Our second Cyprus tour of the year has started and the group kicked off with a splendid dinner at the outstanding restaurant in the Alasia hotel. A superb mix of salads, calamari, sea bass, artichoke, pork fillet and dessert was washed down with some delicious Cypriot Rose, Xynisteri white and a Maratheftiko red from Tsiakkas – a winery we visit on Saturday.
It was an uncharacteristically cool and cloudy start to our second Cypriot day as we headed inland to the esteemed wineries of Zambartas and Vlassides. Both estates have been crucial to raising the profile of the revived Cyprus wine industry, but with different styles and approaches.
To Zambartas first and we met the wonderful Chelsea again who delivered a concise yet very informative overview of the winery and some history of the region. Along with Adrianna, Haris the winemaker and Marcos Zambartas, we weaved our way around 12 wines, the winery which had just finished harvesting and lunch! It was a fabulous four hours and we learnt a massive amount as we tasted a number of comparative Xynisteris, Mavros and Maratheftikos – and finishing with a sublime Commandaria – aged for 12 years in barrel.
From Zambartas, it was just 15 minutes to Vlassides – but enough time for all of us to receive a severe weather warning on our phones – a huge thunderstorm was due. However, we arrived at Vlassides and stayed dry despite sitting outside with lovely views of the surrounding countryside. Maria Dimitriou hosted our visit with great charm and aplomb as we tasted through seven wines. Vlassides do much experimentation with both indigenous and international grapes. Wild yeast ferments, extended barrel ageing and international blends all featured. The wines were all beautifully made and gave us an even deeper insight into the amazing indigenous grapes.
