Wine-making in Cyprus had its beginning almost four thousand years ago. A writer of the eighth century B.C.E. named Hesiod wrote of the "Nama" of Cyprus.
The Knights Templars
Centuries later, Richard the Lionheart sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar of the Order of St. John, who subsequently sold it in 1192 to Guy de Lusignan, a French knight and ex-king of Jerusalem who had lost his Kingdom to the Saracens. One of the most famous "Commanderies", belonging to the Knights Hospitallers was Kolossi Castle near Limassol.
The Knights refined the method of making "Nama" to produce a wine of exceptional quality and began to export it to Italy, France, Constantinople, Austria and England under the name "Wine of Commandaria". Commandaria became famous throughout the royal houses of Europe. King Philppe-Auguste of France named it "The Apostle of Wines".
Whilst in England, Peter I of Cyprus (1359-1369) was one of five kings invited to a banquet in Vintner's Hall by the Lord Mayor of London, Henry Picard, himself a vintner. The other honoured guests were King Edward III of England, King David of Scotland, King John of France and King Waltemm of Denmark. Commandaria was served. A painting commemorating that occasion hangs today in the Royal Exchange.
Estienne de Lusignan in 1580 described the method of wine-making as follows:
"First there is a certain vine producing black grapes in the mountains which mature towards the end of July but are harvested in September. Once picked they are put on the roofs of the houses and are left in the sun for three days so that the heat evaporates all the water they contain. Then they are pressed and the stems and pips eliminated before fermentation. They produce a wine of very high quality."
There are two varieties of grapes indigenous to Cyprus - the Cyprus Mavro, from which Commandaria is made, and the Xynisteri which produces a white wine. In the Middle Ages the grape juice was put to ferment in conical based earthen jars which were half buried in the ground. The wine was left to ferment for several years.
Omodhos and the Krasiochoria
Commandaria is produced the same way today in the Krasiochoria - fourteen villages on the southern slopes of the Troodos Mountains at an altitude between 400 and 800 meters. These villages date back to the twelfth and fourteenth centuries when they were feudal estates. Omodhos, village was the property of Sir John de Brie, Prince of Galilee and to this day it boasts a massive five hundred year old wine press. The village of Vasa belonged for a while to the Knights Hospitallers and was part of the Grand Commandery.
Under Othoman rule, wine-making in Cyprus suffered a sharp decline because the Moslem overlords frowned upon the wine industry and imposed heavy taxes on the vineyards. Many vineyards were uprooted. Locust invasions, droughts and earthquakes also took their toll, but by the nineteenth century the vineyards were making a comeback.
The Wine Road
The earthen jar had now been replaced by goatskins coated in tar to prevent rotting. The tar however, impaired the flavor of the wine and the donkeys carrying the wineskins were too slow so that in hot weather the wine spoiled before reaching port. In 1878 the British began building the "Wine Road" and by 1886 the coast was linked with Omodhos. By 1901 it was extended to the furthermost wine producing village - Platres. Now the wine could be effectively transported in oak barrels on two-wheeled carts.
Today pick-up trucks and lorries deliver the grapes speedily to the wineries. Even though today’s industry has become much more efficient with strict controls, grapes are still hand-picked under the hot sun and donkeys nimbly pick their way up and down the steep sided vineyards laden with baskets full of grapes. Commandaria wine is still exported to many countries, continuing the tradition of the Knights Templars.
Sources:
- Wines of Cyprus. 800 hundred years of tradition - Akis Zambartas
- Wines of Cyprus. Winemaking History and Tradition - Michael Polydorides
