KEO plc, the Greek abbreviation for Cyprus Wine Company (), is a European beverage company based on the island of

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 ...

. It was formed in 1927 and it represents one of the largest industrial employers on the island with more than 90 brands in its portfolio. Its shares are traded on the

Cyprus Stock Exchange The Cyprus Stock Exchange or CSE (, is a stock exchange located in Cyprus. It is a public-sector entity under the direct control of the Cypriot government. History CSE was established under the Cyprus Securities and Stock Exchange Law which provid ...

History

KEO is public limited company was formed in 1927. It is a member of the Hellenic Mining Group whose varied interests in mining, cement production, consumer goods and banking make it the largest industrial group in Cyprus. Reflecting its name, it started off as a company producing

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

in the

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

district. In 1951, it ventured into beer production by importing expertise from Czechoslovakia. Its product range has since expanded to include dessert wines (e.g.

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 ...

), bottled water,

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

, spirits (including

zivania Zivania or zivana () is a Cypriot pomace brandy produced from the distillation of a mixture of grape pomace and local dry wines made from Xynisteri and Mavro grapes. The name of zivania is derived from zivana () which means pomace in the Gree ...

), juices and canned food. The company is also an active participant at the annual Limassol wine festival. The company, till today, markets a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic products locally and in over thirty countries worldwide. Following Cyprus’ accession to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2004, KEO expanded its operations on continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Its shares are listed on the

. Since 2013, the CEO of KEO is Charalambos Panayiotou.

Divisions

KEO operates six trading divisions that include: *Beer *Wines *Spirits *Water *Juices & Soft drinks *Canned Food Its portfolio comprises both local and international brands.

Wine Production

KEO operates four different

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

across four different vineyards – situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 meters above sea level. Cyprus-topographic map-en

* Krasochoria region of the

Troodos Mountains Troodos or Trodos is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympusalso known in Greek as at . Covering a third of Cyprus's area, the Troodos mountain range stretches across ...

range vineyards * Malia vineyards (mainly planted with

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 ...

, Lefkada,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

and

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

) * Pera Pedi vineyards * Arsos LAONA vineyards Its wineries are among the first to be built on the island. All four wineries are in close proximity to the

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s where research is carried out in an effort to increase and safeguard the varieties of grapes, selecting those that will yield the best quality of wine when grown under the local climate. KEO has historically experimented with varieties and cultivation methods whilst it has invested a great deal of resources into rediscovering Cyprus indigenous grape varieties of Mavro and

Xynisteri Xynisteri (also spelled xinisteri; ) is an indigenous white grape grown on Cyprus. According to some estimates, 33% of Cypriot vineyards, on the south slopes of the Troodos mountain range are planted with this grape variety, a fact that makes X ...

, many of which date back to the classical times, a period when the

Cypriot wine The Cypriot wine industry List of wine-producing countries, 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 econom ...

reflected the island’s heritage.

KEO beer

Production of KEO Beer -a

Pilsner Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery. History ...

type Lager Beer- started early in 1951. The original brewery had a small production capacity of about 300,000 gallons annually. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand, the company has carried out substantial extensions to the plant and the equipment now being the most up-to-date machinery in the brewing industry. The brewery is currently capable of producing over 30,000 hectoliters of beer monthly. Keo beer was awarded a Gold Medal by the Brewing Industry International Awards. In 2015 KEO Light won “Best New Product” award from the IN Business Magazine. The winners were chosen by public voting and a special committee.

Juice Production

SWS and Sun Island are among the island’s leading fruit juice producers. Their range of products and activities extends from fruit juices to canned fruit and vegetable. Similar with KEO wineries, the two companies cultivate their own

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

plantations in addition to absorbing a great amount of local fruits produced.

Sponsorship

In 2016, KEO (beer) announced the sponsorship of the

Cyprus national football team The Cyprus national football team (, ) represents Cyprus in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association. The team's home ground is the AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, AEK Arena in L ...

. KEO will support the team throughout its efforts in the qualifying stages of the World Cup 2018. KEO’s collaboration with the

Cyprus Football Association The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) (, ) is the governing body of football in Cyprus and is based in Nicosia. It organises Cyprus's football championships, whose top league is the Cypriot First Division. It also organises the Cypriot Cup, the ...

aims to strengthen and unify the fans of the sport and all those honoring the island state internationally.

Controversy

In 2010 the appearance of KEO beer in an American pornographic film sparked strong reactions by the largest shareholders (20%), the Orthodox

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus () is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; ...

.Church-backed beer in porn sparks fury
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References

{{Reflist, 30em Food and drink companies established in 1927 Food and drink companies of Cyprus Wine companies 1927 establishments in Cyprus Companies based in Limassol