Being in Cyprus and not trying the local wine is like going to France and not eating a single croissant. The tradition of winemaking here goes back more than five millennia. At the Wine Museum, located in the village of Erimi, you will learn in detail how this drink of the gods is made.
The village stands at the crossroads of the so-called “wine” routes that connected Limassol (considered the winemaking capital of Cyprus) with the villages of Omodos and Platres, where wine was also produced.
If you count them, around 200 grape varieties grow in the vicinity of Limassol. Their harvesting and processing are handled by 32 wineries. Incidentally, the famous “Commandaria” wine is produced at only five of them. If you ever come across a bottle of wine with that name from any country other than Cyprus, it will definitely be a fake.
The Wine Museum occupies several floors of an old mansion belonging to the family of the museum’s founder, Anastasia Gai. It features antique vases, amphorae, and pitchers in which wine used to be stored. The oldest vessel is a clay jug that is already 2500 years old.
During the tour, you can see winemaking tools and try to understand the wine production process, from planting a grape seed to bottling the precious drink.
Here you will definitely be taught the basics of tasting and be given the chance to try the best varieties. In the tasting hall, you can also buy a couple of bottles of wine or “zivania” - a strong alcoholic drink produced only in Cyprus.
