Commandaria (Cyprus)
Commandaria is a sweet dessert wine made from sun-dried white Xynisteri and red Mavro grapes.
Commandria Flavors
 Honey |
 Raisins |
 Nuts |
 Spices |
Typical Commandria Flavors are Honey, Rasins, Nuts, and Spices.
Commandria Profile
Commandaria is a rich and sweet dessert wine.
| SUGAR: | 80g/l | ||
| BODY: | Medium - Full | ||
| ACIDITY: | Medium | ||
| ALCOHOL | 16-18% | ||
| |||
Food Pairing Full Body Commandaria
 Dried Fruit |
 Sweet Dessert |
 Roasted Almonds |
 Mature Cheese |
in Cyprus, Commandaria is served with dried fruit, Grape juice, nuts and almonds in caramel.
Commandaria is also deliciuos on its own and with a cigar.
About Commandaria
Commandaria is made from two Cyprus grapes: Xynisteri and Mavro.
The grapes are left to overripe on the vine until the sugar content reaches a high level. After the harvest, the grapes are dried in the sun to increase the sugar density through evaporation.
After pressing, the juice is fermented until the alcohol reaches about 15%.
When the fermentation is completed, the alcoholic strength may be increased by the adding pure grape alcohol. The final product may have between 20% and 22.5% alcohol.
Commandaria is aged for at least two years in Oak Barrels.
In 1191 King Richard I (the Lionheart) passed Cyprus on the third Crusade to the Holy Land. He conquered Cypros 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.
Some people say it is the world's oldest wine. It represents an ancient wine style, documented back to 800 BC, and is the world’s oldest named wine still in production. The wine has a rich history, said to date back to the time of the ancient Greeks, where it was a popular drink at festivals.