A first for Tim Syrad Wine Tours – a wine tour to Cyprus! Having visited this beautiful island in January 2025, I came back with an immediate desire to promote wine tours to enable people to discover the fascinating array of indigenous grape varieties, meet some passionate winemakers, enjoy glorious mountain vistas and sample the delights of Cypriot hospitality and cuisine. As I write this at Larnaca airport on the last day, I feel really proud of the tour and consider myself to be an ambassador of Cypriot wines.
Tuesday 5th May
Many people had arrived a few days prior to the tour starting in order to hone their tasting technique and get a headstart on the rest of the group. Given the uncertainties caused by the crisis in the Middle East I felt particularly relieved as we all duly assembled in the Polo bar of the wonderful Alasia hotel in Limassol. Set away from the thronging crowds around the historic Limassol castle and old town and beach, the Alasia is a stunning oasis in a residential area. Beautifully and elegantly furnished, it was the perfect hotel to be based in with lots of space to enjoy the outside pool, spa or restaurant. The staff were quite superb – everyone felt extremely well looked after – this is undoubtedly Cypriot hospitality at its finest.
We sat outside on the patio of the hotel restaurant and tucked into a gourmet selection of local salads, fried calamari, grilled pork, seabass, pasta and an array of desserts. The chef at the Alasia is top class. We all revelled in the cuisine and imbibed extremely enthusiastically on rosé from the esteemed Kyperounda estate, a Xynisteri from the super Tsiakkas winery – more of which later and a Shiraz from the excellent Vlassides family.
Wednesday 6th May
The morning after the night before. The enthusiasm for engaging fully with the local grapes the previous night was evident as one or two boarded the coach a tad gingerly. A big day was in prospect with two wineries and a lunch. Our first stop, just 35 minutes from Limassol, was at the acclaimed Zambartas winery.
Coincidentally, on the 13th April, Julia Harding MW wrote a big article in the FT focussing on Zambartas and a big Cyprus trade tasting late last year. Marcos Zambartas, the second generation, was featured heavily in the in depth article. We met Chelsea O’Brien, the Zambartas hospitality manager and Haris the winemaker, who jointly hosted the tasting. Marcos was unfortunately away on a course with MW Institute as he is currently studying for this prestigious qualification.
A monumental tasting ensued as we sampled twelve wines reflecting three different Xynisteri wines, the Promara grape, red blends of Mavro and Maratheftiko, and an amazing Commandaria that had spent twelve years barrel ageing. We took a quick tour of the winery and then headed deep into the Troodos mountains for our next visit.
After an hour of driving, we arrived in the very pretty village of Kalapanyiotis. We swapped buses as we needed a smaller vehicle to take us the last five kilometres to the Marathasa winery – nestling at the top of a hill in the Marathasa valley. John Papadouris has created a magnificent winery using all his civil engineering skills from his Dubai based business. The winery melds into the hillside very elegantly and it is a vision to behold.
We were hosted by Marie, a very enthusiastic Brazilian sommelier who imparted lots of great information with great aplomb. The challenges of the drought on the island over the past four years (fortunately there has been a lot of rain in 2026) were evident. Given that the winery only opened in 2021, volume has been so low that it has been a struggle to even be able to sell wine – ensuring stock available for tastings and the hotel/restaurant in the village. However, we tasted four different whites, A Moschofilero, a Xynisteri, a rosé made from Syrah/Grenache and a pure Syrah. All the wines were really well made and we can only hope that production volumes increase.
The day was not yet over as we headed back into the village where the Papadouris family have also built a hotel called Casale Panayiotis and have bought delapidated houses and converted them into elegant rooms and suites. We enjoyed an extremely large traditional Cypriot mezze with dips and breads, cold salads, warm starters, couscous, halloumi, four different types of grilled meat, moussaka and a sumptuous orange dessert. White flags were being waved by our stomachs and we left truly and utterly stuffed!
It had been a long day – everyone looked a little bit shattered as we arrived back at the hotel.
Thursday 7th May
A lighter day was in store as we headed to another historic and famous village called Omodos. Only around forty minutes from Limassol but again taking in some lovely countryside, we saw at first hand some of the devastation caused by a huge wildfire last August. Some vineyards were lost but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been and we saw how resilient vines can be despite the intensity of the fire. The first winery to be visited was Gerolemou.
It is family owned and currently run by Haris Athinodourou, an ebullient and affable character who took our group by storm as soon as we arrived. Looking out on some of their vineyards from their delightful terrace, Haris took us through the family story and told us a bit about the area. They have 50 hectares planted in the foothills of the Troodos mountains and it was clear they are expanding production evidenced by all the building work going on. They are a popular winery to visit and have established a Sunday brunch with wine tasting which is routinely sold out.
Haris held court upstairs as we tasted our way through a great selection of wines. Xynisteri, of course, but also examples of the rare MoroKanella and Kanella grapes, a Maratheftiko rose, a 2021 Shiraz, Commandaria and the famous Zivania – Cypriot grappa! This was a great visit and provided a wonderful contrast to the previous day.
However, there was more to be done, and many of us took the opportunity to walk the 900m to the Oenou Yi winery nearby. This is another family owned (the Vassiliades family) winery but on a completely different scale. Completed in 2017, the Oenou Yi winery is a very modern and very stylish winery with fabulous entertaining spaces, a restaurant, a variety of smart tasting rooms and loads of state of the art equipment. It commands a majestic position on the hill overlooking Omodos and the valley below..
Argides Vassiliades hosted the first part of our visit and explained some of the winemaking techniques. He kept us entertained with a cheeky glint in his eye and an ever present threat of a politically incorrect comment. We headed into the private tasting room and were introduced to Hippocrates – the sommelier. Hippocrates was charming and friendly but I’m not sure we learnt anything really about the wines.
Two contrasting Xynisteris were followed by an absolute first for everyone – a Pet Nat Xynisteri! Cloudy, quirky and something completely different. A maratheftiko and their lovely Commandaria rounded off the day.
The day was still not over as the intrepid walkers headed into the village by foot and we spent a short time exploring the famous village of Omodos – renowned for its 4th century monastery which holds a remnant of the Holy Cross. Omodos has a very pretty square, cobbled streets and a myriad of little boutiques, cafes, a famous bakery, many wine tasting outlets and lovely tavernas. The Katoi taverna was our destination and another top class Cypriot mezze was served. Another example of a table groaning with delicious cold and cold starters, fabulous grilled meats, delicious breads and a complete lack of restraint as we tucked into it all.
Another quiet bus – another great day.
Friday 8th May
The tour seemed to be racing by at quite a pace as we took a different direction and headed towards Paphos. The Limassol PGI and Paphos PGI areas are the biggest on the island and within these large PGI areas nestle a small number of PDO areas. Given the relatively recent renaissance of the Cypriot wine industry, more focus has been given to understanding the indigenous grape varieties of the island, but now, producers are starting to hone in on single vineyard PDO wines as they understand their terroir better and endeavour to create more defined expressions of particular terroirs.
Our first stop in the Paphos region was another family owned estate – Vouni Paniya. Now run by second generation brothers, Yiannis, Petros and Pavlos, this winery has been very successful in the export markets with over 50% of production going abroad.
Yiannis hosted hosted our visit which started on a lovely terrace commanding fabulous views of the hills and valleys. He talked about their organic production and dedication to non filtration of their wines. We tasted an eclectic selection of eight wines incorporating all the usual suspects of indigenous Cypriot viticulture including Vasilissa, Mavro and Promara amongst others. The profile of this selection felt notably different to other ranges, partly due to the unfiltered approach to winemaking, the use of lees ageing in many of the wines and perhaps the different microclimate of the Panagias-Ampelitis PDO.
From Vouni-Paniya, it was a 35 minute drive to another family estate – Makarounas. Accessed by traversing an array of small villages and impossibly tight turns, we walked the last 200 metres up a narrow farm road to the winery. They have a lovely rustic tasting space where we settled in to listen to Theodoros Makarounas talk about his wines. We were all impressed by his enthusiasm and vision – Makarounas have done extremely well with exports to the UK with four lines in the Wine Society and Bancroft acting as importers. A Cabernet Franc is being stocked by Majestic in September. The wines are all really well made with stylish modern packaging that really stands out. This was yet another different expression of indigenous grape varieties that we were learning to love.
Back to the Alasia and then it was out for dinner. The esteemed Dionysus Mansion – a renowned Limassol restaurant was our destination. We sat outside in the warm air and experienced another fabulous selection of Cypriot cuisine. Washed down with more delicious Cypriot wines – it was a great final night meal.
Saturday 9th May
The tour was not yet over. We had one more visit and a snack lunch at our final family winery – Tsiakkas. Situated in the Pitsilia PDO, Kostas and Marina Tsiakkas set up the winery in the mid 90’s. Now run by three brothers and a sister, Tsiakkas is regarded as a leading Cypriot winery. They have developed a great tourist experience and they also command a magnificent view over the hills. Katerina, one of their oenologists, hosted the first part of the visit and delivered a fabulously succinct summary of Cypriot viticulture and history and virtually summarised everything we had learnt over the past four days. It was extremely impressive. Into the winery we saw barrels and amphorae before heading back into their tasting room. Kostas Tsiakkas hosted the first wine before Anastasia, another oenologist took over. Another array of local grapes ensued culminating in a truly magnificent Commandaria.
Our final visit was a great end to the tour, and it was an inspired party on the coach returning to Larnaca airport.