Cyprus;Vinous treasure island

07 August 2008 By db staff writer

d=”standfirst”>With an abundance of rare, indigenous grape varieties, favourable climate, and eclectic range of terroirs, Cyprus is well placed to compete in the global wine-producing marketplace

Cyprus ticks all the boxes in an age when wine drinkers are looking for authenticity and a sense of discovery, but not at the expense of accessibility. With evidence of winemaking on the Mediterranean island as far back as 6,000 years ago, a rich choice of rare, indigenous grape varieties, and a landscape engineered to accommodate the 2.5 million tourists that flock to its shores each year, it is quickly apparent Cyprus can meet the key desires of today’s consumer.
Its wine industry, once rightly described as antiquated, is fast-modernising, allowing producers to capture the flavours of grapes grown on an island with a large and eclectic range of terroirs. A winemaking revolution has been led by a core of energetic small-scale producers, encouraged by an emerging domestic demand for high-quality products, as well as a tourist keen to experiment. The island’s largest wineries have swiftly followed, improving their output in an attempt to compete at home and in world markets. Accession to the EU has also acted as a catalyst for change, ensuring international quality criteria are met, appellation of origin laws and boundaries set, and subsidies allocated to winery improvements, not sheer weight of grapes.
In short, a definite qualitative vinous direction is emerging for Cyprus. The country is clear on what styles of wines it can best produce, which varieties it should use, where it should plant, and how it should promote. In particular, wine routes have now been mapped, incorporating a growing number of increasingly elaborate cellar door operations, including shops, museums, restaurants and even hotels. All that’s needed is international recognition for its leading wine styles and top producers.
And when it comes to styles, certain vinous strengths are clearly apparent. Firstly, there is no doubt Cyprus has the climate to produce world-class sweet wines. Its most famous product and export, Commandaria, is testament to this, but so too are the island’s rapidly proliferating sweet Muscats. Then there’s rosé. Cyprus appears highly adept at producing richly coloured and flavoured rosés from a range of varieties, including indigenous ones such as Maratheftiko, and even the widely planted Mavro.
Certainly when it comes to native grapes, the country has identified those with the greatest quality potential, white and red, and is growing plantings, ensuring there is a real sense of place to the wines produced.
International varieties also flourish in Cyprus, which in places has near perfect viticultural conditions. In particular, comparisons with those in the southern Rhône support the success winemakers are having with varietals from this French region, for instance Syrah, Grenache and Mouvedre. When it comes to whites alone, certain winemakers are soon to trial the Rhône’s Viognier, but already, the local Xynisteri grape produces refreshing medium-bodied wines on its own or blended with varieties such as Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay. And the latter grape, barrel-aged, can produce wines of global appeal.
Overall, replanting and modern machinery, coupled with a new generation of enthusiastic and internationally trained oenologists, are ensuring the increasing production of approachable and complex wines. Crucially, these still have a clear sense of place achieved from unique viticultural conditions and the blending of the international with the indigenous.  
Future developments will no doubt focus on viticultural advancements such as clonal selection, but for now, modern winemaking methods are ensuring Cyprus is well placed to compete on the global marketplace, and with a clear point of difference both in terms of style and story.

Promoting Change • Boosting awareness of the country’s expanding number of wineries is the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, which has recently finalised a series of wine routes for the 2.5 million tourists that flock to the island’s shores each year. Presently six routes have been mapped, covering Laono-Akamas, Vouni Panagias-Ambelitis, Diarizos Valley, the Wine Villages of Limassol, the Commandaria region and Pitsilia. The Laono-Akamas route includes the rugged coastline and pretty inland villages of this south western corner of Cyprus; Vouni Panagias-Ambelitis the dramatic mountainous scenery north of Paphos; Diarizos Valley the quiet and leafy surroundings east of Pafos; Krasochoria the unspoilt wine villages of Omodos and Koilani in the Limassol district; the Commandaria region the mountain villages north of Limassol including the medieval castle of Kolossi, and Pitsilia, which includes the Troodos mountain peaks of Madari, Papoutsa and the north-western part of Machairas, as well as Cyprus’s highest vineyards at Kyperounda. Finally, completed in 2004, is the Cyprus Wine Museum in the village of Erimi, just west of Limassol. This provides a useful and accessible snapshot of the country’s wine styles and viticultural history as well as the chance to have a brief tutored tasting. On display are a range of wine-related artefacts while a ten minute film charts the history of winemaking on the island. The museum is housed in a beautifully and sensitively restored traditional Cypriot country house, owned by local composer Anastasia Guy.

Industry Structure • Cyprus has witnessed widespread change in the last four years. Accession to the EU in 2004 precipitated a massive reduction in wine supply, the promotion of quality indigenous grapes and the creation of controlled wine regions. Initially a E25m uprooting scheme financed by the EU reduced vineyard area by 15%, leading to a decrease in wine volumes by almost 40% through targeting the most productive places and varieties, such as Mavro. Also, subsidies relating to production were pushed aside to make way for financial support for vineyard restructuring, planting quality indigenous grapes and winemaking investments. As for the future, the EU has allocated E3.8m per year from 2010. Essentially, the phenomenon of high-volume, low-quality bulk wine shipments (base for Sherry-type fortified wines among other products) has come to an end. Still, the industry suffers from fragmentation. Four big wineries, SODAP, KEO, ETKO and LOEL may dominate production, accounting for over four-fifths of the wine bottled, but Cyprus’s 15,000 hectares of vineyards are divided between 20,000 growers. Aside from the large producers, regional wineries are proliferating, from around half a dozen 20 years ago to 53 today. Some of these are headed by a new generation of younger winemakers who are looking to acquire land and planting rights. Finally, EU accession saw the demarcation of four viticultural regions – Akamas Laona (north-west coast), Vouni Panayias – Ambelitis (western Paphos district, over 800m), Pitsilia (slopes of Madari on the Troodos range) and The Wine Villages of Limassol (the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains, facing Limassol). There is also the sweet wine-producing Commandaria region which was officially designated as an AC region in 1990. Outside the four designated regions of origin, table wines may be produced, which may bear a regional indication on the label.

db © May 2008