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 Konstantine Drougos of Wonderful Ethnic discusses Cypriot Wines with Rob Costantino, managing editor of Santé magazine.
U.S. Importers
ATHENEE IMPORTERS & DISTRIBUTORS
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Cypriot Wines Rich in History and Flavor By Doug Paulding Commandaria, is the oldest wine appellation in the world and is the oldest named wine in the world still in production, beginning at least 1,000 years BCE. The wine called Commandaria, made only with Xynesteri and Mavro grapes, is a delicious blockbuster sweet red dessert wine. Tasting like a tawny port, it has lower alcohol levels than the fortified Ports and displayed concentrated raisins and dried cassis with a long satisfying finish. Commandaria St. Nicholas produced by ETKO won a Grand Gold award at the Cyprus Wine Competition 2009. Cyprus is an ancient wine producing island in the northeast Mediterranean Sea peacefully nestled between Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Historically, Greece has had the most profound impact on the island with Greek culture and language everywhere. Phylloxera, the grape louse, which devastated vineyards worldwide, never touched Cyprus. As a result, the benefit is that there was never a need to rip out stricken orchards and start over with root grafts. However, adapting to "newer" production techniques such as oak barrel aging has generally been a recent adaptation in Cyprus. 
Etko's Commandaria Wins!
Commandaria St. Nicholas once again wins a Grand Gold award at the 4th Cyprus Wine Competition 2009. The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Dimitris Christofias, was present as well as ministers, mayors and other government officials. The judges committee consisted of Cypriot, Greek, Italian and British panelists, two of whom were oenologists, two wine writers, two sommeliers and one an OIV representative. There were 136 awarded wines. Two won Grand Gold awards, including the St. Nicholas Commandaria by Etko Wines. Wines from Cyprus were also well received this year at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival and the New York Wine Festival. 
KEO Comes to North America
KEO Beer, the much-loved brew of Cyprus, has now become available in Ontario, following a surge of demand from visitors to the Mediterranean island who were hoping to recapture some vacation splendor back home. In the production of KEO Beer, only the finest imported pilsner malt from Europe is chosen, keeping with the tradition and quality known of the pilsner. Highly selected hops and extra choice hops are also imported to be used in the perfect combination to ensure the production of a top-quality beer in every respect. KEO Beer is the only beer on the island of Cyprus produced by the ?chill sterilization? method, the most expensive system which produces the highest quality beers abroad. In combination with a minimum three month maturation period in underground refrigerated cellars, the chill sterilization method gives KEO Beer its unique flavor and guards against any loss of taste. KEO Beer, a Gold medal winner among bottled lagers worldwide, is represented in Ontario by Equis Trading, Inc, a New York based marketing firm. Go to Keo
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