Anatomy of a Sommpetition

Welcome to this running diary of the 5th Best Young Sommelier Competition held on November 22, 2019 at Kyperounda Winery, way up in the heart of the Troodos mountain range!

9:30 am: I park across the street from Kyperounda Winery, the best halloumopitta on The Rock warming my lap and innards following a brief stop in Astromeritis' Ste-Ma Bakery, as they set up the winery's reception area for the sommpetition.

There are three separate tables of judges consisting of the crème de la crème of The Rock's wine and food world. There is Andreas Kyprianou of Vinocultura, Paola Papacosta of Cypriot & Proud, CySomm's trio of Georges (Kassianos, Loukakis & Zacharoglou), Vassos Manoli of Pralina Experience, Stalo Arambantzi of Four Seasons, Charis Stylianides of O'Vrakas Taverna, Minas Mina of Kyperounda Winery, Teddy Kandylis of 67 Pall Mall in London and countless others. Serving as Master of Ceremonies, Sotiris Neophytides, now Head Sommelier at Amara in Limassol. Just as in the case of the annual Cyprus Wine Competition, if the soirée had been somewhat less sophisticated and legitimate, I might have been invited as a judge to muddle things up.

We're informed that 3 of the 9 sommeliers move on to the final where they will go through a blind tasting of wines and spirits and a serving component while being bombarded with questions by the judging panel who pretend to be not-so-petulant customers at a high-end restaurant.

10:00 am: To avoid any biases, all judgments are done blindly. Hence, each participant is donned with a unique number and the judges do not know what number is assigned to whom. If only justice out in the real world were this straightforward and transparent.

MC Neo starts rifling out numbers like a race caller at the Kentucky Derby. 306! 482! 920! I'm waiting for an excited octogenarian with bad hips, a flowered ankle-length dress and patchouli-scented perfume to yell out "Bingo!" and jump on stage to claim her prize. What does she win? A  camouflage crock pot, of course.

The deserving finalists!

Jessica-Stella Thoma of Parklane Resort and Spa in Limassol, Adrian Andronache of Rous Restaurant in Nicosia, and Konstantinos Grigoriou of Fereos Fourpoint Distribution are the designated finalists.

10:40 am: More numbers are barked out; this time to determine the order of the proceedings. To my disappointment, no one yells out "Bingo!" Adrian goes first, followed by Konstantinos and then Jessica. Game on, somms.

“I'm excited. It's the first time I manage to reach the final. I'm glad to be here, everything is a plus from this moment on,” Adrian tells MC Neo.

Each table before the somm poses a set of specific challenges. Table 1 orders two glasses of Commandaria (one on the rocks) and an ice cold Cypriot beer. Table 2 is looking to pair a set menu designed by the executive chef of Pralina Experience in Nicosia with individual wines. Table 3 requests a bottle of red wine, which the somm has to properly decant and serve, and a chilled shot of Cypriot firewater. Each table has to be cleared in six, seven (with one minute to look over the menu) and seven minutes, respectively. About the time it takes me to write half a sentence for this post while Little Miss Muse chooses to go out boozing with her girlfriends and leaves me stranded on the deserted island of ineptitude.

Adrian's somm style is obvious from the get-go. He is super chatty, delivering plenty of information to his clients and offering up suggestions, many times at a supersonic (give me gin n' tonic) speed. When Stalo asks for an ice cube in her Commandaria, Adrian brings up dilution, talks about the Cypriot landmark wine being better as a digestif and suggests instead serving her a sparkler, G&T or other cocktail. Besides being accommodating, Rous' somm is also very thorough in providing extra information on the drinks requested, from the aging process for Kyperounda Winery's Commandaria to the history behind Leon, The Rock's first beer.

The menu for Table 2 (as we later find out) consists of actual dishes served at an event hosted by the Cypriot President for foreign dignitaries.

For the sake of simplicity and as a tribute to my past life as a number cruncher for an energy consulting firm, I'm going to break out a table to summarize this portion of the event.

Some observations from Press Row, the best seat in the house:

• A relative dearth of red wines are selected, which is understandable considering the menu. My one question mark would be Konstantinos' choice of Yiannoudi to match the grouper.
• Kyperounda Winery's Chardonnays, which I love, got mentioned more than Donald Trump tweets. Maybe the somms thought said choice would endear them to the judges and the event's official sponsors?
• I appreciate the sommeliers' efforts to (almost exclusively) list Cypriot wines for each dish.
• Commandaria is king, queen, prince and princess of this wine court.

Now back to your regular programming.

Table 3 involves serving a red wine and zivania. A quick play-by-play analysis of Adrian's "performance" offers beginners like myself a good introduction to the world of wine service.

Adrian Andronache

Adrian sets up a wine basket with a napkin and towel and checks each single glass to make sure they are not smudged with magenta lipstick or suspicious fingerprints or streaks of lamb grease before setting them on a tray and distributing them among the judges. He lights a candle. Gently, with nary a sound, he uncorks the bottle of Kyperounda's Andessitis he's picked for the guests. He asks who would like to taste the wine and makes sure the cork is in good condition. He pours himself a glass, swirls it in the decanter and returns it to his glass. Takes a whiff and tastes the wine to make sure it does not smell/taste like wet cardboard or rotten eggs or [insert wine fault of your choice]. Then he decants the bottle over the candle to make sure there's no sediment being transferred into the receptacle. Serves a glass for the table's designated taster. Adrian wraps up by offering a pairing for the wine of choice, asks to remove the cork and pops out a fancy gold gadget—it looks like a mini bell or a thimble attached to a rod—to tactfully burn out the candle. Personally, I would have gone the licked fingers or birthday cake blowout route. Andreas Kyprianou probably trained him well.

11:00 am: Now we enter what's probably the toughest part of any wine competition or certification—the blind tasting (or random guessing game if you have the level of training of an Ecuadorian wine blogger).

There are six black glasses with spirits that must be identified correctly, and one glass of wine that must be described in great detail (think a three-minute run-on sentence on your favorite beverage). Of course, the candidate must also venture a guess based on their sensorial talents.

Again, to cut through my wordiness, here's a table summarizing the candidates' tasting notes and guesstimates.

More observations from Press Row, the best seat in the house:

• From where I sit, the three seem to do a decent job describing the wine, despite their guesses being all over the place. They move from point to point quite quickly and offer enough detail for the audience to get an idea of what they were experiencing.
• Considering that the event is sponsored by Kyperounda Winery and Photos Photiades Ltd., I wonder whether the candidates studied the company's wine portfolio ahead of time. As a participant, I might have assumed that the wine before me was one provided to the competition by the sponsors.
• The wine is the 2018  Roxani Matsa Estate Malagouzia from Attica in Greece. Yes, imported to The Rock by Photos Photiades Ltd. [Editor's Note: Insert your favorite smart-ass GIF].

Finally, the six black glasses are a combination of Commandaria (fortified and non-fortified), Zivania (oaked and unoaked) and citrus liqueurs, a selection that didn't pose too many challenges to the participants.

11:20 am: – Konstantinos is up next.

“As expected. Stressed,” he tells MC Neo.

Konstantinos Grigoriou

As soon as he gets started with Table 1, it becomes quite apparent that Konstantinos' style is the polar opposite of Adrian's. There is hardly an introduction and very little talking and information shared. He jumps straight into the serving, pouring the couple glasses of Commandaria, setting a glass with ice next to them, and offering up a Carlsberg, which, if we're being honest, wouldn't fly had I ordered a Cypriot beer. There's little flare to his presentation; Konstantinos works his way through the challenge, seemingly more focused on getting the job done in a fast, efficient and satisfactory manner rather than charming his customers or offering them interesting insights into their selections.

Once he hits Table 3, his nerves are rather visible. The wine glasses rattle on the tray as he places them on the table. Konstantinos says the wine he has picked does not necessarily need decanting but he will do as the client wishes. He cracks a joke about the candle also offering ambiance and uses his fingers (unless I imagined it) to burn it out once it's done romancing the room. Then, he runs out of time while suggesting a beef filet to pair with the wine.

12:05 pm: Last but not least, it's time for Jessica's shot at the title.

“Where’s the exit?” she quips.

Jessica-Stella Thoma

She follows in the same style established by Konstantinos. There's no small talk or introduction or second-guessing the judges. Jessica asks the judges if they want to try the Commandaria and what beer they'd prefer—Carlsberg or Leon. [Editor's Note: Leon. Duh.] Like Konstantinos, she seems nervous and doubts some of her moves.

This pattern continues onto Table 3 where again there is hardly any chitchat or questions to the judges. She stumbles while trying to light the candle, asks a judge whether she should try the wine for him, presents the table the cork and wraps up her waltz by suggesting braised veal cheeks as the perfect accompaniment to the red wine she has decanted.

She recovers following a shaky start and bumps Konstantinos off second place in my final podium predictions.

12:40 pm: Oh! A surprise! We love surprises!

The candidates are asked to identify the grapes behind some of the world's most famous labels, a few more obscure than others but an entertaining exercise nevertheless. Each bottle is flashed on a screen for 10 seconds and the somms have to write out the grape on their flip chart.

Of course, I decide to play along and make a fool of myself. From 1 to 10, here are my guesses: Merlot & Cabernet Franc, Shiraz (GSM), Sangiovese, can’t see (squinting), Shiraz, my eyes fail me again, Nebbiolo, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc (?) (stop blaming your poor eyesight) and Malbec.

Did I get any right? I doubt it. Now back to my cave.

 

Wine Scribble was there too & here's plenty of footage better than my writing.

12:50 pm: What's a sommpetition without wine for the attendees? We are handed glasses of Kyperounda Winery's 2018 Akti Rosé, its Provence-style, coral-toned blush rendering the overcast and cold morning forgotten.

13:15 pm: It's finally time. The scores have been tallied and the results are in.

Press Row, the best seat in the house.

Pralina Experience's Vassos Manoli thanks Kyperounda Winery and Photos Photiades Ltd., for hosting the event and reminds us we have a date come November 2020 for the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale's (ASI) Contest for the Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa that will be hosted in Limassol. [Editor's Note: This was pre-COVID-19 so things are now up in the air. Bonus question: If Coronavirus were a grape variety, what would it be? We vote for Zinfandel. Wait, should I duck or are we all in agreement?]

Drum roll please.

In third place, Konstantinos Grigoriou. Second place to Jessica-Stella Thoma. And this year's grand winner is Adrian Andronache. As I had *cough, cough* predicted.

A few final observations from Press Row, the best seat in the house:

I believe a huge part of a sommelier's job involves charisma. Personalities, however, vary to large degrees. Some are more personable and engaging while others are more reserved and strictly focus on efficiently serving customers without any unnecessary interruptions or fanfare. Both of these personalities were on display during this competition, and I guess a customer's preference ultimately depends on his or her own personality and needs. Of course, proper etiquette, wine connoisseurship and respecting your cash-carrying customers are non-negotiable.

In any case, all three candidates, despite the understandable nerves amassed by performing as young professionals on a big stage before peers and fanboys like myself, did admirably well and have bright futures in the hospitality sector on The Rock.

Congratulations to all three and until next year!

On Making A Grand Entrance

Talk about making a grand entrance. Perched immediately above Omodos, The Rock's (unofficial?) wine capital, Oenou Yi - Ktima Vassiliades stands out like a bottle of La Tâche in a lineup of village blends.

Inaugurated in 2018, Oenou Yi, the brainchild of Limassol's Christodoulos G. Vassiliades, is undoubtedly the blockbuster of wineries in Cyprus. It's luxurious and shiny and hardly shy about using expensive marble, tall windows and mirrors to coat walls and cellar floors and everything else in between. From my description, you'd imagine a gaudy, over-the-top winery styled by a bejeweled Latin American nouveau riche like myself, but it's not. I think the place exudes class and sophistication without overstepping that boundary into tackiness.

The winery, which I believe has been designed as an events and recreation space, includes conference rooms, a small swimming pool, a forthcoming spa, a high-end restaurant (more on this later), a posh tasting room and nautical miles of cellar space. During our short tour, I was mesmerized by the amount of space reserved for oak barrels. Fikardos Fikardou of Fikardos Winery has joked with me in the past about building a squash court in his winery. However, in Oenou Yi's two cellar rooms—one for Commandaria, the other for dry wines—you could build two indoor tennis courts where Baghdatis fans could play Around the World, ideally downing shots of zivania at each crossover, and still have enough room to actually age liters upon liters of wine. Oenou Yi is also planning on building bedrooms or offering space for people to stay in Omodos. I must admit that it's not my preferred style of winery but there's plenty of room for this type of all-inclusive, wine-themed experience in the current Cypriot market.

And the wines they are currently producing show plenty of potential. Aikaterini-Evangelia Mylona, who trained in Spain, France, Argentina and New Zealand and is one of three females winemakers on the island, has worked on a pretty large portfolio of wines ranging from light whites made of Xynisteri to oaked Maratheftiko and Commandaria and everything else in between.

During the tasting, which takes places in their impeccably classy tasting room, Mikhail Vakhromov, who trained in hospitality management and leads the drinking component of the tour, garrulously guided me through my lineup of wines (and will definitely try to sell you a copy of Madeline Puckette's Wine Folly). Mikhail, who doesn't have a background in wine, has been learning on the job and does plenty to engage the customer and keep them interested in what is being tasted. Case in point, if you're visiting, make sure to ask Mikhail to show you how to properly taste zivania—you'll either fully understand the traditional Cypriot drink and all of its nuances or choke on the spirit as the vapors rush up your nostrils and stumble off your stool. Yes, I almost fell.

Personally speaking, my preferred tipples were the 2018 Playia White blend of Xynisteri, Malaga and Assyrtiko, which was a bit fuller and more complex (tropical!) than the 100% Xynisteri, and the 2017 Playia Cuvée Spéciale, which works well with The Rock's favorite charcoal-fueled hobby. A special mention is becoming of the 2016 Geroklima Maratheftiko, a heavy-hitting red that's been aged in new oak for two years. Yes, it's big and bold and woody but there's plenty of jammy fruit, well integrated tannins, and a rounded smoothness that would work wonders with a Stegosaurus-sized, marbled steak. It's definitely not my style of wine but I  enjoyed it enough that I purchased a bottle and will let it sit for three to four years before revisiting.

Now the winery's restaurant, which is called Playia (slope in Greek), was a revelation. With a menu created by Andreas Andreou, the talented chef who put Skinny Fox on The Big Fig's (Nicosia for those of you late to the game) culinary map, the food is the best one can currently find in any winery on The Rock and probably the most gourmet meal anywhere up in the Cypriot mountains.

The menu has been carefully constructed, leaning towards Cypriot-inspired dishes using local ingredients and modern techniques. We kicked off the meal with a salad of baby leaves, crispy halloumi cheese, dried figs, grapes, roasted walnuts, raisins, sesame seeds, and a basil and grape syrup vinaigrette, which was bountiful, fresh and well-balanced, deftly walking the line between sweet and sour. This was followed by a pork loin braised with red wine and aromatic herbs, parsnip purée, coriander seeds, roasted mushrooms, and parsnip roots with a red wine sauce, and tagliatelle with prawns, tomato, basil, parsley, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, cream and lobster bisque sauce. Both dishes were perfectly executed, packed with flavor and refined in presentation. Plus, I really appreciated the pricing policy on the wines consumed onsite; a glass of wine runs for about three to four Euros and bottles are sold without the typical restaurant markup.

So the next time you're up in Omodos, swing by and pay them a visit. Have a taste of their wines, revel in Playia's well-designed and executed menu, take a dip in their pool. Make a day out of it and live the life of a Latino nouveau riche who's stumbled upon a wealth of wealth here on The Rock. You'll only be doing it with a hell of a lot more class.

A Case of Questions with Annabelle McVine, Wine Scribble

Since releasing her first Cypriot video blog almost a year ago, Annabelle McVine, the cheeky, fun-loving dame behind Wine Scribble, has taken The Rock by storm.

For the past eleven months, Annabelle has been on a tear, interviewing Cypriot oenologists, organizing funky food-and-wine pairings and reporting from the trenches at a myriad of wine-themed events.

With her trademark fiery red bob, matching lipstick and bubbly personality, Annabelle has endeared herself to The Rock's wine world, becoming a timely breath of fresh air to all of our vinous festivities.

As one of Wine Scribble's biggest fans, we thought we'd reach out to have her tell us her story.

Why wine?

I tend to get bored easily, but wine never bores me. Wine always has something to say that is worth listening to. With wine, especially European wine, and the boutique wineries, there is an explosion of permutations and iterations, every country, region, winemaker, blend, label and vintage is different. And just when you think you are getting the hang of it, then the weather changes and the next year tastes different to the year before.

Wine is also an interest that allows me to practice my writing, filming, photography and research skills. All of these activities I greatly enjoy.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

I was in Plovdiv in Bulgaria on an academic EU project in my early 20s, and I was served an aromatic white that made me sit up and pay attention. I asked the waiter what it was and he told me the variety was called Traminer. Until that point, my position had been always that white wine was not worth bothering with. That bottle awakened me to the fact that white wines can be nuanced, complex and aromatic. To be fair to non-red wines, the only white wine that I had tasted until this point was the usual Cypriot-wedding house-glass of ‘weiß-plonk’.

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

Oh, now you are making this difficult. Do I strike you as the kind of girl who would restrict herself to a single option? Have you seen my shoe collection? [Editor's Note: We love shoes too.]

Annabelle McVine & Unidentified Local Fanboy

Favorite wine-producing region? Why?

If we are talking about my fantasy wine region holiday that I have not yet taken, then it would probably be something Tuscany based. Have you seen the pictures of Tuscany on Instagram? It looks amazing. 

However, my favourite wine producing region that I regularly visit and stick my stilettos into its earth: Krasochoria in Limassol. When you speak to the locals and learn more about the history of the Krasochoria, you soon realise that they don't just love wine, they eat, drink, sleep wine. It is an integral part of their existence, and I have a lot of respect for such unadulterated passion.

Your favorite food-and-wine pairing?

Cypriot Yiannoudi and a medium rare rib-eye steak, with all the trimmings. It is poetry.

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

Sophisticated online communications, both between the wine industry members and with the wine consumers. To clean this statement up, I mean no disrespect to our wonderful winemakers, and it is not their job to be internet communications experts, but what Cyprus is missing is a clear brand identity as a wine destination. We have wonderful tastes, aromas, growing regions, indigenous grape varieties, so many things that appeal to a modern millennial market in search of a wine adventure - but no one is saying this out loud to the market segment that can travel and discover Cyprus and Cyprus wine.

 What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

At this stage, I feel it would be more salient to paraphrase from my recent interview with Sophocles Vlassides, who told me that about ten years ago the winemakers started to cultivate the indigenous local grapes such as Yiannoudi and Morokanella. It takes a long time to convert an experiment in this space to a mass market product that is consistent and enjoyable for everyone. So, what do I see for the Cyprus wine industry in the coming years? It would be more products based upon the local indigenous grapes, more sophisticated cultivation of these grapes, which can be difficult to work with in the vineyard, and more market awareness for the consumer making a choice at the point of sale.

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

Getting to know the Mediterranean wine lovers around me, the viticulturalists, oenologists, wine merchants, chefs, sommeliers, and people like you and I, who have taken to the Internet to talk about our favourite subject.

What is your “Five Year Plan” for your business?

Communication is my passion. That’s why I enjoy writing, photography and making videos.

I want to keep growing as a visual story-teller and a film-maker. I want to spend the next few years focused on growing the WineScribble Instagram account and the WineScribble YouTube channel. There are so many great stories yet to be told about the people involved in Cyprus and Mediterranean wines.

However, I realise that in the process I am learning an incredible amount about communication on the Internet. It would be great to run seminars to disseminate everything I have learned about visual storytelling and engaging a large audience. I think I have worked out a secret formula here. In 9 months my Instagram is approaching 14k followers and my YouTube channel has almost 14k video views. I think this is pretty unusual with such a niche topic and without the help of any professional marketing agency. This is just me, a camera, a good eye for a picture/story and a good understanding of how today’s Internet works. I think there are people who would love to know how to replicate this success to pursue their own dreams, passions and business start-ups, and I would love to help them make these aspirations a reality.

Annabelle McVine & Orestis Tsiakkas Tasting Mavro Mouklos

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

I have a lot of respect for the older generation who moved into the wine business without formal education in wine-making, leaving behind regular careers for a dream. Without them, the current generation of oenologists and viticulturalists wouldn’t have had wineries to return to. They are the foundational stones of our wine industry. I haven’t met everyone that I want to yet, but three of these gentlemen have been very welcoming to me and my project so far. I should name and thank Costas Tsiakkas (Tsiakkas Winery), Andreas Kyriakides (Vouni Panayia Winery), and Charis Athinodorou (Ktima Gerolemo) for respecting this project and making themselves available to chat, answer questions and support me.

Any embarrassing episodes involving spilled wine, corkscrews, sommeliers or drunken behavior?

I cannot even start to make a list of all of the things that have gone wrong during filming. It is epic. I am the proud owner of a deeply traumatised goldfish that experienced a profound existential moment when a sparkling wine cork launched itself and landed in the fishbowl. If you look closely during the video called ‘The Sparkling Wine Adventure’ you can see the epic B-Roll segment of me unwrapping the foil, releasing the cage, but never actually removing the cork. It removed itself. At speed.

Also, for the purposes of the video titled ‘Vineyard Terroir’ I scripted myself to fail at making a Merlot Chocolate Cake, but in fact I failed at failing. The cake baked fully before the staged power-cut, and to make it look like a flop I had to behead a perfectly good cake and turn it into brownies. My mother has never let me forget the waste of cake.

I am not known for my dexterity, in fact quite the opposite. I did spend a few months annihilating corks as I tried to master the art of using the Waiter’s Friend corkscrew. It is a running joke in my office that I can talk about the wine, I just can’t open the wine.

Of course, your all-time favorite island wine?

You know what? I am not going to name a producer, that would be quite unfair to everyone else that scores 9.9 on my list instead of 10. I shall let you know that I do love the Maratheftiko and Yiannoudi wines that I am tasting right now. I love what these wines taste like right now, and I love what these wines will grow up to be in the future. Here’s to the local volcanic terroir! Cheers!

You can reach Annabelle on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or her website.

An (Almost) Case of Questions with Sotiris Neophytides, Sommelier, Parklane Luxury Collection Resort & Spa

Sommeliers on The Rock have started to gain plenty of local and international recognition.

One of these young up-and-comers is Sotiris Neophytides, who currently plies his vinous trade as a Somm at Limassol's swanky Parklane Luxury Resort & Spa.


Sotiris, who has won the Cypriot title for Best Young Sommelier three years running (2017 to 2019), is also the second Cypriot (after Andreas Kyprianou of Vinocultura in Nicosia) to receive the Advanced Sommelier Certificate by the Court of Master Sommeliers following his first crack at the exam.


As usual, we sat down with Sotiris to pick his brain on all-things wine!

Why wine?

As part of our culture and religion, Cyprus has a long history of winemaking with its most famous wine being Commandaria. Moreover, in each glass of wine there is magic, especially when you try it blind and you have to discover all of its aromas and flavors in order to identify its region, something that we call terroir. This is why I fell in love with wine.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

The first wine that captured my attention was a wine that comes from Greece. It is called Museum and Domaine Gerovasiliou in Epanomi near Thessaloniki makes it. This wine had a powerful structure on the palate with a very long finish that has remained in my memory up until today. I was 24 years old when I tried it.

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

My favorite bottle of wine that I would like to enjoy is La Tâche by Domaine de la Romanée Conti in Burgundy, France. [Editor’s Note: Wouldn’t we all?]

Favorite wine-producing region? Why?

One of my favorite wine regions is Piedmont in northern Italy, especially Barolo. The reason I chose this region is that Barolos have both the character and temperament. They are high in acid and their tannins make the wines powerful but elegant at the same time.

Your favorite food-and-wine pairing?

I would pair a beautiful Wagyu beef with an Australian Shiraz. Shiraz has the structure and tannins to match the richness of the beef and its weight.

With Master Sommeliers Demetri Mensard (L) & Ronan Sayburn (R)

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

Promotion and positioning in the market at an international level. We do promote Cypriot wine but in very small steps.

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

Cypriot wines and winemaking have developed a lot during the last five-to-ten years. Therefore, I expect more experimentation from local winemakers. Moreover, Cypriot winemakers will look for more elegant styles of wines, and vines will be planted at higher altitudes. Seeing the industry’s huge improvement, new wineries will be built and, therefore, there will be greater competition between the wineries aiming to achieve a higher quality each year.

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

The diversity of the guests’ needs with certain food and wine pairings and of course their satisfaction at the end of the service are my favorite parts of the job. Basically, keeping the guests happy and providing them with a memorable experience through my wine list.

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

My favorite wine personality is Arvid Rosengren, who won the award for Best Sommelier in the World in 2016. He shows how genuine and elegant we need to be towards our guests.

Any embarrassing episodes involving spilled wine, corkscrews, sommeliers or drunken behavior?

At the beginning of my career as a sommelier I went to a table to open a bottle of Prosecco. The cork was so tight that I could not open it. At a certain point, as I was holding it, it popped out and I had a wonderful bath of Prosecco.

Of course, your all-time favorite island wine?

This is a beautiful question for which I could write in many of my favorite wines. Each winemaker has a different philosophy and winemaking style. Therefore, some of my favourite producers, I would say, are Tsiakkas, Vlassides, Argyrides, Zambartas, Vassiliades Expressions, Kyperounda, Ezousa and many more.

To New Beginnings

Marcos Zambartas Leading the Way

My first visit to Zambartas Wineries happened maybe eight years ago. We were met by the late Akis Zambartas, who had made the winery's top floor his home. After a quick tour of the winery's small facilities two floors down, Akis, garrulous as ever, sat us in his outdoor dining room and shared a wealth of information and stories over multiple glasses of his red wines. It was a welcoming, cheerful, generous visit, the type you experience when someone happily opens the doors to his home and you stumble out a while later, tipsy and with a big grin stamped across your face. 

Following a summer press trip organized by Vassos Eliades Ltd., Zambartas Wineries' new distributor on The Rock, I can say that this heartfelt hospitality remains as strong as ever. 

The New Tasting Room

Yes, things have changed. The main reason for our visit was to experience Zambartas Wineries' extensive renovation of its top floor, which has now become a classy and modern tasting room with a fully stocked kitchen that can cater to parties and larger groups of visitors. Clean lines, some dark wood, beautiful iron racks for the bottles on sale, and a predominantly black-and-white collage of photos rendering tribute to Akis and the family tradition have transformed the space. Additionally, the mezzanine, which served as the main tasting room, will become the center stage for aging the winery's yet-to-be-released Commandaria.

Part of the trip also included a tour of some of the winery's nearby vineyards. We drove past KEO's Ktima Mallia, Oinou Yi's lavish mountaintop winery in Omodos and Ktima Gerolemo towards Agios Nikolaos and into a higher terroir populated by rows and rows of vineyards. Unfortunately, it rained donkeys and moufflons that day, so we couldn't walk the fields and get a chance to experience wine-making straight from its source.

Fancy Anything?

My favorite part of the visit was Marcos Zambartas telling us about Margelina, a vineyard that harks back to 1921 and which he proudly purchased on Bazaraki.com (the Cypriot equivalent of eBay). Marcos believes Margelina will offer not the best but the truest representation of Cypriot wine. Christodoulos, the winery's vigneron, called this plot a living museum of Cypriot wine as it offers a glimpse into the history of Cypriot wine. You can see how vineyards were planted in the past, one atop each other, crowded, nary a row. Different varieties—Mavro, Xynisteri, Maratheftiko and more—stand side by side, some of them unrecognizable to the trained eye. So much so that Marcos had to ship some of Margelina's grapes abroad for further review.

Of course, we tasted a few wines too as part of the visit. And here's always where I start to blabber like a hyper infant. Besides the usual suspects, we sampled a few surprises.

The 2017 Single Vineyard Xynisteri (now in screw cap!) is a limited production bottle made with small-bunch grapes and 40 percent of it going through wild yeast fermentation. The vineyard is located at 950 meters above sea level in Mandria and is 29 years old. I have no doubt in my mind that Zambartas' Single Vineyard Xynisteri is the benchmark for Cypriot (indigenous) white wines. Quite mineral with notes of citrus, orange peel, stone fruits and white flowers and hints of mountain herbs and sweet vanilla spice. It's smooth, lean, clean and fresh with great length and good acidity. Plus, it will definitely improve after a couple years.

Boom Goes the Dynamite!

The 2016 Single Vineyard Shiraz, a new addition to the wine roster and also in screw cap, has a limited production of about 600 bottles and spends 15 months in oak barrels with about 80 percent of it in new ones. If you enjoy meaty wines, this one's for you. It's lountza-y, spicy, smoky and loaded with notes of black fruit and berries—it screams steak in the same way I scream for a dalliance with a bottle of DRC. [Editor's note: This will happen one day; never stop believing.]

Finally, we tasted the 2011 Zambartas Commandaria, a 65-35 percent Mavro-Xynisteri blend that should be out in the markets in 2021. This was utterly delicious. A clean nose with touches of dried apricots, figs, dates, some butterscotch, brown sugar and just a hint of smoke or meatiness. On the palate, great acidity, weighty tannins and some remarkable notes of white chocolate, raisins and brioche.

Towards the end of the visit, Marleen, the winery's marketing guru and Marcos' wife, tells me one of their hopes is that Akis is proud of how they've transformed the space he once called home. From all of my visits to Zambartas Wineries, there's no other answer but yes.

For a post on my second or third visit to Zambartas Wineries, click HERE.

A Case of Questions with Mike Veseth, Wine Economist

Last year, prior to the annual Cyprus Wine Competition (my invitation was probably stolen by a stray cat), the Ministry of Agriculture's Viticultural Section organized a local wine industry conference with Mike Veseth, a professor emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of Puget Sound, as one of its guests of honour. Professor Veseth, who's an authority on the global wine economy and has written several books on vinous matters, spent several days on The Rock where he tasted our best, spoke to the winemakers and delivered plenty of insightful thoughts on the state of Cyprus' wine sector. Goes without saying, the blog reached out and here are his answers to our Case of Questions!

Why wine?

Mike Veseth (MV): My new book, Around the World in Eighty Wines: Exploring Wine One Country at a Time, was released in November 2017 and the central question is “Why wine?” Why has wine fascinated us for all these centuries? Why do winemakers go to such extremes to produce wine? Why has wine and the traditions that surround it endured? I think I have found the answer, but I don’t want to spoil my book’s ending. You’ll have to read Around the World in Eighty Wines to find out! 

How did you get started writing about wine and the wine business?

MV: I wrote about this in my 2011 book, Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists. We were visiting Napa Valley years ago and talking with a winemaker. When he learned I was an Economics Professor he became quite intense and asked many questions because what happened to the economy affected his ability to make and sell the best wines. He taught me that wine is a business as well as an art and a science and that the insights that economists may offer can be important. My 2005 book, Globaloney: Unraveling the Myths of Globalization, explored a number of case studies of how global markets evolve and adapt. One of the chapters examined the global wine market and there was so much interest that I decided to specialize in wine economics. 

Your blog is called The Wine Economist. What do you write about and who are your readers?

MV: Most professors write academic papers that are read by other professors and no one else. I decided that I wanted to reach a broader audience that includes wine industry and trade readers as well as academics and consumers, too. I started The Wine Economist as a way to work out my thoughts about wine market issues in public where I can get feedback from my global wine readership. It has been very successful both in terms of the ideas it has helped generate and in the public reception. The Wine Economist won the 2015 Gourmand International award for best wine blog. Who knew that so many people would want to read about wine business!

You have written four books on wine. What are they about?

MV: Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists (2011) examined wine market dynamics as the interaction of three strong forces: globalization, commodification, and “the revenge of the terroirists,” which is the thirst for authenticity in wine and in life more generally. Each of these forces has grown stronger since I wrote Wine Wars so this analysis remains relevant and continues to shape my thinking about wine. ExtremeWine: Searching the World for the Best, the Worst, the Outrageously Cheap, the Insanely Overpriced, and the Undiscovered (2013) tries to understand where wine is going by looking at the extremes of the market where change is most pronounced. Money, Taste, and Wine: It’s Complicated (2015) examined the many ways that money affects wine – what is produced and where, what we buy and even how good (or bad) the wine tastes to us. This book received the 2016 Gourmand International award for best wine writing.

Now, as I said earlier, Around the World in Eighty Wines has been recently released. Taking inspiration from Jules Verne’s famous novel, it circles the globe seeking great wines, great wine stories, and insights into why wine is such an enduring part of life. 

What brought you to Cyprus? 

MV: I was invited by the Cyprus Tourism Organization. Dr. Maria Socratous heard me speak at the First United Nations World Tourism Organization Wine Tourism conference in Tbilisi, Georgia last year and arranged for my wife Sue and I to visit Cyprus to learn about its wine and wine tourism possibilities. While in Paphos, I also spoke at a Cyprus wine industry conference. It was a great experience – I wish I could have visited before I finished Around the World in Eighty Wines because I tasted some wines that I could have included in my book. Next time!

What was your favourite wine-related moment during your visit to Cyprus?

MV: There were many fine moments, but the one I like best was a lunch with journalists, judges from the Cyprus Wine Competition, and members of the Kyriakides family at their fabulous Vouni Panayia Winery. Beautiful view, wonderful food that Mrs. Kyriakides prepared for us, great wine of course, and lively conversation. It was the complete wine experience and a great memory of our short visit to Cyprus.

Anyone up for lunch at Vouni Panayia? Next weekend work?

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

MV: I wrote about this question on The Wine Economist. Cyprus is making the same sort of transition today that New Zealand made in the 1980s and 1990s, when it began to focus intensely on rising quality and broader markets. This is the right strategy for today’s global market, so I am very optimistic about the future of Cypriot wine. 

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

MV: Cyprus has all the important elements needed to move up to the next level in the world of wine – stunning vineyards, talented winemakers, distinctive indigenous grape varieties.  I would like to see the domestic wine market develop a greater focus on quality Cypriot wines (as opposed to less expensive imports) and a rising international profile. This will take teamwork, which is something I talked about at the Cyprus wine industry conference in Paphos. I think everyone knows that this is an area that can be improved and I was glad to see so many people willing to help build a stronger Team Cyprus Wine to achieve these goals.

Should Cyprus focus on Commandaria or is dry wine a better route moving forward?

MV: Why does it have to be either/or? Commandaria tells the story of Cyprus’s great wine history, which will open doors. But the market for wines of this type is relatively small and highly competitive. The contemporary dry wines, especially Xynisteri, could appeal to a broader audience. They are both part of the story of Cypriot wine today. Why not feature them both and use them to tantalize consumers about the range of possibilities that Cyprus and its wines can offer?

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

MV: Our friends think it must be the great food and fine wine we are served, but the best part is that we get to meet such fascinating people! We met many wonderful people during our short stay in Cyprus.

What is your favorite wine? 

MV: People often ask about my favorite wine. While it is true that I am particularly fond of Pinot Noir and Riesling because of their almost infinite variations, it is more generally true that the wines I like best are the ones that tell a good story, especially if the story involves friends.

Of course, your favorite island (and Cyprus) wine? 

MV: There is a chapter in my 2013 book Extreme Wine called “Desert Island Wines.” What wine would you choose as your only beverage if you were going to be stranded on a desert island for several months? The chapter is inspired by the BBC Radio 4 program Desert Island Discs. We tasted many wonderful wines during our visit to Cyprus (and I was able to write about a few of them on The Wine Economist). All the wines would be welcome on a desert island, but I guess my desert island wine from Cyprus would have to be Commandaria. What a treat! 

You can reach Mike Veseth on his website, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. He penned the four blog posts on Cyprus wines listed below:

When is a Wine Tourist Not a Wine Tourist? Lessons from Cyprus

The Next New Zealand? Reflections on Cyprus Wine Industry in Transition 

Look Through the Rainbow: Cyprus Wine’s History of Boom and Bust
Back to the Future? First Impressions of Wine and Wine Tourism in Cyprus

A Case of Questions with Wine Explorers

During the past couple of years, more and more wine bloggers have started showing up on The Rock. I'm not sure whether the Cyprus Tourism Organisation is doing a better job promoting the Cypriot wine industry or these bloggers are stumbling upon bottles of Cypriot wine that have piqued their interest. In any case, the more the merrier as long as they leave some wine for the locals.

One of the latest blogger's The Rock has welcomed is Jean-Baptiste Ancelot, a wine professional who runs Wine Explorers, an ambitious project that seeks to "highlight the richness of the world’s vineyards and reveal unknown and very original great growths and hidden treasures from far away winegrowing regions." So far, Wine Explorers has spent three years on the road, having visited 92 countries, 250 wine regions and 1500 vineyards and sampled more than 15,000 wines. Cheers to that!

Cyprus finally made in onto the list and, following their visit during the summer of 2017, Wine Explorers had plenty to say about our humble island.

As is generally the case, Whine On The Rocks reached out to exchange a word or two with our visitors.

Why wine?

Wine Explorers (WE): Good question. This is a mystery to me. I will always remember the day the light suddenly clicked in my eyes when tasting wine. I was 22, living in my hometown in the north of France (where no vines grow - ha-ha!) Invited to a live jazz show in a very small wine bar, I fell in love with the special atmosphere of the moment: the wine we enjoyed on this evening (I forget which labels) was the link between people from many horizons and that amazed me. Coming back home late in the night, I literally searched “wine jobs“ on the Internet: I wanted to know more about it and see if I could apply for something. But the list of jobs in wine is infinite! And I get lost. So I decided to apply for wine education in Bordeaux (not very original but super efficient) and then did a Masters degree and an MBA in wine business. It was so interesting! At the time, I did my internships in Switzerland, Hong Kong and New York in order to open my mind to some of the most important wine business places of the world. But I wanted more. My dream was discovering the wine world through my eyes. So I researched for six years and found out that the “real” wine world in the 21st century was made of (almost) 92 wine producing countries and decided that the only way to better understand my passion was to visit all of them. This how the Wine Explorers’ project started: a four-year exploration of the wine planet with a unique question in mind: What if the great wine terroirs had not all been discovered yet? Today, Wine Explorers is the first and only global wine inventory ever made in the history of wine, and we are very happy to share our discoveries each day.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

WE: As kids, we were not allowed to drink, even a drop. I had to wait until I turned fourteen in order to have my first drops of wines. It was Christmas time and my mother served us her traditional and incomparable foie gras, pouring in my glass some Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives. I still remember the syrupy taste of wine in my mouth. Memorable.

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

WE: Such a difficult question. Just for the Wine Explorers’ project, we have already tasted more than 3,200 wines. How could I pick one – ha-ha! I recently discovered in Thailand a cuvée made of Durif (Petite Syrah) from GranMonte estate. This was a shock to me: I was in an extreme climate region of the world, where it is possible to harvest twice a year and the wine was so delicate, dense, precise, full of energy and delicious red fruits. I instantly loved it. Proof that with technique, knowledge, hard work and the best quality grapes, it is possible to make (very) good wines in unexpected parts of the world!  

Favorite wine-producing region? Why?

WE: Again, difficult question – ha-ha! I have to name a few, with your permission, as I loved them equally and for different reasons. The Valle of Guadalupe in Mexico for its super dry wine production area, full of life and energy. The Okanagan Valley in Canada for its wild and lovely wine scene. Or Dalmatia in Croatia for its diversity in terms of autochthone grape varieties. And there are so many more!

Your favorite food-and-wine pairing?

WE: Food-and-wine pairing is a very personal subject. Depending on the moment, the people with whom you are (girlfriend, family, business, etc.,) the place, the weather, changes everything. The best match at the end of the day will always be the one you like, even if not conventional. Also, what is conventional? But this is another debate. Today is summer time, we are enjoying an octopus carpaccio and I deeply love the sur-lies Xarel-lo from Penedès that I’m drinking with it.

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

WE: Nothing! Cyprus wine history is 5,000 years old. The island is beautiful with a unique climate and topography, talented winemakers and a delicious local cuisine that goes great with its wines. Look at halloumi: with a glass of Cyprus white wine, it is a little moment of paradise. You also have many super interesting indigenous varieties like Xynisteri, Promara and Morokanella (white) or Maratheftiko and Yiannoudi (red), for example. And, above all, you have Commandaria, this unique and delicious amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made on the foothills of the Troödos mountains, which is the world's oldest named wine still in production. What else? This is what I call a precious and invaluable heritage.

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

WE: To focus on what makes Cypriot wines so special and unique, as mentioned above. What's important nowadays, in a world producing more wine than is consumed and where the competition is harder than ever (good quality wines can be made everywhere), is to market “what makes you different/unique from the rest of the world,” therefore creating a strong identity. It shouldn’t be difficult to look at the potential Cyprus has in its hands.   

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

WE: Every day is a new day! I get up every morning with the same stars in my eyes and a unique question in mind: what’s going to happen today? And the more I learn, the more I realise I don’t know anything about the wine world. It is infinite. It can be affraying. I prefer saying to myself that it creates its own beauty. Wine has something magical. 

What is your “Five Year Plan” for your business?

WE: At the moment, we are halfway through the Wine Explorers’ project with 52 countries explored in 2.5 years of travels. (Cyprus was n°50 a few weeks ago!) It should end in October 2018. Then, many projects are planned, which is also very exciting! The “after“ project will result in books, documentaries, the creation of wine bars, an online website with information, videos and the possibility of enjoying wine bottles we discovered. Consulting and conferences are also a big focus in order to share and exchange information about the wine world. Our first important conference will be next year during the Masters of Wine’s Symposium in Spain where I’ll be a speaker. And there are many other ideas; travelling opens your mind all the time! 

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

WE: The people behind the wine are usually my best friends and I respect them a lot. I don’t know if I could be capable of making a great wine one day. I have the easy job: travelling and tasting. The winemakers, the viticulturists, the workers in the vineyards, these are the real “kings“ to me, if I may say it like that. A person like Jean-Claude Berrouet is a good example to me and I admire him a lot: someone talented, discrete, with more knowledge than many people, but always very humble, curious, kind and with a smile on his lips. A mentor to me. 

Any embarrassing episodes involving spilled wine, corkscrews, sommeliers or drunken behavior?

WE: Waiting three days in front of the gates of one of the two Ethiopian wineries was a moment as strange as stressful. After two days of travels in the middle of nowhere, we were so happy to finally arrive at Rift Valley winery. And we didn’t know why it was so complicated to get in. In fact, people were just checking our records and reading everything we already had published in order to see who and how we were. Finally, we were invited to come inside and received the red carpet treatment. One of my favorite memories. 

Of course, your all-time favorite island wine?

WE: Two (small) islands are coming to mind right now. And both deserve to be visited at least once in your life if you are a wine lover: Waiheke Island, near Auckland (New Zealand), and Korčula in Croatia. But there are so many more!

You can contact Wine Explorers via their Website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

An (Almost) Case of Questions with Christos Vassiliades, Vassiliades Expressions Winery

Spearheaded by the older guard, the Cypriot wine scene's transformation during the past decade has led to the appearance of new players who have rapidly established themselves and contributed their own creative touches to The Rock's wine.

One of these young 'uns is Christos Vassiliades, mastermind behind Vassiliades Expressions Winery in Chandria. I had the good fortune of paying him a visit on a frigid night back in February and left impressed by the quality of his dry Xynisteri, Sauvignon Blanc and dessert wine made with botrytized Xyn. Besides producing the only (I think) single varietal Cabernet Franc in Cyprus (one I haven't had the chance of sampling), what left me in awe of Christos' gun-ho attitude is that he had the cojones to plant that fickle damsel known as Pinot Noir at a very high altitude in the dear hope that it pans out. Here, Christos talks to us about his passions, plans and personal favourites.

Why wine?

Christos Vassiliades (CV): For me, wine is a cultural symbol and a sign of progress. It forms the path that connects tradition and avant-garde innovation. Wine is also a timeless delectation, the result of a constant flirtation between the earth and the vineyard. Wine cultivation is the interface, which creates mythical stories, traditions and legends.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

CV: The first wine that captured my attention and is always on my mind because it reminds me of my childhood and my family’s tradition is my grandmother’s wine. She’s both my tutor and inspiration. She has been a winegrower working with traditional urns, and the pleasant scent of her basement during the fermentation period is the most indelible memory of my life. 

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

CV: My all-time favourite bottle of wine is the Antonin Rodet Bourgogne Pinot Noir. An exceptional Pinot Noir produced by an important winegrower in Burgundy. It’s an amazingly balanced objet d’art with the essential elements of elegance of a Pinot Noir. I am grateful because I have the opportunity to not only taste it but also procure it in Cyprus.

Favourite wine-producing region? Why?

  

CV: My favourite wine-producing region is Sonoma County in California. A polymorphic region, both geologically and climatically, that helps it produce wines with special characteristics: a huge variety of wines in different styles and ideal for every occasion. It is actually quite impressive the way this region produces wines of the highest quality such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel.

Your favourite food-and-wine pairing?

CV: If I take into account the variety available in the international culinary and wine scene, there are innumerable ‘pairings’ and, by extension, answers to your question. So I would prefer stating the Cypriot variety called Maratheftiko, which perfectly matches beef liver on the grill or even better on the barbeque. I would not omit to mention the combination of our winery’s dessert wine “HW,”a late harvest botrytized Xynisteri that makes a perfect match with every single traditional Cypriot dessert from fruity spoon sweets to syrupy ones.

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

CV: Personally, I am convinced that if local winemakers had the same approach towards issues like our understanding, our cultivation, the vinification and the better promotion of indigenous varieties, even the forgotten ones, it would be a huge step forward for the quality of our wine production at a national level. As a result, Cypriot wines would be better promoted and, as a consequence, they would be treated better abroad.

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

CV: Lately, in Cyprus, interest in the wine industry has increasingly developed, and this is very promising for the future of the local industry. Despite the progress made, there´s still a long way to go to reach our objectives, which is no other than to create a strong vinous education on the island. For a country with such winemaking tradition and historical background, it is almost obligatory for us to get to know wine better and in a less superficial way. We will never achieve our aim if customers, consumers and professionals won’t pay the attention required.

Cyprus’s wine industry improves day by day. It is crucial for rising winemakers to have a plan and a philosophy in order to contribute to and facilitate the resurrection of the Cypriot vineyard. Exporting wine means exporting culture. Therefore, wine is not just a common product of alcoholic consumption but a piece of art that involves vision, knowledge, passion and aesthetics. For a country like Cyprus, because of the limited range of wines, improving the current situation is very difficult and requires so much effort from the wine industry’s professionals.

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

CV: The most enjoyable time of the year is the harvest period. It is the moment you realise that all of your hard work during the year finally pays off, and you come face to face with both the past and the future. That feeling is indescribable. You finally ‘decode,’ smell and taste your own brainchild, a creation you can experience with all of your senses.

What is your “Five Year Plan” for your career/business?

CV: The philosophy that encloses the establishment of our business is very clear and simple.  Our winery ‘Ekfraseis’ attempts to take advantage of the great geological and morphological conditions of the area as best as possible. The Pitsilia area’s aforementioned conditions and especially the Madari mountain where our winery is primarily located give us the ability to successfully cultivate our indigenous, international and Greek varieties such as Mavro, Maratheftiko, Xynisteri, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Assyrtiko, and expand the local oenophile public’s choices. The future plan for the business is to keep up the hard work and one day expand the amount of the production based on the capacity of the vineyard, but I prefer taking one step at a time.

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

CV: My favourite wine personality is Dr. Richard Smart, the Australian viticulturist whose aid has provided a real breakthrough in numerous aspects of modern viticulture at an international level. He is the creator and the inspirer of many modern trellis systems and scientifically proven ways of growth management and quality improvement of the crop. 

Of course, your all-time favourite island wine?

CV: In a Mediterranean island like Cyprus, with high temperatures throughout the year and an extended summer period, I would strongly recommend white and rosé wines with a light and fruity flavour. They can easily replace summer cocktails that are often consumed during the summer. I wouldn’t say no to a light red wine, even if it’s mainly imported to Cyprus because, as we all know, the variety of local red wines is much more intense that the ones imported, but there is always room for exceptions to the rule.

You can reach Christos via Facebook and Instagram.