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Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

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Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby Demonax » Sat Dec 14, 2013 1:12 am

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Commandaria wine from Cyprus is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest named wine in the world. According to legend, King Richard the Lionheart of England was so taken with commandaria that at his wedding in 1191 he pronounced it "the wine of kings and the king of wines".

The wine of kings...

Limassol, Cyprus (CNN) -- Cyprus is known for its sunshine, its ancient ruins and its delicious halloumi cheese, but one thing that is less well known is that it is also home to the oldest named wine in the world.

Commandaria is a dessert wine with a flavor as rich as its history. It is originally believed to have been given its name by crusading knights in the 13th century, but to have first been made up to 5,000 years ago.

It is produced in the fertile high-altitude slopes in the south-west of the island that became known as "La Grande Commanderie" during the Crusades. Around this time, the Knights of the Order of Saint John renamed the local wine after their new protectorate.

Throughout the following centuries, stories of the wine abound. According to legend, King Richard the Lionheart of England was so taken with commandaria that at his wedding he pronounced it "the wine of kings and the king of wines." Equally struck by the intoxicating liquor was the French King Philippe Augustus who is said to have declared it to be "the Apostle of wines".

Over time production continued to grow. By 1879 the British explorer Sir Samuel White Baker recorded that Cyprus was annually exporting 155,000 "okes" (a Turkish measurement that translates roughly to 230,000 liters) of commandaria to Austria alone.

In the coastal town of Limassol, on the sunny southern coast of Cyprus, the most popular brand of commandaria -- KEO St. John -- is produced to a recipe that is now protected by a legally enforced appellation, the only one held by Cyprus.

Antoniou Dimitris, senior oenologist at KEO, believes the wine they produce is very special. "In it you have all the elements of Cyprus: you have honey, herbs, vanilla, spices, and dried fruits such as plums ... it is very complicated," he says.

One distinguishing feature of commandaria is that after the grapes are picked, they are left in the sun for ten days, which increases the density of their sugars.

The grapes are then pressed, the wine is fortified (usually with a high percentage grape-based alcohol) and then it is aged for at least two years in oak barrels before being bottled. As the years roll by, the amber liquid intensifies in both viscosity and sweetness.


Full article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/13/busin ... ine-world/
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby bill cobbett » Sat Dec 14, 2013 1:33 am

A marvellous wine, strong and sweet and peppery and packed with flavours. Love it.

Many years ago, you used to see grapes laid out on sheets on the ground to dry. Is this still done???
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby kurupetos » Sat Dec 14, 2013 1:43 am

Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

No.
...oldest named wine in the world.

:wink:
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby Demonax » Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:19 am

kurupetos wrote:
Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

No.
...oldest named wine in the world.

:wink:


Cypriots thought to be first Mediterranean winemakers

New finds suggest Cyprus was 1,500 years ahead of neighboring vintners

Italian experts claim to have unearthed evidence that Cypriots were way ahead of other Mediterranean countries in producing wine and containers such as drinking goblets and jars.
:wink:
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby Flying Horse » Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:19 am

I obviously drink way too much wine, because I already knew this.....
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby GreekIslandGirl » Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:07 am

Yes, a well known fact but worthy of the odd reminder or two ... especially this time of year and when I cannot get my favourite tipple of Emva Cream, the Queen of Cyprus Sherries! :D What's happened to all their supplies?

Anyway, I have inherited a bottle of Commandaria stamped from 1923 which has been hanging around our family for 40 years so I don't feel I can crack that open, but I do also have a bottle of surprisingly cheap Commandaria which I bought in Lidl's in Paphos a few months ago - maybe I'll open that for Christmas. Sorted. :)
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby apc2010 » Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:12 am

GreekIslandGirl wrote:Yes, a well known fact but worthy of the odd reminder or two ... especially this time of year and when I cannot get my favourite tipple of Emva Cream, the Queen of Cyprus Sherries! :D What's happened to all their supplies?

Anyway, I have inherited a bottle of Commandaria stamped from 1923 which has been hanging around our family for 40 years so I don't feel I can crack that open, but I do also have a bottle of surprisingly cheap Commandaria which I bought in Lidl's in Paphos a few months ago - maybe I'll open that for Christmas. Sorted. :)


So you inherited a bottle of booze only 40 years old and won't use it.. yet SOME ? people sell their family land from 100 years ago..........
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby miltiades » Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:25 am

As a true Cypriot I can confirm that Wine is in my ...blood !!!

As a child I remember helping my grandad squash the grapes, thoroughly enjoyed bobbing up and down on the grapes.

Had my first real taste at about 11 years old, I remember well the occasion, the first time ever that ...cinema visited Stroumbi the Great !! Prior to that we had to make do with Karagiozis!!! :lol: :lol:
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby GreekIslandGirl » Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:34 am

apc2010 wrote:
GreekIslandGirl wrote:Yes, a well known fact but worthy of the odd reminder or two ... especially this time of year and when I cannot get my favourite tipple of Emva Cream, the Queen of Cyprus Sherries! :D What's happened to all their supplies?

Anyway, I have inherited a bottle of Commandaria stamped from 1923 which has been hanging around our family for 40 years so I don't feel I can crack that open, but I do also have a bottle of surprisingly cheap Commandaria which I bought in Lidl's in Paphos a few months ago - maybe I'll open that for Christmas. Sorted. :)


So you inherited a bottle of booze only 40 years old and won't use it.. yet SOME ? people sell their family land from 100 years ago..........


There you go! I respect my heritage! Be it medals, wine, land or 1950s dining sets. I hold on ... Are you still griping you sold your family land?
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Re: Commandaria: The oldest wine in the world?

Postby bill cobbett » Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:22 pm

Any agree with this...

That when we think of wine in a sort of Biblical sense, you know of the JC allegedly turning water in to wine kind, or in a historical sense like Cleopatra bathing in or drinking wine or whatever she did with it, or of the "wine of the gods", that we are thinking about a wine that's something similar to Commandaria and not some rubbish, wishy-washy Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest of the French-derived poor substitutes ...???
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