Commandaria - the wine of Cyprus
Commandaria is the oldest wine in Cyprus and the oldest wine brand name in the World; it was first drunk by the ancients at festivals celebrating the life of Aphrodite and has been drunk throughout the ages by Kings and peasants alike. Richard the Lionheart described it as, “the wine of Kings and the king of wines”. It is so named after the place where St. John of Jerusalem (who bought the island of Cyprus from Richard the Lionheart) had his headquarters, near Limassol, in a place aptly named, Commandaria.
Commandaria is made using two grape varieties, Xynisteri (green grape) and the Mavro (purple grape), which are left to over-ripen before picking, left to stand in the sun, then pressed, left to ferment and matured for at least two years in oak barrels before bottling.
The wine is traditionally served as a dessert wine as it is very sweet and quite alcoholic with an alcohol content of up to 15%. However, it is not as simple as that! The production of Commandaria is limited in various ways to keep it as traditional as possible and to limit the production so that it remains sacred to one particular area of Cyprus. It can only be made using the two afore mentioned grape varieties and they can only be picked from vineyards that have been planted for at least four years and watering the vines is banned. Further restrictions apply, only allowing the fermentation process to take place within the fourteen villages in the Commandaria region of the island. Once produced the wine has to age for at least two years, although this can take place outside the region itself.
Commandaria is acknowledged by countries all over the world as a fine dessert wine and a speciality of Cyprus. Tempted? Why not look into finding a bottle for your next dinner party and see if Cyprus can tempt you into a visit to its shores…
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