship that sank .
''Kyrenia''s wreck was discovered by Greek-Cypriot diving instructor Andreas Cariolou in November 1965 during a storm. Having lost the exact position, Cariolou carried out mo ...
) carrying over 2,500
amphora
An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...
e, discovered in 1999. Its origin and destination are unknown, but must have been along the trade route between Greece and Egypt.
More recently, two discoveries have put that date back by a few more years. The first was the discovery of a Bronze Age (2500–2000 BC) perfumery near the village of Pyrgos. Near this perfumery, an olive press, a winery, and copper smelting works were also discovered. Wine containers and even the seeds of grapes were unearthed.
The second discovery involved an intriguing sequence of events. Dr. Porphyrios Dikaios, a major figure in Cypriot archaeology and once curator of the
Cyprus Museum, had carried out excavations on the outskirts of
Erimi village between 1932 and 1935. During these excavations, several fragments of round flasks were unearthed (amongst other artefacts). These pottery fragments ended up in the stores of the
Cyprus Museum still unwashed in wooden boxes. They were dated to the
Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
period (between 3500BC-3000BC). In 2005, well after Dr Dikaios' death, the chemical signatures of 18 of these were examined by a team of Italian archaeologists led by Maria-Rosaria Belgiorno. Twelve of these showed traces of
tartaric acid
Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes but also in tamarinds, bananas, avocados, and citrus. Its salt (chemistry), salt, potassium bitartrate, commonly known as cream of ta ...
(a component of wine) proving that the 5,500-year-old vases were used for wine.
Medieval to 1878

The history of wine on the island closely relates to its political and administrative history. During
Lusignan rule, the island had close ties with the Crusader nations and especially the nobility of France. During this period, Commandaria wine won the
Battle of the Wines
The Battle of the Wines (''fr. La Bataille des Vins''), sometimes called "The Battle of the Blends" was a notable poem written by Henry d'Andeli in 1224 and tells the story of a famous wine tasting organized by the French king Philip Augustus. O ...
, the first recorded wine tasting competition, which was staged by the French king
Philip Augustus
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...
in the 13th century. The event was recorded in a poem by
Henry d'Andeli in 1224.
During the
Ottoman occupation of the island, wine production went into decline. This was attributed to two factors: Islamic tradition and heavy taxation. Indicative are reports written mainly by French and British travelers of the time; Cyrus Redding writes in 1851:
the vine grower of Cyprus hides from his neighbour the amount of his vintage, and always buries part of his produce for concealment; the exactions of the government are so great, that his profit upon what he allows to be seen is too little to remunerate him for his loss in time and labour.
The quality of the wine produced also lagged behind times with
Samuel Baker
Sir Samuel White Baker (8 June 1821 – 30 December 1893) was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt ...
writing in 1879 "It should be understood that no quality of Cyprus wines is suitable to the English palate".
1878–1980

1878 marked the handover of the island from Ottoman rule to the British Empire. British occupation brought a revival in the
winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
industry. Taxation rules changed and the local cottage industry began to expand. 1844 saw the foundation of one of the largest wineries surviving to date, that of ETKO by the Hadjipavlou family. The Chaplin family (at Per Pedhi) was Hadjipavlou's main competitor until the arrival of
KEO a company formed by a group of prominent local businessmen. KEO bought the Chaplin winery in 1928. In 1943, following a strike, a breakaway of trade union members from ETKO created a cooperative, LOEL. In 1947 the vine-growers themselves created SODAP, a co-operative to "protect the rights of the growers". These "big four" wine producers (a term widely used to refer to KEO, ETKO, SODAP and LOEL) dominated the industry scene and survive to date.
The first wave of expansion for Cypriot wines came with the misfortunes of the European viticulture sector. The
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...
epidemic that affected mainland Europe in the late 19th century had destroyed the majority of wine-producing vines. Cyprus, an island with strict quarantine controls, managed to remain unaffected. As a consequence, demand for Cyprus grapes and wines coupled to the relatively high prices offered resulted in a mini boom for the industry. Further demand early in the early 20th century came from local consumption and from the regional forces of Britain and France in the Middle East. Cyprus produced quality cheap wine and spirits (mainly in the form of
Cyprus brandy) and the big four companies prospered as a result.
The next big export product came in the form of Cyprus sherry. It was first marketed by that name in 1937 and was exported mainly to northern Europe. By the 1960s, Britain was consuming 13.6 million litres of Cyprus wines, half the island's production, mostly as sweet sherry. A British market research study of fortified wines in 1978 showed Emva Cream was the leading Cyprus sherry in terms of brand recognition, and second in that market only to
Harveys' Bristol Cream.
The island became the UK's third leading wine supplier behind France and Spain. A major factor was that Cyprus sherry was more affordable than Spanish Sherry as British taxation favoured alcoholic beverages with an alcoholic content below the 15.5–18 percent bracket.
This competitive advantage was lost a few years later with the re-banding of the alcohol content taxation. The fortified wine market also began to shrink as a whole due to a change in consumer taste and as a result Cyprus sherry sales in the UK fell from their peak in the early 1970s by some 65 percent by the mid-1980s.
The final blow came when the EC ruled that as of January 1996 only fortified wine from Jerez could assume the title of sherry.
The other big market for Cyprus wine during the same period was the
Soviet bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
. Large volumes of low-quality, mass-produced, blended wines were sold to the eastern bloc with the cooperative wine producers (LOEL and SODAP) taking the lion's share. This market began to dry up in the 1980s and vanished altogether with the fall of communism. Indicative of the industry's mass production tactics comes in a report by ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in 1968 commenting on "the end of an underwater pipeline off the coast of Limassol linking to tankers taking on not gas or oil but wine – 100 tons an hour of it – destined for about 40 countries throughout the world."
1980 onwards

In response to the challenges faced by the industry the Cyprus vine-products commission began efforts to overhaul the sector in order to help it survive under the new circumstances. Reforms were intended to improve the quality rather than quantity of wine. Three initiatives were launched:
# Firstly, new varieties of grapes were introduced and (financial) incentives given for their cultivation. The varieties introduced were considered more suitable for quality wine production intended for wines more palatable to overseas markets (than local grapes). Examples include grapes such as
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...
,
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...
,
Carignan
Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...
noir and
Palomino
Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...
''(see complete table below)''.
#Secondly, incentives were given to create small regional wineries with a production capacity of 50,000 to 300,000 bottles per year. This intended to promote better quality wines by reducing the distance grapes travelled from vineyard to winery. The big four wineries were located in the large port cities of Limassol and Paphos so vine growers were forced to transport their harvest for miles in the summer heat. This had an effect on the quality of wine as the fermentation process had already begun during transport. The knock on effect of this incentive also helped maintain the village population in the vine cultivating regions.
#Thirdly a new ''
Appellation of Origin'' was launched in 2007.
Quality levels & appellation system
The Cyprus vine products council has based wine denominations on
European Union wine regulations
European Union wine regulations are common legislation related to wine existing within the European Union (EU),[Table wine
Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification.
In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fort ...](_blank)
. This is similar to the Vin de Table in France or Vino di Tavola in Italy.
#Local wine (''Επιτραπέζιος Οίνος με Γεωγραφική Ένδειξη'') which follows in similar fashion to the French
Vin de pays
''Vin de pays'' (; 'country wine') was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former '' vin délimité de qualité ...
and the Italian
Indicazione Geografica Tipica
''Indicazione geografica tipica'' () is the third of four classification of wine, classifications of wine recognized by the government of Italy. Created to recognize the unusually high quality of the class of wines known as Italian wine#Super Tus ...
. Regulations state that 85% of the grapes used in the production of such wine originates from the specific geographical regions and from the registered vineyards. Vines must be more than 4 years old with a controlled annual yield per cultivated hectare (55 hl/hectare or 70 hl/hectare depending on grape variety). Red wine must have a minimum of 11% alcohol content whilst rose and white wine a minimum of 10%. There are four such designated areas: Lefkosia, Lemesos, Larnaca and Paphos.
#
Protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...
(or O.E.O.Π. standing for ''Οίνοι Ελεγχόμενης Ονομασίας Προέλευσης'') is the most prestigious designation and in theory indicates a higher quality product. It is modelled on the French
Appellation d'origine contrôlée
In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
, whereas the Italian equivalent is the
Denominazione di origine controllata
The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:
* ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin');
* ''Indicazione ...
. Wines with this designation must originate from registered vineyards of an altitude above 600 or 750 meters depending on location. Vines should be more than 5 years old and yield is restricted to 36 or 45 hl per hectare depending on grape variety. There are further regulations dictating the grape composition and ageing process.
Grape varieties

The climate allows for cultivation of most grape varieties. However local varietals (
Mavro and
Xynisteri) constitute the majority of current plantations.
Maratheftiko today forms part of ancient red grape varietals vinified by most wineries wanting to exhibit the singularity of quality wine in Cyprus.
Table showing areas and quantities cultivated by Vines for Wines by variety:
Wine Museum
The Cyprus Wine Museum is located in the heart of the wine-producing area in
Erimi village. The Museum is housed in the site where archaeologists have discovered wine dating back to 3.500 BC. The area has a 5500-year history of wine making and is located at the crossroads of the Cyprus wine routes, in close proximity to the prehistoric settlement of
Sotira, where the oldest remains of grape seeds have been found and near to
Kolossi Castle, a medieval
Commanderie of The
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
that give the name to the
Commandaria
Commandaria (also called Commanderia and Coumadarka; , and Cypriot Greek κουμανταρκά) is an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus on the foothills of the Troödos Mountains. Commandaria is made fro ...
Wine first produced by them. Photographic material and audiovisual presentations, as well as ancient jars, crocks, medieval pots, old documents and instruments can be found relating to the history of wine in Cyprus.
Wine routes
*
Koumandaria
*
Laona –
Akamas
Akamas (Greek: , ), is a promontory and cape at the northwest extremity of Cyprus with an area of 230 square kilometres. Ptolemy described it as a thickly wooded headland, divided into two by summits (a mountain range) rising towards the north. ...
* Vouni Panagias – Ambelitis
* Krasochoria Lemesou
*
Pitsilia
Pitsilia () is an agricultural region in Cyprus, with total area of , in a mountainous area of rocky land on very steep slopes that have been used mainly for grazing goats and sheep and for producing small amounts of cereals, wine and grapes. The ...
*
Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
–
Larnaka
* Diarizos Valley
Turkish Cypriot Wine
For Turkish Cypriots, the first commercial wine projects began with research in the 1990s,
with Chateau St Hilarion as a notable winery based in the Village of Gećitköy to the west of Lapithos. It was established in 2000, and with the aid of international wine consultant,
Keith Grainger, the first commercial vintage was produced in 2004.
Today, there are two ranges of wines produced by the winery: Chateau St Hilarion, the domaine wine produced from grapes grown in the vineyards at Gećitköy and Morphou, and the Levant, which is produced from grapes purchased from local farmers. Chateau St Hilarion is currently researching the viability of using and introducing various new grape varieties to the island.
ETEL Winery in Ilgaz village was established in 2016.
See also
*
Winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
*
Agriculture in Cyprus
References
External links
''Wine Cyprus Blog'' ''Cyprus Wine Products Council – in Greek/English'' ''Cyprus Wine Competition Results'' Cyprus wine story''– Information material from the Cyprus Tourism board.
''The Cyprus Wine Museum''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cypriot Wine
Agriculture in Cyprus
Wine by country