Few wines can truly be called legendary. But if the history goes back to 1191 with King Richard Lionheart on crusade then it must be in one of the better positions to claim that title.
Commandaria from Cyprus is a sweet wine made from two local grape varieties mavro and xynisteri. It is a lusciously sweet wine that you can drink after dinner or with dessert, or even instead of dessert. It is not like any other wine.
Read more on this in Britt’s article on Forbes: A Legendary Wine: Commandaria From Cyprus.
Here’s the introduction:
There are few wines that I would call legendary. The sweet Commandaria from Cyprus is one. Some people say it is the world’s oldest wine. Perhaps that is so. It has in any case been around long enough and has probably not changed significantly over the years. The wine became widely known in the Middle Ages when it also got its name. But most likely, the wine was made long before that.
In 1191 King Richard I (called the Lionheart) departed on the Third Crusade. He passed Cyprus on the way to the Holy Land and he conquered the island which was later purchased by the Knights Templar. The Knights settled on a place on the island that they called Commandaria. The local wine was given the same name.
Of course, the popularity of Commandaria has waned a bit over the years. But its reputation as one of the classic, sweet wines of the world has never disappeared. I had not tasted Commandaria for a very long time when I recently had the opportunity to try several. It was an interesting experience. Commandaria is not quite like any other sweet wine.
Read Britt’s full article on BKWine on Forbes.
