 |
 |
 |
|
|
Reports from Our Readers |
|
|
My trip to Cyprus - October 2004
Article and photos © Nicos Neocleous
The driver looked at me through his rear view mirror, his dark brown eyes betraying a nervousness that was now very conscious. Several seconds passed and there was no reply. Suddenly, he swung a hard left turn and flung the aging Nissan into a side road. From there, a series of fast and sharp turns separated the quite side streets that were the quickest route to where I wanted to go. I opened my left palm and used my right fist to punch it. Bloody hell! How could I have forgotten THAT! It was 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday 20 October 2004, and I had been on my way to the airport to take a flight to Cyprus. I had not been to the "Island of Paradise" since February so I felt a trip was definitely "on the cards." More important, I had been invited to a family friend's wedding in Cyprus in four days time. Having diligently packed my suitcase and sports bag (including several bottles of wine for the trip), I had forgotten my suit, shirt and tie! The minicab driver pulled up outside my place and I dashed inside. Exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds later, I was back in the car, having picked up what I needed. I would have made it in less than 3 minutes, but I had wasted valuable seconds deciding on which tie to choose. It is important to get that "relaxed Cypriot wedding" look just right, so I chose an Italian silk tie that I knew would do the job. Aside from a wedding and other pursuits, I had also decided to visit a few wineries. Here are my notes from those visits. I would like to thank my cousin George Araouzos for taking the time and trouble out of his busy life to tour me around these wineries. Friday 22 October 2004
Thoros Hadgiantonas (pronounced "Doh-ros Ha-gee-ann-to-nas") is a professional airline pilot with Cyprus Airways. In his spare time he makes wine, having started approximately three years ago. He is a 'garagiste' in the true sense of the term, in that his tiny operation is located in a garage on his property. However, the equipment that he has purchased recently is all new. Thoros is determined to make the best wine he can and he is passionate about quality. He has been on a number of wine courses and has signed up for more of them in the near future. His 'winery' is situated in Paraklisha, which is about 6 miles (10km) outside of Limassol (second largest town that is located on the southern coast of the island). Vineyards Thoros used to buy in all of his grapes from vineyards located in Pera Peti, Pakhna and Paraklisha. He now owns a single vineyard of Shiraz which is located at Macheras, near the capital Nicosia. The grapes that he has access to or will be able to use in the future are:
Wines He made his first experimental vintage in 2002, which he drank himself or gave away to family and friends. In 2003 he produced 3,000 bottles of Shiraz but had to destroy about 1,800 bottles worth when frogs fell into one of the open topped fermentation tanks! This was the first 'commercial' vintage. Other wines made included 300 bottles from the "St George" grape variety and 300 bottles of rose from Shiraz. In 2004, his total production was 7,000 bottles of Shiraz and 4,000 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting notes
After the tasting, Thoros wanted me to try what he and many others consider being the benchmark Shiraz made in Cyprus. This has won awards at wine competitions outside of Cyprus, so I grateful accepted a pour in my glass.
Friday 22 October 2004
As my good friend Alexis had moved back to Cyprus, I knew that this would be a good opportunity to see him again. We had much to catch up on and so a venue was agreed. I declined an initial invitation to hold an offline at the restaurant we dined at last time, as that would have meant a post dinner Greek dancing session. The last time we managed this, I damaged my knees performing a complex series of jumping moves and I had been in severe pain for days. This had been mainly due to the uneven wooden dance floor. We thought it safer to have a quiet dinner at his place and these were the wines we drank.
Tsiakkas Winery visit
I had been reliably informed that Tsiakkas Winery (situated near the village of Pelendri) was not only situated in a picturesque part of the island but made some of the best wine on the island. It is approximately 1,100 metres (3,610 feet) high and my guide for the tour was none other than Mrs Marina Kolokasithou. She and her husband Costas founded the winery in 1989 out of their passion for wine. It has gone from strength to strength and now exports their wines to countries like the UK, USA (New York based importer), Russia, Denmark and Switzerland. Now the winery can rely on the winemaking talents of Sophoclis Basilis, who trained at UC Davis, California (USA). Production
Their production is centred on three main grape varieties:
A Riesling (approximately 3,000 bottles) was produced in the past but was stopped due to lack of demand. In addition, they are also blend several grapes varieties to make a red table wine. This contains Grenache, Mataro (Mouvedre), Cabernet Sauvignon and an indigenous variety called 'Bambajes' ("Bam-ba-jess"). Bambajes literally translated means bunches of cotton wool and it is thick skinned with not much juice and is similar to Cabernet Sauvignon in appearance. Vineyards
The winery owns two of its own vineyards and these grow Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay organically. One is situated in the village of Pelendri (6 Cypriot acres, 2 acres, 0.8 hectares); the other is in Agro village (6 Cypriot acres, 2 acres, 0.8 hectares). The wineries vineyards are only able to supply 15% of the grapes needed so the other 85% of grapes are bought in from producers with whom they have agreements.
Keo is one of the four biggest wine producers on the island and the Mallia Winery was established in 1927. Aside from the main winery at Limassol, there are three wineries located near to the vineyards, namely at the villages of Mallia, Arsos and Pera Peri. However, the Mallia Winery is the location where the best wines are made, as well as the rest of the extensive Keo range. Here are some interesting facts that I learnt during my brief tour:
Lunch at the Psilo Dendro (literally translated means "tall tree") This restaurant is up in the Platres mountain range and is renowned for its fine traditional Cypriot style lunches. The restaurant owns their own trout farm, and they supply other restaurants as well as their own. We sampled several tasty dishes and fresh salads, all washed down with a bottle of the local wine. Afternoon festivities After lunch, we drove down to Kato Platres. It was St Demetrios Day (26 October) and he is the patron saint of the village. Aside from an open church and a special religious service, there was an open market in the main street. I managed to purchase a choice selection of local delicacies.
Visit to Nicosia Nicosia is the capital city of Cyprus and remains the only divided capital city on the world. The last one before that as Berlin, which was reunited in 1989. The forced division was caused by Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in July 1974. The northern part of the island is still occupied by Turkish soldiers and Turkey is the only country in the world that recognises this occupation. There is a buffer zone that divides the city and this part of the city is called the 'Green Line'. As Alexis was working there, I decided to pay him a visit. Prior to a very tasty lunch in a modern style Italian restaurant where the cool and hip twenty and thirty something's hang out, I wandered around taking in the sights and sounds. Here are a few photos that I took.
My winery visits had introduced me to a number of quality producers of Greek Cypriot wine. It will be interesting to retaste these wines with further bottle age. In particular, Domaine Hadjiantonas and their boutique winery impressed me with their quality, passion and commitment. With more boutique producers than ever before, the Greek Cypriot wine scene will become even more interesting in the future. Since Cyprus joined the European Community in May 2004, there is now a much larger marketplace for it to sell its products. It remains to be seen how well Cypriot wine producers will be able to gain market share in this competitive arena. October 2004 (Published in February 2005)
|
|
All contents © copyright 1981-2008 by Robin Garr, www.WineLoversPage.com Cliffwood Organic Works |
