On the Road with the Grape Guy
Cyprus 2024 - Day 2
12 Jun 2025- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Day 2 started much like day one, in a bus going to a winery. After day one, I realized that Cyprus wine principals prefer to talk about the whole of Cyprus and not just about their contribution to this piece of the wine world. It seems like every winery principal we meet picks up a storyline and adds another nugget of information. Today we started in the hills.
Tsiakkas Winery 
Here we learn much about Cyprus's phylloxera free status, as quoted by a winery principle here, "We do not have phylloxera. Not because we are smart, we just got lucky."
Today, there are quarantine laws, but previously, as Cyprus was reshaping their wine landscape, there were none - making it the wild west of vine importation.
Cyprus has four PGIs and five AOCs.
This winery started with Riesling, then the father visited Germany, came back and ripped out all the Riesling confessing: "what we make is a disgrace to Riesling." The winery was established in 1988 and their first vintage was the same; they started with international varieties, but it was the second generation that brought about the shift to indigenous varieties: it took 12 years. Today, 25 hectares spread over four vineyards with mainly sandy, and volcanic soils - all with very low nutrients. Their highest vineyard site is at 1480 m and is populated by Sauvignon Blanc and Xinesteri - their furthest vineyard from the winery is 40 minutes away.
In the wine making process, they use a 90% French / 10% American oak regime - with a goal to dial back on new oak to less than 20%: "Fruit evolves, spice does not; if a wine smells and tastes like fruit, it will age."
The Wines ... 
Tsiakkas 2021 Vamvakada
(grape: Vamvakada / aka: Maratheftiko)
A fruit forward wine loaded with sweet cherries and red plum, floral, elegant, and really pretty – there is also a really good tannin structure. (****+)
Tsiakkas 2021 Yiannoudin
(grape: Yiannoudi)
Blackberry, black raspberry, and subtle spices, combine with notes of leather. Tasty and tantalizing with good tannins structure that eventually mellows out: heftier wine than expected, but those tannins silken with time in glass making it very appealing. (****+)
Tsiakkas 2023 Xynisteri
(grapes: Xynisteri 98% / Malaga 2%)
Two months on lees gives this wine a nice texture and flavour: floral and citrus, with gentle acidity and a touch of salinity. (*** ½+)
Kyperounda
Established in 1998, their first vintage appeared 4 years later in 2002. Vineyards range in height from 500 m to 1500 m, some of the highest in Europe. Their production is about 300,000 bottles annually with 50% of that being their flagship wine: Petritus.
Minas Mina, GM and winemaker, covered the climate aspect of Cyprus wine making and what climate change has meant to the island's wine industry: less snowfall, no change in temperature, but more storms occur during harvest – bottom line: Cyprus has become very erratic.
The highest vineyard they farm is located at 1535 m above sea level and contains Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, it's a mineral-rich soil but at that elevation irrigation is a must; though across the island 90% of all vineyards do not have irrigation. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay all grow well at 1400 m.
Red varieties face the South; while whites face North and East.
Interesting to note that Cyprus seems reticent to go screwcap; Kyperounda is the second winery that poo-poos screw caps when asked about it. Not sure what to make of that - it would seem to me that some of the whites and those fresh reds would benefit from this closure.
The Wines ... 
Kyperounda 2022 Petritis
(grape: Xynisteri)
20% of this wine sees oak maturation; but all starts with stainless steel fermentation and resting on lees 6 months. Citrus notes with good acidity, some grapefruit rind slips in and so does some subtle floral notes. (*** ½)
Kyperounda 2022 Epos White (high altitude)
(grape: Chardonnay)
With 9-month ageing in bottle and two years in 300L barrels there is surprisingly still a brightness to this young wine. (*** ½)
Kyperounda 2021 Epos Red (high altitude)
(grapes: Syrah / Cabernet Sauvignon 50% each)
To preserve the fruitiness and juiciness of this wine it spends 12 months in barrique and 6 more months in 600L barrels: fresh fruit shows through, with a juicy, spicy, white pepper, blackberry, cassis, and even some graphite. It has a freshness with really good acidity. (****)
