31.08.1999 - 12.09.1999

  We cyclops, have wine of our own, made from the grapes that our rich soil and timely rains produce. But this vine-harvest of yours is like nectar and ambrosia. (Homer, The Odyssey, I 355-360) 

Since the prehistoric times, the Mediteranean people used to know how to dedicate themselves to viniculture and the production of wine.

The ancients Greeks used to believe that Dionysus, the God of wine, was the one to offer them this “divine beverage”. They used to honour him and offer their worship with enthusiasm to him.

In the ancient times, the Greeks used to dedicate some of their time to the viniculture destinguishing the fields, which were more appropriate for the white grapes and the hills for the red ones. They used to fix the vines with poles, prune them and then gather the grapes in the sounds of flutelike music. Then juice was pressed from the grapes in a small, wooden winepress. The wine used to be transported to the market either in goatskins or pigskins or in huge jars. They sometimes used to boil it in salt water adding aromatic herbs like thyme and myrtle. They also put honey to preserve the liquit. As regards the process of diluting the wine, the Greeks used to believe that through this process, the evil effects of the wine were eliminated, the good effects of it were, however, preserved. Doctors, i.e.  Hippocrates and Galen, used to recommend a moderate consumption of wine.

It is obvious that the wine—drinking used to be a habit in the ancient Greeks' every day's life. Even children used sometimes to drink wine diluted in a glass of water.

Homer mentions that his heroes used to drink “mellow vintage or “honeyed” wine before and during every meal. Before starting their banquets, the ancient Greeks used to do the honours to Zeus at the table: they kept on drinking sweet perfumed wine (aperitif) and during the meal they used to drink wine diluted in water.

CYPRIOT NAMA

Cyprus has always been famous for its excellent wine and the Cypriots used to worship Dionysus, the God ol wine and pleasure enjoyed while drinking. Euripides, the Greek tragedian, writes about the "Cypriot Nama" and chooses the “smooth slopes” of the mount Olympus in Cyprus to which he refers to as the domain of the Muses, the Graces and the Bacchus.

In the early Christian years Saint Tychon, bishop of Amathus, worked a great miracle with a vine and some grapes. He planted a vine, which immediatly struck root, sent shoots and gave bunch of ripe and sweet grape. In the Byzantine times, wine used to be drink of eminent and renowned people. In the 16th century, and Italian traveller wrote about "the delicious Cypriot wine which has medicine properties and acts as a balsam in the organism". The Limassol region has been traditional wine producer in the island because of the great number of vineyards. In the villages of the region, each peasant has his own vineyard and they are all equipped in a way that they are professional producers of wine. They have also made provisions for storing it. The winegrowers felt extremely satisfied to offer their guests some wine kept in their cellars. Nowadays, Limassol respects its tradition. However having kept abreast with the progress, it is the centre of the big wine industries in Cyprus: ETKO, KEO, LOEL, and SODAP. Some smaller wine producers exist in the villages of the region.

LIMASSOL WINE FESTIVAL 

The Limassol Wine Festival was organized for the first time in 1961 to offer to the Cypriot and other visitors the possibility to taste the Cypriot wine and enjoy themselves. Since then, it has been established as an annual festive event, attracting not only the inhabitants of Limassol but also other people coming from every part of Cyprus. Every year thousands of visitors both Cypriot and foreign tourists go to the Limassol Municipal Garden to play a main role in a feast of human euphoria. They get rid of every anxious feeling, stress and tension that they experience in their every day life; they need to feel free and comfortable in a relaxed atmosphere. The Cypriot wine makes you open your eyes in another world, feel your body penetrated by the sun rays, feel the breeze on your skin, be fascinated by the beauty of island of Venus.

The Limassol Wine Festival reminds everybody somehow the festivities organized in the ancient times for worship purposes to honour Dionysus, the God of wine. Thousands of people visit the Limassol Municipal Garden every evening, during the duration of the Wine Festival, to share the atmosphere of happiness and joy. According to the poet, the Cyprus wine "is as soft as Muses' string".