Immigrate to Cyprus and taste Cypriot cuisine: Cyprus, one of the popular tourist destinations in the eastern Mediterranean, not only boasts charming natural scenery but also has affordable and delicious wines that are renowned worldwide. Over the years, Cypriot wine has become one of the most popular wine varieties in the world. This wine is relatively sweet, vibrant in color, and is produced exclusively in Cyprus.
The ancestor of winemaking with a history of 4000 years
It is said that ancient Egyptian pharaohs were very fond of drinking Cypriot wine, which was also served at the tables of royal families across Europe. Cyprus is home to the world's oldest grape varieties, and the history of grape cultivation seems to predate even the Mesopotamian civilization in the Tigris-Euphrates region. It is said that Cyprus is the birthplace of wine, and French grapes were transplanted from here.
As early as 4000 years ago, Cyprus was famous for its grapes and wine production. Evidence suggests that grape cultivation began around 2000 BC, and there is proof that winemaking started at the end of the Bronze Age. In 1800 BC, the Greek poet Hesiod wrote about winemaking in Cyprus. From the Roman mosaics in Paphos (a tourist city in the west of Cyprus), we can see the importance of wine in people's daily lives at that time. By the Middle Ages, Cypriot wine had already gained considerable fame. Due to the poor sealing of containers at that time, most early wines would turn sweet, leading to the emergence of traditional Cypriot sweet wine. This type of sweet wine not only has a slow oxidation process but is also easier to transport than other wines, and visitors at that time would take this wine back to their countries. In the 11th century, when the Crusaders arrived here, a warrior named Richard and other knights named the sweet wine of Cyprus after the local place name: Commandaria. At that time, Cypriot wine received high praise among the upper class in England, and many poets, priests, knights, and rulers enjoyed tasting it, making it a high-end beverage in civilized society.
Due to the continuous devastation of Cyprus by wars, the grape cultivation industry on the island saw little significant development, especially during the period of Turkish invasion, when high taxes were imposed on farmers and winemakers, leading to a gradual decline of the wine industry. It was not until the 19th century that modern winemaking in Cyprus was revived, beginning to use stone containers for winemaking and selling in barrels throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1927, KEO Ltd., the largest winery in Cyprus today, was established. In the early 1980s, the government encouraged the establishment of small wine production enterprises in the mountainous areas of grape cultivation, with an output of about 50,000 to 300,000 bottles. Currently, Cyprus has four relatively large wineries (ETKO, KEO, SODAP, LOEL), and there are more than 50 smaller village wineries with annual production ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 bottles. Although these enterprises are small, many of them have first-class production technology and equipment. These small wineries can provide a variety of high-quality wines with different flavors each year and continuously develop wines made from local and foreign grapes.
Delicious and affordable as a selling point
The scale of the Cypriot wine industry is relatively small, with many wineries concentrated in small villages. The methods of winemaking are naturally pure, making it a "green industry." Farmers do not use any chemical fertilizers in the grape cultivation process, nor do they use any chemical components in the winemaking process. What is even more remarkable is that this wine is of high quality and low price, with the most expensive bottle costing only a few dozen euros, while an average bottle costs only two to three euros, offering excellent quality and taste. Mid-range wines are around 7 euros.
Today, Cyprus has two major planting bases, mainly located south of the Troodos Mountains in the Limassol district and in the southwestern Paphos region, with a planting area of 23,500 hectares and a total annual output of 200,000 tons. One-quarter of the agricultural population on the island is engaged in grape cultivation, accounting for 7% of the total agricultural output value. At the same time, many grape processing products are produced, which are one of Cyprus's main export products. There are as many as 31 grape varieties cultivated, mainly including Mavro, Xynister, Carignan Noir, and Sultana (seedless grapes), with planting areas of 9,214 hectares, 2,657 hectares, 916 hectares, and 903 hectares, respectively.