The Cyprus Wine Festival has been going for over 40 years. It is the biggest Cypriot even in the world outside Cyprus. It is 'a celebration of Cypriot wine and culture.'
We arrived at opening time but in its charming way this was delayed for half an hour because not all exhibitors had arrived.
Good to see the Orthodox clergy there. They seemed to know when to turn up because it wasn't long after their arrival that we were admitted.
The whole event was totally unpretentious and even homespun. We felt welcome even if we probably were the only ones with no connection to Cyprus. For sure the crowds will have grown as the day went on but being among the first to arrive allowed us to get in at whatever stand we wished without having to join a scrum.
There were plenty of wines on show and for tasting.
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The famous Commandaria sweet wine made from Xinisteri, a Cypriot white variety and Mavro, also an indigenous grape but black as the name suggests. The grapes are sun dried and reach high Abv levels. In December last year Commandaria was inscribed on UNESCO's list of the intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It has been produced for 800 years and there are 14 Commanderia villages where the wine is made today.
We have already paid tribute to the 'Love from Cyprus' couple who introduced us to the wonderful wine made from Morokanella grapes. We tasted another few and bought the following which like Morokanella are native Cyprus wines and practically unknown elsewhere;
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| Promara |
Promara
Thoroughly obscure we're happy to say. Grown in small quantities on the slopes of the Troodos mountains (as is the equally obscure Yannoudi - see below). First mentioned in 1893. Resistant to drought and fungal diseases. Not mentioned in 'Wine Grapes.'
Morokanella
See our post of September: 'A great 'new' grape from a great 'new' wine country.'
Morokanella also didn't make it to 'Wine Grapes.'
The list at the 'Try and Buy' table includes not only Promara and Morokanella but another thoroughly obscure Cypriot variety (red), Yannoudi. Thanks to Wein Plus Lexikon we can say that the name Yannoudi derives from a person called Yannis in whose vineyard it was found. The parentage is unknown. It is cultivated on the slopes of the Troodos mountains. There are only a few hectares of Yannoudi vineyards.
Kotsifali
Actually a Cretan variety.
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| Try buy guy |
There was no lack of drinks other than table wine. Here were liqueurs and a Commandaria of course. We must try that one day.
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