The Field Guide
Cyprus
The island phylloxera never reached. Its vines were never torn out and replanted, so a cellar's worth of grapes most of Europe lost still grows here, led by Xynisteri and Maratheftiko and trailed by a dozen rarer names. The good ones climb the Troodos, where altitude buys back the acidity the heat would take.
One island · five appellations
Cyprus
The history
Wine older than almost anywhere still in production; Commandaria alone runs back to the Crusades. Decades of bulk output nearly buried the island's own grapes before the revival of the 1980s.
The land
Everything worth drinking climbs the Troodos. The coast bakes; the vineyards sit uphill on chalk and volcanic soils, where cooler nights slow the ripening.
Wine styles
Citrus-and-pine Xynisteri whites; structured, herbal Maratheftiko reds; pale Mavro made to chill; and Commandaria, the amber sweet wine dried in the sun.
The underdogs to drink
Start with the grapes worth the detour. More guides land as we publish them.
Whatever you drink now, there’s an underdog you’d like more.
One overlooked wine at a time: what it tastes like, the famous one it can replace, and the catch. It’s the list our wine club will be built from.
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