Cypriot wine: A 5500 year old tradition

According to tradition, Cypriots are the world's first wine producers. Until recently, evidence indicated that wine production in Cyprus began around 2000 BC. Recently, however, Italian archaeologists studying a number of vessels excavated in 1930 by the Cypriot archaeologist Porphyrios Dikaios at the settlement of Erimi and stored in crates at the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia, discovered that the vessels in question contained traces of tartaric acid, a key ingredient of wine, which proves that the 5500-year-old containers were used for wine. This indicates that Cypriots were wine producers long before the Ancient Greeks, perhaps as much as 1500 years earlier. Where history is lost in mythology, we find Bacchus and his friends enjoying Cypriot wine and the worshippers of the goddess Aphrodite celebrating with Cypriot "nama", which is said to be the oldest known wine. Homer, in his epics, praises Cypriot wines. Shakespeare informs us that Mark Antony ceded the island of Cyprus to Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, with the words "thy sweetness, my love, is equal to the Cypriot nama". Twelve centuries later, Richard the Lionheart departed from Cyprus saying: "I must return to Cyprus just to taste its wine again". Today, centuries later, Cypriots, remain true to tradition: they produce more wine per person than any other country in the world. Paradoxically, Cypriots consume less wine than any other country in Europe. This means that the island's wine industry relies mainly on exports. Historically, Cyprus produces two varieties of grapes, a red one which is unique in Cyprus, and the "xynisteri" or white one. Both of these varieties produce wines with a strong flavour. In the recent decades, Cypriot wine producers have experimented with new grape varieties but very few have proven to be suitable for the climatic conditions of the island. These varieties are mainly used for blending (with red or sour grapes) or for the production of small quantities of lighter wines which are more suitable for the European market. The most famous among Cypriot wines is the sweet wine called commandaria (traditional sweet red table wine made from sundried grapes), which has been produced on the island for centuries. In 1191, Richard the Lionheart conquered the island on his way to the Holy Land as part of the Third Crusade. He then transferred the island to a Knightly Order, who in turn sold it in 1192 to Guy de Luzignan, former King of Jerusalem. The Knights retained some areas of the island for themselves, which they called “Commanderies". The wine exported by the Knights became known by the name Commandaria, in order to distinguish it from other wines because of its excellent quality. King Philip-Auguste of France named it 'Apostle of Wines' in the 13th century. Commandaria has always been produced with a specific method which is still used today. variety Βούφταλμο (Voúftalmo) or Όφταλμο (Óftalmo, Ofthalmo), "a variety called Voïdommátis" (Gennadios 1914, 207). The area where commandaria is produced is located on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountain range at an altitude of 400 to 800 metres. All production stages are completed in this region by the 14 villages which, according to tradition, have the right to produce this famous wine with its distinctive red colour and velvety taste (Press and Information Office. Retrieved from : http://www.cyprusonfilm.com/index.php?pageid=39〈=gr)

In his Λεξικόν Φυτολογικόν, Gennadios refers to a vine variety called Vouftalmo or Oftalmo (Oftalmo), "the one which is, elsewhere, called Boïdommátis" (Gennadios 1914, 207). As regards to the jars in which people used to store wine, the following is noted: "In many countries in the Mediterranean, many people prefer the more easily preserved stiff or highly alcoholic wines, or the resinous ones, or the ones kept in preserved in seales jars (most of which are in Cyprus and in certain parts of Spain), which acquire the smell and taste of tar" (Gennadios 1914, 57).