A Visit to Vouni Panayia

It is always good to be made welcome. I do not visit some of the best winemakers in Cyprus as often as I would like. This particularly applies to several in the Paphos region ? not only are the owners charming, but they have realised the value of ?cash in hand? sales at the gate. Visitors are very welcome and this is about one of them, whose managing director, Andreas Kyriakidis is often on hand to talk about his wines.

One of the largest ?independent? wineries in Cyprus is the Vouni-Panayia, whose wines get better each year ? better techniques, more knowledge, better quality grapes from recently planted vineyards and the input from the hearts of the winemakers.

Business is good. Tourists are encouraged to visit Panayia and thousands do. Indeed, more than 60,000 bottles a year are sold directly from the winery, which is ten per cent of total production.

The local market is also expanding rapidly. Affluence and urban life are changing the Cypriot's drinking habits from beer and Koniaki to wine. And as EU "harmonisation" gathers place, including the enforcement of drink-driving laws, less drinking will take place outside the home and more inside it ? which means more families taking to wine.

The cellars are cool, and large, and as we walked through them, the truth of the sales was revealed ? there are very few bottles of any red wine more than two years old, except the Cabernet Sauvignon and experimental batches, and hardly any white wine of vintages preceding 1998.

It is a nice touch to have the tasting area almost at the end of the cellars, so the visitor gets a very good impression. Tasting is free and the winery is generous with the time of the principals and with the wine. "But most people buy", says Andreas Kyriakidis, "So it is a good investment".

The white wines, like the majority in Cyprus, are made from the indigenous Xynisteri grape, which in the right hands makes very friendly, drinkable wine. It should be drunk young and so is bottled and sold in the year after it is made. The two Vouni-Panayia whites are "Alina", dry and medium dry, which are both fresh and fruity. Xynisteri has come a long way in the last ten years. It is now a very good white wine grape.

"Pampela" is the company's Ros? and is made from the same grapes as "Plakota", and is a properly made ros? ? no blending of red and white thank you very much, but a resting of the de-stemmed grapes in their own juice for 20 hours, before final pressing when the juice is run off to the fermentation tanks. The grapes are also picked earlier, which is surprising, because "Pampela" has some sweetness on the tongue.

The staple red is "Plakota". It is a blend of two uniquely Cyprus grapes, 60% Mavro and 40% Maratheftiko. It combines softness and acidity with the Maratheftiko coming through the gentle Mavro fruit with its slightly oaky flavour, to produce, for its price and an excellent wine. Like the white wines, it is best drunk young and is more than a match for imports costing a pound or two more. I like it very much with pasta dishes and with grills or stews, and I have to say that it does get better every year.

I came away thinking that Vouni-Panayia have learned their lessons well, with a realistic attitude to the future and the problems, as yet unknown, that will face them there. You will enjoy your visit ? and the wines, too