Cyprus ‘sherry’, along with bulk production on a huge scale, was the 20th century downfall of the island’s traditional wine industry. But so much has changed. Now, the wine grape harvest is less than a tenth of that picked 40 years ago, yet what is crucial for consumers is that the quality has soared.
Part of this is the return to indigenous Cypriot grape varieties, adapted to a hot, arid climate and suited far better to the varied soils and vineyard sites – some of the highest in Europe – than more familiar international names. Cyprus is also fortunate in having escaped the vine-devastating phylloxera pest, and modern controls continue to keep its vines safe.
My new go-to white grape is Cyprus’s xynisteri, not easy to say but so rewarding to drink. The wines from it are fragrant and full of flavour. They have a refreshing acidity but also a tantalising depth – characteristics you find in good Chablis, though these are far from taste-alike alter-egos.
Just about every one of the dozen-plus examples I was privileged to taste recently was a real pleasure. They’re not bargain-shelf bottles, but reward the investment, and to make another comparison with Chablis, where prices have soared, they offer real value for money.
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One name to look out for is Zambartas. French-trained oenologist Akis Zambartas was a major figure in the modern revival of Cyprus wine, rescuing and championing native grapes. Now his son Marcos, whose own vinous travels have taken him as far as Australia, has progressed that legacy, farming organically and making elegant, superbly drinkable wines.
Aegean specialist Maltby & Greek imports the Zambartas range, and sells direct – the pure, classic xynisteri and a delicately oak-aged single vineyard wine (£17 and £24.50, maltbyandgreek.com).
Another place to buy excellent xynisteri is Amathus (shops in Hampstead and Muswell Hill, plus amathusdrinks.com), which stocks a fine example from the mountainous, organic vineyards of Tsiakkas (£22, case discounts). Also, a generous selection is available, online or click-and-collect, at Chalk Farm-based Aspris & Son (aspris.co.uk), starting with simpler bottles at £10.
Impressive, too, is Kyperounda Peritis (from £15.50, strictlywine.co.uk, thefinewinecompany.co.uk), and watch the lovefromcyprus.co.uk website for soon-to-be-available Yiayia from Krasopoulin, another high-sited winery. Check on wine-searcher.com for more UK retailers.
Beyond these captivating dry whites, xynisteri is the main grape of Cyprus’s legendary sweet wine, commanderia, whose history on the island is said to date back close on 3,000 years. It’s a concentrated, amber-hued delight for those who love sweetness cut with refreshing acidity, and it ages splendidly. Seek it out at the same specialist stockists.
When the sun shines in winter, snowy slopes intensify the effect, but for grapes what matters is the right summer weather. Great wine is made in Alpine settings, but all too much of it, from Switzerland in particular, is drunk on the spot – and quickly. But waiting can be very worthwhile.
Every year, Swiss wine experts celebrate a vintage ten years on, so the most recent candidate was 2015. Of eight award-winners I tasted, the real surprise was not the admirable syrah or pinot noir but a chasselas, the native white grape that clings to steep vineyards along the shore of Lake Léman.
Grand Cru La Côte 2015 from Château de Châtegneréaz (2021 vintage hedleywright.co.uk, 2023 £30, sohowine.co.uk) was remarkable, fragrant, complex and silky, perfectly developed. It would have been quite different ten years earlier, said renowned grape geneticist José Vuillamoz, and would change again, still impressively, in another decade.
But younger, more simply vinified chasselas can be very appealing. You’ll need to head to the Alps for bargain bottles, or try bright, floral Famille Testuz (£14, thewinesociety.com). A broader selection is at alpinewines.co.uk (from £18). There’s even an English example (£20.40, bluebellwines.com).
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Around the other side of the globe, the sun should be shining now – that same sun which ripened the grapes for two introductions from Vasse Felix, from an ocean-girt Western Australian region.
Both Margaret River Classic White (semillon and sauvignon blanc) and Classic Red (cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec) (both £13, Tesco), hit the happy point of ripe fruit flavours alongside freshness. More summer in a glass.
- Liz Sagues is a journalist and committee member and events co-organiser at the Circle of Wine Writers. She is author of A Celebration of English Wine (Robert Hale, 2018) and Sussex by the Glass (Tanwood Press, 2021)
