Wineries A local Tradition

Other than the industrial wineries, smaller wineries have been recently established at many small villages in the wine districts. Groups which are interested to see the old wine producing methods, can visit and taste different wines. Wine making, is considered a tradition in Cyprus, with the dessert wine “Commandaria”, being the only wine in the world bearing the same name since the 12th century.

Cyprus is said to have produced the oldest known wine in history, “Cyprus Nama”, used for the celebrations of Aphrodite worshippers. Appropriately, Cyprus was the home of Dionysos, (better known as Bacchus), the god of wine. More recently, King Richard the Lionheart made the local wines famous during the Crusades by exporting them for the first time in England. “I must return to Cyprus if only to taste this wine again” he is reported to have said.

Similar praise, but of an unwelcome kind, came from Sultan Selim in the 16th century. “We must capture Cyprus” he told his generals as he sipped Commanderia. “Within this island there is a treasure which only the king of kings is worthy of possessing”. Today the treasure is less than 3 pounds a bottle, and it is, the growers insist, the same wine.

A botanist’s paradise

A great number of Botanist writers glorify the unique value of the Wild Flowers of Cyprus. There are more than 1920 wild flowers in Cyprus, out of which 140 are endemic. Among these species of flowering plants a great number have pharmaceutical properties and their use is widespread. Members of the Association for Cultural and Special Interest Tourism locally produce and process herbal products and essential oils, which are used in various ways.