June 2008 Cyprus Wine Blog

Dear Friends of Monolithos,

Traditionally, wine is stored in a wine cellar. Under the proper storage conditions, at a uniform, consistent, cool temperature, wine actually improves in flavour and bouquet. If the temperature fluctuates too much, it can affect the quality of the wine and ruin its flavour.

In the modern home, which most likely is not equipped with a wine cellar, a wine refrigerator fills this need. Such a refrigerator keeps the wine at an ideal storing and serving temperature. It is a lot less expensive and takes up a lot less space than a cellar, so it is affordable for even the beginner wine enthusiasts. A wine refrigerator can be a great addition to your home appliance collection, especially if you are someone who likes to collect and serve vintage wines. Some wine refrigerators are created to prolong ageing of fine wines for a very long time. Wine refrigerators are frequently referred to as wine cabinets or wine coolers.

Many people may wonder what the difference between a wine cellar and a wine refrigerator is. Basically, a wine cellar is a room in a dark part of your home that acts like a big refrigerator. It has different “climate zones” for the different types of wine that you are storing and serving. This is all quite appealing, yet very expensive, which is why many people purchase a wine refrigerator instead.

A wine refrigerator is different from the commonly used refrigerator in many ways. Of course, wine can be stored in an ordinary refrigerator, but there are some problems here. The kitchen refrigerator in your home is probably set too cold for most wines, but more importantly, the temperature fluctuates every time the door is opened. Ideally, wine requires a constant temperature to maintain its integrity, and keeping it in poor conditions can cause chemical reactions that spoil the taste. A food refrigerator is normally kept at well below 10ºC (50ºF) which is much lower than the ideal temperature for storing wines. Furthermore, a wine refrigerator will protect your bottles from the odours of other foods, and against vibrations that can also spoil wine.

A wine refrigerator can be very useful when serving wine in warm climates such as in Cyprus, since it is designed to keep the wine consistently at just the right temperature. However, before purchasing a wine storage unit, it’s important to consider several factors and must-have features.

First, the unit should be large enough to accommodate the number of bottles you plan to buy and store. Most models can hold between 15 and 60 bottles; larger, built-in appliances can house hundreds of bottles.

Next, evaluate the number of temperature zones and compartments you may need. Some units offer only one large area, while others feature separate compartments, each with its own temperature control, a feature for serious collectors who need to store different kinds of wine. Some wine coolers come with three different temperature zones and separate temperature controls:

. Zone 1 for storage (also good for light red wines),

. Zone 2 for chilling white wines, and

. Zone 3 for chilling sparkling wines

Remember:

. Rich, red, full-bodied wines are best served between 15º-19ºC (59º-66ºF). If light red wines are your passion, you’re in luck as 13ºC (55ºF) is a very good temperature for both storing and serving these wines.

. Blush, rose and dry white wines are normally served between 8º-14ºC (46º-57ºF). If you intend using your wine refrigerator to chill them, you can choose the temperature you prefer. If using it both for storing and chilling, stay as close to 13ºC (55ºF) as possible.

. Sparkling wines and champagne tend to taste best at 6º-8ºC (43º-47ºF). In this case, you can set the wine refrigerator as such and simply consider drinking the champagne sooner, rather than storing it for extended periods.

The unit also should be designed for proper bottle positioning, so that the bottles lie flat “to keep the cork moist”. Wine should always be laid on its side so that the cork doesn’t dry out and shrink, which can allow air in the bottle and ruin the wine.

The large wine refrigerator units come in different types, sizes, styles and functions. With developments in technology, wine coolers have also come of age. Modern day wine coolers do not only control temperature, cooling and circulation, but are also able to read the bar codes on wine bottles, enabling precise controls of elements related to the coding.

Below are a few key features you might consider when looking to purchase a wine fridge:

Free-standing or built-in: A free-standing installation means that the unit stands alone. It can be kept in the basement for storage, in the kitchen for easy access, or in the living room to display while you entertain. Many people find that their wine storage unit is ideal built into their kitchen units or bar, however there are many who go a step further and have a purpose-built wine cellar.

Consequently, certain models are designed for specific areas, so you need to give consideration about where in your home you are going to keep the wine cooler. If, for instance, you are going to have it in the basement where guests rarely go, then you will not have to worry so much about what the cooler actually looks like. However if you are making a focal point in the home where it will stand out for all to see, then you should make sure it is aesthetically appealing and that it blends in with the other existing décor.

Bottle Capacity: Another important factor is how much wine you intend to store. The total volume refers to the overall size and capacity of the refrigerator. After all, this is what is going to determine the size of wine cooler you eventually purchase. Most wine enthusiasts plan to store between 24 and 120 bottles of wine at any given time. In general, wine storage and cooling units can hold as few as six bottles, and as many as 166+. A good size wine refrigerator may, among other things, feature a double-paned tempered glass door, electronic controls with and LED display, and slide-out wooden racks. A number of shelves can accommodate different bottle dimensions and may also have energy-efficient capabilities.

Bottle Size: Depending on your preferences, you may want to check if your unit can store both 750ml and 1.5L bottles. Another size consideration is that today’s 750ml wine bottles come in a variety of heights and diameters, including the larger diameter or taller bottles.

Temperatures in a Wine Refrigerator: Wine refrigerators are made of stainless steel or woods in difference sizes. Always purchase one with an adjustable thermostat which allows you to select the ideal temperature for your wine, from 48°F to 60°F. Dual zone wine refrigerators are very good for storing both red and white wine at different temperatures. Look out for digital controls for both sections so you can get exact temperature adjustments and check how easy is it to adjust the temperature. Most units have digital temperature readout on the front panel.

Humidity: Humidity also plays an important part in storing wine, which is why humidity control is a must in a wine cooler. It is best to store your wines at about 50% to 80% humidity, with 70% as the ideal. Look for a unit that maintains optimum temperature and humidity which is equipped with plastic drip trays/pads for condensation.

Defrost: With manual defrost, you simply have to turn the refrigerator off to let warm air melt any build-up of ice. Auto defrost systems automatically turn the unit on and off during timed cycles limiting the build-up of ice. However, auto defrost freezers may still need to be manually defrosted about once or twice a year, depending on usage.

Light: An attractive, soft, interior light helps you see and select the wine bottles without having to open frequently the door, thereby causing fluctuations in the temperature. You can choose a cooler with a light that only goes on when the door is opened, goes or off manually, or is permanently on. If the light is always on and the cooler is in a living area, make sure the door is tinted so that the light doesn’t annoy you if you are watching TV or sleeping on the sofa nearby! Other issues to consider with lighting are: where do you purchase replacement bulbs, and how do you replace them.

Quiet, energy-efficient operation: A unit with low noise, vibration free, quiet, and energy-efficient operation is what you should aim for. An anti-tip feature for exceptional rack stability and vibration control is an additional feature to consider as wine should not be shaken. The compressors on fridges vibrate a little when they are turned on or off, so in order to alleviate this problem, many wine fridges come with specially coated racks that grip your wine or champagne bottles and limit vibrations. Others have compressors that are mounted on rubber blocks to eliminate the shaking.

Shelves: The interior shelving is definitely a feature you want to look at closely. The better units come with wooden racks while basic models have only chrome/wire shelves. The wine racks can be made of metal or wood and the wine storage that you choose will be a matter of personal taste. Both of these racks choices are attractive, however the metal racks do tend to be more flamboyant and trendy, while the wooden racks are classic and traditional in style. Other useful features include slide-out racks, adjustable shelves, digital controls, and security locks. Consider purchasing a unit with slide-out wooden shelves and an anti-tip feature.

Ease of Reading Labels: If you have a larger capacity unit, it is going to be difficult to mentally keep track of the wines you have in store. Even with a great inventory system, you may want to consider a unit with shelves that pull out. This way, you will be able to easily read the labels of the wines in the rack, without having to pull out each bottle.

Doors: “Door opens” refers to the side of the refrigerator the door’s hinge is on. When a product lists both left and right, this generally means that the hinges can be installed on either side for opening the wine cooler from the left or right, a very convenient and easy-to-use feature. Unlike regular kitchen refrigerators that have solid doors, many wine coolers come with glass doors so the owner can view the wine or show it off to his/her guests. The glass doors are actually more expensive than those with solid doors but they don't insulate nearly as well. Consequently, features often include a reversible tempered double-glass door. The tempered glass door is shatter-resistant, which is a safety measure and prevents serious injuries from occurring if one accidentally knocks into the glass.

Also, keep in mind that tinted glass doors preserve wine from ultraviolet rays which degrade the quality, especially sparkling wines.

Lock and Key: Some models have locks and alarms to let you know if the door has been accidentally left ajar, and ensure that only you can access your finest wines. A lockable door is important for storing alcohol in homes with children.

Customer and repair service: Lastly, the wine refrigerator should have a 3-5 year limited warranty, and the supplier should be in a position to provide after-sales service, including repair service.

Concluding, remember that wine needs to be kept in a cool, dark, damp place with clean and odourless air, where it can be stored vibration-free at a constant temperature. Therefore, you must take into consideration the environmental factors that affect the wine which include humidity, temperature, ventilation, calm and the angle that the bottle is stored at. Better wine storage equates to better tasting wine. Both red and white wine enthusiasts can benefit from a wine storage unit, provided such a unit is purchased which suits their preferences in storage space, size, looks and usability. All of these things are taken into consideration and properly addressed by a quality wine cooler.

Wine News and Information

Twenty-five members of the Italian military police have qualified as sommeliers in order to combat fraud in the industry. Elite officers of the Carabinieri del Nac (anti-fraud squad) recently passed exams given by the Italian Sommeliers Association based in Rome. The combat-ready sommeliers will use their new-found expertise as part of their existing responsibilities for Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. They will also conduct special investigations and act as liaisons to the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

A member of the European Parliament has requested an enquiry into illegal price fixing by glass bottle makers in Europe. German MEP Werner Langen has written to the European Commission asking for an investigation into possible price fixing by the dominant glass producers – none are named in his request – as well as excessive bottle price hikes of up to 30% in 2007. The three largest glass suppliers in Europe are Owens-Illinois Inc., Saint Gobain and Ardagh Glass. The European Commission has accepted Langen’s request, but has not yet launched an official investigation.

The price of a wine is far more important than taste when it comes to the amount of pleasure the wine gives you, a study has found. Most people prefer inexpensive to expensive wines when served them blind. But if they are given a price tag, even a false one, they will find the apparently costlier one more enjoyable. The American Association of Wine Economists, in a paper published recently, reports on the results of a series of 17 blind tastings conducted in February in which non-experts consistently preferred cheaper wines.

This finding reinforces the conclusion of another study published in January in which student volunteers, tasting blind, preferred the cheapest wine in the sampling. They chose the most expensive when given price information, even though this information was in fact misleading. The latest review finds that even those with wine training, such as sommeliers, are only marginally likely to pick out pricier bottles as superior, say the authors. They conclude that “both the prices of wine and wine recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers.”

Monolithos Monthly News

A Mediterranean climate is one in which summers are very warm with little or no rainfall and mild, wet winters. The autumn and spring seasons vary from mostly dry on the hot, equatorial fringes bordering deserts to wet where Mediterranean climates merge into those in central and Western Europe. This climate is particularly suited to grape growing, and much of the world's wine production comes from the areas enjoying this climate. From a consumer perspective, the wines, food and lifestyle of the Mediterranean are fast becoming well understood in all parts of the world. It seems that consumers know Mediterranean. They relate to Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean cuisine, and Mediterranean lifestyle. Putting wine in this mix makes sense to the modern consumer.

There is a popular belief that “wine quality starts in the vineyard”. So, it is important that special attention and care is given to the growth of the grapes used in wine production. It is a year-round process that can either be successful or worthless. During late spring to early summer, weather plays a big factor in the growth of the vine shoots. Grape leaves are removed to allow the fruit to achieve the highest amount of sunlight to maximize ripening. These leaves are tender and provide an important ingredient with Mediterranean dishes.

If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna you can taste some of these dishes at the local Linos Tavern. However if you wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

We thank you for your continued support, take care and remember the toast:

“Friendship is the wine of life; let's drink of it and to it.”

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos

May 2008 Cyprus wine Blog

Cork has been used since antiquity as a stopper for bottles because of its compressive abilities. Corks come from the bark of cork oaks, and have a similar flavour to gentle oak from a barrel. In addition, they provide a measure of oxygen exchange with the wine, since even though they provide a perfect seal between the wine and the outside air, corks contain oxygen in pores and share that with the wine. Its attributes as a good seal make it the closure of choice – easily removable from a bottle, chemical inertness and long-term stability.

It’s no secret that wine in a bottle with a cork does change with time as oxygen seeps slowly in through the pores. A bad cork, which can be found in even the most expensive batches, will ruin the wine it’s in contact with. However, there are wines that can and do evolve in the bottle, and the vast majority are ready to be drunk as soon as they’re bottled. Subsequent interaction with the atmosphere through the cork can only hasten their decline.

Cork is susceptible to a contaminant called TCA (2, 4, 6-Trichloroanisole). At low levels, TCA, also called cork taint, is barely noticeable. At higher levels, it smells like wet cardboard, and can render a wine impotent – flat and dull-tasting. The failure rate for traditional corks ranges from 3-5%. Wineries and retailers face consumers’ complaints every day.

Corks of the highest quality normally remain good for decades. However, with the increased demand for corks, more lower quality ones are being used, resulting in many starting to crumble at 10 to 15 years. Several years ago, the industry became aware of what seemed to be a growing quality control problem with corks. Winemakers began moving to alternatives in the past decade because of problems with cork that were ruining wines. The cork industry did react as winemakers fled to other options, cleaning up its production and screening the process to cut down on taint, such as using better wood and quicker drying methods.

Today, the wine industry is rapidly embracing alternatives to natural cork. The most promising of these are the synthetic cork, screw-caps and, most recently, glass stoppers.

Synthetic corks, derived from plastic, appeared to be a viable alternative. A synthetic cork is designed to look and function like natural cork. They are made from plastic compounds that are designed to look and “pop” like natural cork, but without the risk of TCA contamination. There are three main production techniques for synthetic wine closures: injection moulding, extrusion moulding and the Vinova-type production, which combines the advantages of both injection moulding and extrusion moulding. A 2007 study at Bordeaux University showed that synthetic corks allow the highest levels of oxygen permeation when compared to natural cork and screw-caps, offering the lowest protection against oxidation of the wine. It is hard to imagine plastic corks letting in oxygen, but they do, mainly down the side of the bottle neck between the glass and the plastic cork. Manufacturers know this and they therefore make these plastic corks so large that is hard to remove the cork from the bottle, let alone put it back in. Surprisingly, modern science hasn’t yet been able to come up with a synthetic substance that shares cork’s properties of elasticity and compressibility.

A wine that has spent too long in a bottle with a plastic cork will prematurely age, causing the wine to lose fruity aromas. Plastic corks can also impart a slight chemical flavour to the wine. Unlike natural corks, many synthetic corks are made from material that is not biodegradable. The other problem is the question of whether the synthetic material is truly non-reactive and inert over long periods. Will it impart no flavours of its own to the wine? Over time, these corks can absorb flavours from the wine known as scalping. Naturally, wineries using these plastic corks are deliberately ageing wines to see what happens, but it is too soon by several years to know the outcome. One other concern about synthetic closures is the ruthless efficiency with which they strip the Teflon coating from more expensive models of corkscrews.

Nonetheless, more and more low- and mid-range producers are switching to synthetic corks because they are the cheapest to manufacture, are 100% TCA-free and marketing departments love to print anything they like on them. Of course, it should be pointed out that some makes of plastic cork are more efficient than others, and product development is occurring all the time, so we may yet see serious plastic alternatives to corks.

Screw-caps became a popular option and are now seen topping many fine wines. The modern metal bottle cap was developed by the prolific Maryland inventor William Painter, who patented his first stopper in 1885. By 1891, his classic design, a cork-lined metal cap with a corrugated edge that is crimped around the bottle lip, appeared. Painter called his invention the “crown cap”, founded the Crown Cork and Seal Company to market it, and subsequently became very wealthy. The crown cap was the industry standard for nearly 80 years. In 1955, the crown cap’s cork liner was replaced by plastic, and a high-speed machine to inspect crown seals was introduced in 1958.

In the 1960s, the Coca-Cola Company offered lift-top crown caps. The push-on, twist-off cap was first developed for baby food. Screw-caps for carbonated beverages appeared in the 1960s and 1970s and are the standard today. The traditional crowned bottle cap has been used in the sparkling wine industry as a closure during the bottle fermentation process. Normally, the cap is replaced with a cork before shipping, though recently, some producers are releasing wines using the crown cap as their closure. The crown caps provide a tight seal without risking cork-taint. Although easier to open, crown caps eliminate part of the ceremony and mystique of opening a sparkling wine.

Screw-caps are made up of two parts: a metal outer capsule and a disc typically made from a layer of tin sandwiched between PVDC and white polyethylene. A screw-cap provides the best seal for bottled wines, and eliminates the “corked” and oxidation problem. It provides an excellent air-tight seal, although there is a question as to whether or not it will protect the wine over a very long period of time. A university study in Bordeaux showed that screw-cap closures allowed the lowest amount of oxygen penetration when compared to natural and synthetic corks, offering the highest level of protection against oxidation of the wine. The screw cap is an extremely efficient method of sealing a bottle of any consumable liquid, be it a carbonated drink, beer, salad dressing, orange juice, tomato sauce, mineral water – or wine.

But with the widespread use of screw-caps in wine during the last few years, some technical issues have emerged, surrounding post bottling sulphur chemistry, known more commonly as “reduction”. Closures study by the Australian AWRI showed that while the screw-capped wine kept fruit freshness and retained free sulphur dioxide the best of all closures, it suffered from a sensory defect described by the experts as a “rubber-like character”. This was attributed to the lack of oxygen. The tests by AWRI indicated that an anaerobic closure is not appropriate for all types of wine.

As mentioned above, the screw-cap is simply a means for holding a liner in position to the rim of the bottle. It is the properties of this liner that determine the oxygen transmission levels of the closure. Additional findings from research in the field of screw-cap closures showed that the post-bottling development of the wine is influenced by a number of factors, including the state of the wine at bottling, the free sulphur dioxide level, the oxygen pick-up during bottling, headspace extent and the oxygen transmission through the closure.

So far, the evidence obtained suggests that the issue of bad odours in screw-capped wines due to lack of oxygen is problematic, and winemakers should pay more attention to the potential loss of quality over time. Currently, the extent of screw-cap reduction is unclear. As with synthetic closures, there isn’t yet the necessary weight of evidence concerning long-term ageing necessary for important producers to switch from cork to screw-cap. Aside from the quality issue, the image of a screw cap is firmly lodged in many minds as an indication of a cheap wine. Many wine producers, sensitive to the fine wine market, hesitate to switch to a screw-cap because they do not want their wine to be perceived as of inferior quality.

Using a glass stopper with an inert o-ring creates a hermetic seal that prevents oxidation and TCA contamination. A disadvantage with this closure is the relatively high cost of each plug, as well as the cost of manual bottling due to the lack of compatible bottling equipment outside of Europe. Another product still in the development stage is a second-generation glass stopper that works like an ampoule.

A screw-cap costs about the same as a low-priced cork. A plastic cork is much cheaper. But the debate about the effectiveness of these methods of closure rages on. The main concern is that there is not sufficient proof as yet that wines bottled using synthetic closures age in the same way as those bottled using natural cork, a proven although admittedly imperfect material. Cork has been used for a long time and still has a lot of loyal fans. Of course, it also has many passionate critics.

At the moment no one can claim that there is a perfect closure. All of them have their advantages and their disadvantages. Wine bottled under cork tastes mellow, sweeter (similar to sweet oak), richer, more open and more evolved. It also tastes lower in acid, which translates to a perception of sweetness.

Wines bottled under screw-caps taste fresher, higher in acid, younger, tighter, and more mineral. The lack of oxygen means that the wine tends to keep its fruity character longer and does not oxidise (turn to vinegar) as quickly. However, screw-cap wines tend to be more reductive (the opposite of oxidisation). Too much reductive character in the wine is not the best, and flavours such as burnt matches, onion, garlic, cabbage, nuttiness, cat’s pee and sweaty aromas can occur. Lower levels of reductive characters are thought by some to produce the mineral character in many fine wines as well as green pepper and blackcurrant notes in some. So as with oxidisation in wine, a small controlled amount can be good, but too much is usually a problem. While it’s clear that corks don’t allow very much air transfer (if they did, the wine would rapidly disintegrate), they may allow just a tiny amount.

During the last 300 years, natural cork has had a monopoly, and it is apparent that there will never be another monopoly. Synthetic corks, screw-caps, even glass stoppers are some of the alternatives undergoing intensive scientific research and in the last 10 years, we have probably seen more innovation in closures for wine bottles than we have in the past 100 years. The emerging competition has even caused the cork industry to innovate, which is great. It is an exciting time at the moment with closures for wine. It is going to continue to be so, but ultimately, it’s the marketplace that decides. Cork will have a place; screw-caps will as well. But plastic will also be strong because it’s the cheapest closure, and glass stoppers will probably be used for some wines. It seems obvious that producers will start using other types of closures apart from cork, especially for medium- to low-range wines in order to lower costs, prevent tainted and faulty wines and as new packaging and image exercises.

If the main goal of the winemaker is to produce quality wines that require bottle ageing in order to improve, then the option of natural cork seems to be the most appropriate. Advantages for the storage of wine with natural cork have already been outlined, but a very important factor is that cork has proven itself to be a relatively good and reliable option for more than a century. What also looks obvious is that until more experience in ageing premium wines is gathered and more research is conducted, these wines will continue to use natural cork. At present, top producers of premium and cult wines are not keen on taking any risk and are very reluctant to use other closures than cork. Also, the consumer is not used to seeing a prestigious wine being associated with plastic or non-natural closures.

Currently lacking are independent, statistically robust data showing how alternative closures perform over extended periods. Until the data show that the performance of the various alternative closures closely tracks that of natural cork over extended periods, most wine producers will probably stick with the latter for sealing their fine wines intending to cellar for more than a couple of years.

In general, people like corks. They’re natural, they look and feel right, and the ritual of getting the corkscrew out is part and parcel of the wine drinking experience. Furthermore, while most experts now agree that the screw-cap is the closure of choice for fresh white wines and easy-drinking reds, there’s some debate about whether they are suitable for red wines destined for long ageing. Not enough research has been carried out to date to sort out the problems and find the solutions, if the problems can be solved. The reason for this doubt is that people like the way that fine wines evolve over time when they are closed with a fault-free cork. At the end of the day, it is the winemaker’s decision to use the right closure, but it is for the marketer to decide what’s appropriate for where that product will be sold. It is not just a winemaking issue: we have to deliver what the market requires.

Wine News and Information

A British survey has found that affluent professionals who earn more than $100,000 a year, drink more than twice as much wine as the average person, in many cases exceeding safe drinking limits. These pleasure-seekers also visit restaurants more often than most, dining on rich, fatty food. As a result of their lifestyle, they face serious health risks, even though they may not appear unhealthy.

Most of these work-hard, play-hard professionals assume that they are healthy by drinking red wine, which, in small amounts, has purported heart-protective benefits. But when it is served in huge goblets, they drink way too much. A large glass of red wine can contain as much as three units – more than the recommended daily maximum for women. And experts warn that eating lots of fat and drinking too much helps fat gather around the organs, raises cholesterol and dilates the heart.

The French drink less than previously thought, according to new figures that question the way the government has been measuring drinking statistics. The APV (Association Presse du Vin) has claimed that the official statistics have aided the anti-drinking lobby which is becoming increasingly powerful in France. In fact, APV claims the nation is only drinking 43 litres per head (a figure on a par with Spain and Italy), not 54l as previously thought. The reason for the discrepancy is that the national statistics office (Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques) simply divides the amount of wine sold by the number of inhabitants. The official statistics consider that wines bought by around 60 million tourists each year are not in fact drunk by the French, and do not take into account that many wines are bought to be laid down for future consumption, or are bought over-the-border and taken back to other countries.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) announced that about 266.7 million hectolitres of wine was produced in 2007, 6.9% less than in the previous year, while consumption was roughly unchanged at 240.6 million hectolitres. About 7.899 million hectares of land was given over to wine production in 2007, down from 7.908 million a year before. The sharpest production decline has been in Europe, where the European Commission wants sweeping changes to wine policy – including cash incentives for producers to dig up their vines – to finally drain the European Union's lakes of surplus wine. Europe’s five leading wine exporters – Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain – have seen their share of world trade slip to 61.8% in 2007, from an average 78.8% in the late 1980s.

Ribera del Duero has created a wine with “charisma” and “unique sensibility” to honour the gay community. This is “a small step in making homosexuality normal and acceptable”, according to Mundo Gay spokesman Fernando Martín. “With gay marriage having been introduced in Spain and more liberty in the country, we wanted to take a step towards opening people’s minds in the small agricultural area of Ribera del Duero”, Martín said. According to its creators, Mundo Gay aims to live up to its name through showing a “special charisma, unique sensibility and defined style”. The tasting note reads: “Powerful nose, with spicy primary notes and secondary notes of chocolate and nuts.” Elegant, suave and meaty on the palate, this is not the first wine targeted at the gay community. In 2004, New Zealand husband and wife winemakers Kim and Erica Crawford launched Pansy rosé in Sydney in time for the city’s annual gay Mardi Gras parade.

Monolithos Monthly News

Weed control is the single most important cultural practice in any vineyard, particularly during springtime. The soil is worked again and unwanted vegetation is removed. Without weed control, other cultural practices such as cultivation, nitrogen fertilization and vine pruning severity will be incapable of promoting vine size development. When these cultural practices are used in combination with weed control, however, they can have a positive, additive influence on vine growth. We at Monolithos subscribe to the philosophy that wine quality is dictated mainly by the grapevines, or in other words, the better the grapes, the better the wine. If you have a proper growing site that has good drainage, access to full sunlight and nutrient-poor soil, you can micromanage their development and pick them at the moment of perfection.

During the last few weeks, the Ayios Stephanos 2007 production, both white and red wines, were cold stabilised and bottled. All 2007 white wines and the new “Monolithos Red” are now ready for tasting or purchasing.

If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

We thank you for your continued support, take care and remember the words of the British author Rebecca West (1892-1983):

“Most works of art, ­like most wines, ought to be consumed in the district of their fabrication.”

April 2008 Cyprus wine blog

Dear friends of Monolithos,

Selecting the most appropriate bottle closure for a particular wine is another controversial topic in the wine world that has triggered considerable debate in recent years. This short article will investigate questions which are of interest to consumers, collectors and wine lovers. However, it is important to look first into the history which brought about the extensive use of cork as a wine stopper.

Wine and cork are two products that have long been companions. The ancient Greeks used corks sometimes to close wine jugs. Proof of this is an amphora from the 1st century BC found in Ephesus: it was not only was sealed with a cork stopper but also still contained wine. Following in their footsteps, the Romans too used cork as a stopper and also coated corks with pitch to seal the closure. In Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, wine amphorae sealed with cork have also been found.

The use of corks was apparently completely given up in mediaeval times. We find corks beginning to be mentioned again at the end of the 16th century. Cork’s success as a closure depends upon its fitting snugly into an opening with a relatively uniform diameter. Thus, it was not until the 17th century, when glass bottles were first made with more or less uniform openings, that cork truly became popular. The popularity of cork as a stopper led to deliberate cultivation of cork trees, which prior to about 1760 had simply been harvested wherever they happened to grow.

Many wine historians have linked the development of the glass bottle and its cork stopper as two necessary prerequisites for the modern international wine trade. Wine no longer needed be shipped in bulky, awkward clay vessels or wooden barrels. The economies of space enabled ships to carry more wine and the wine was much less subject to spoilage in the shipment. Because cork stoppers prevented oxygen from spoiling the wine, both in shipment and in subsequent storage, it became evident that wine benefited from its maturing time in the bottle. The desirable properties of aged wine made it more valuable and collecting and cellaring wines from many different regions became both feasible and profitable. In the almost 300 years intervening between the renewed usage of cork and the end of the 20th century, cork has been the overwhelming closure of preference for fine wines around the world.

The vast majority of corks are made from the bark of the oak tree Quercus Suber, and come from the oak forests of Portugal. Virtually all of the world’s commercial cork trees grow in the western Mediterranean region and the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal's cork forests are the most productive. Accounting for 30% of the existing trees, they produce half of the world’s harvested cork. After planting, a cork tree is ready for its first commercially acceptable cork harvest when it is about 40 years old. Subsequent harvests occur at nine-year intervals, when the cork layer reaches a thickness of 1-2 in (2-5 cm). The bark is then removed from the tree once it is thick enough for industrial exploitation. Each tree has a productive life of about 150 years.

There are several very sound reasons for cork’s continuing popularity. Cork’s component materials and structure give it a unique set of physical and mechanical properties that make it ideal as a bottle closure. Some of the most important are its lightness and its resistance to moisture penetration. It can be compressed to half its dimension with no loss of its flexibility, and it can be compressed in diameter without expanding its length. When removed from compression, cork will recover about 85% of its initial volume immediately and more than 98% after 24 hours. It has an exceptional power of adhesion to wet, smooth surfaces, it is stable in temperature changes, it exhibits age stability and is biodegradable. Cork is the only material known that compensates for small imperfections in glass.

Cork is composed of tiny air-containing cells. In fact, the cork is a time capsule of the air that was present during the eight years the bark took to grow back to the proper diameter to be harvested. The cell walls contain suberin, a waxy substance that makes cork water-resistant. Over half of the volume of cork is empty space, which is why it floats in water and is easily compressible into the bottleneck. Natural cork’s flexibility allows it to conform to irregularities of the bottleneck. Cork became the traditional wine closure centuries ago, principally because it was the only material available for the job at the time, back when homes were lit by candles and oil lamps.

The job of the cork, whatever it may be made of, is to prevent oxygen from coming into contact with the wine, thereby oxidizing it. A good closure serves two purposes: it keeps the liquid in the bottle and it keeps the oxygen out. Added to this is the economics of the operation, where a relation must exist between the cost of the closure and the quality of the wine. With these objectives in mind, a first consideration for the producer will be the different types of closures available.

There are several different types of wine corks available. Type selection is dependent on the type of wine being sealed and the expectant length of time before the wine is consumed. Other factors determining wine cork type selection and treatments include bottling speed, still or sparking wines, sweet or dry wines, red or white wines, bottle size and type. There are alternatives to the standard cork, however, the motives behind these alternatives are in sometimes financial, and in some cases a quest for quality and consistency.

A fairly standard natural cork comprises a single piece of bark of about 24 mm diameter. This is about 6 mm wider than the internal diameter of the neck of the average wine bottle, which ensures a tight fit, provided the cork doesn’t dry out and contract.

Natural wine corks are “punched” from specially selected corkwood, carefully inspected for flaws, washed, sterilized, and printed or fire branded. There are seven standard grades of natural wine corks carefully sorted into respective quality grades, first by automatic laser sorting machines, followed by final manual hand sorting. Wine corks are available in a wide variety of both standard and custom sizes, the most common being 45 mm long x 24 mm diameter and 38 mm long x 24 mm diameter. The technical specifications are the same for all sizes. The diameter of the cork is on average 24 mm. The jaws of the corker compress the cork to16 mm to fit it into the bottleneck. After insertion, the cork bounces back to 18 mm – the diameter of the bottleneck – which means that 6 mm or 25% of the cork is pushing out against the glass to create the seal. To improve the seal, the cork is coated with paraffin, which repels wine and Silicone, which acts as a lubricant to ease insertion and extraction.

Another popular type of cork is the double disc or twin top cork. This type of wine stopper is a combination of agglomerated cork (forming the main body of the stopper) and natural cork (the ends of the agglomerated body are laminated with natural cork discs). The discs are available in several different qualities. The benefit of these highly technical stoppers is consistency of density, quality, function and price.

Another product made of natural wine cork is the colmated or pore-filled cork. In this case, the pores in natural wine corks are filled and sealed with a mixture of fine cork grains and FDA approved resins. Due to the economical cost of these stoppers, pore-filled wine corks are ideal for volume wines. The technical specifications are similar to those of natural wine corks.

An agglomerate cork is manufactured from tiny pieces of chopped cork, bound together by glue. The motive behind this closure is financial – the process allows for otherwise wasted pieces of oak bark to be made into something saleable. These stoppers are manufactured from clean natural cork grain. The grain is milled using the “waste” by-product from natural wine cork production. Agglomerate wine corks are economically priced and easy to use. Maintaining the agglomerate stopper technical specifications ensures successful sealing and good performance.

During the production of bottle stoppers, chemical baths are used to condition the corks. Among the more popular are a chlorinated lime bath followed by a neutralizing bath of oxalic acid, a hypochlorite bath neutralized by sodium oxalate, and a peroxide bath neutralized with citric acid. Production of compound agglomerated cork involves adding a binder or adhesive agent to cork granules. Different binders are chosen, depending on the qualities desired in the ultimate product (e.g., flexibility, softness, resistance to wear). Among those frequently used are asphalt, rubber, gypsum, glue, and plastic.

Natural cork is very light, and it's natural tendency to dry out and shrink can easily be counteracted by keeping it constantly wet and "nourished" by the wine it comes into contact with. Thus the cork stays elastic, and once inside the bottleneck it adheres to the sides, perfectly sealing the bottle. This is why naturally corked bottles should always be kept lying almost horizontally with the bottle, neck slightly angled downwards. In fact, in wine cellars, specifically made bottle racks keep the bottles at just the right inclination for exactly this reason.

In addition to drying out, two other enemies of natural corks are fungus and mould which can contaminate the cork tree or the corks themselves during fabrication. When this unfortunate event occurs, the wine takes on an unpleasantly bitter smell. Today, this is prevented by washing the corks in hot water or subjecting them to a micro-wave treatment.

Even though every problem has a solution, the risk remains: at the moment of buying a bottle of wine, there is no way to ascertain the condition of a natural cork. It's always best to shop in a trusted wine shop or at least a well-known one, if you are buying very fine wine. Once in the store, it is advisable to choose wine bottles (with natural cork) that are lying down in the rack, instead of bottles that are standing up straight.

The major disadvantage of cork and the reason for searching for alternative closures is TCA (2-4-6 Tricloroanysole). The latter is responsible for the unpleasant tainting which gives a powerful fungal aroma and flavour to the wine, and that accounts for almost 4% of faulty wines produced. It originates in a reaction between a penicillium mould in the crevices of the cork and the chlorine-containing chemicals used in the sterilising process.

Because of the significant number of natural corks that are contaminated which result in corked wine (a generally accepted figure is about 5% of all bottles), many winemakers are opting for alternative methods of closure such as synthetic and glass closures and screw caps . Many claim that a natural cork is in and of itself synonymous with indisputable quality in a bottle of wine. However, expert opinions don't all agree. In fact, lately it's not unusual to find even bottles of fine wine with synthetic corks.

In summary, the secret to cork performance is its unique cell structure, which technology cannot replicate. Cork consists of a honeycomb of tiny cells made from suberin, a complex fatty acid, and filled with an air-like gas. There are on average about 40 million cells per cubic centimetre of cork, or around 800 million cells in a single wine cork. Cork's cell-like structure makes it easy to compress and thus less liable to damage from corking machines. Amazingly, the cork is capable of being compressed to about half its width without losing any flexibility, and it is the only solid that can be compressed in one dimension without increasing in another dimension.

The cushion-like cork cells also display what is known as elastic memory. When compressed, they constantly try to return to their original size, thus maintaining a tight seal. This means the cork exerts a very even pressure against the surface of the bottle neck and can compensate for imperfections in the bottle. Being elastic, cork is also more tolerant than other materials of changes to temperature and pressure. In addition to these characteristics, cork's lightness and chemical inertness make it ideally suited as a wine closure. Cork resists moisture and can age for long periods without deteriorating.

Cork is also a natural product, recyclable and biodegradable. From this perspective, natural corks are one of the best materials for carrying out its protective function, provided it is of optimum quality.

Wine News and Information

UK wine drinkers are set to become the most heavily taxed in Europe after the government announced a 14p increase on a bottle of wine. The shock decision comes as consumers already face price increases on the back of rising costs for grapes, packaging, glass, transportation and energy. The increases, announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in his first budget, are set at 6% above the rate of inflation. They will create a £1.46 duty burden on a 75cl bottle of wine – 7p higher than the rate in Ireland, previously the most highly-taxed wine market in the European Union. The rises also mean 18p more on a bottle of sparkling wine, 20p more on a bottle of fortified wine and 55p extra on a typical bottle of spirits. A pint of beer will be 4p more expensive, while cider goes up by 3p per litre. Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade, stated that: “It is bizarre at a time when the economy is slowing, that prices are rising and many families are feeling the pinch that the Government should choose to add to their burden by making the simple pleasure of a glass of wine or spirits considerably more expensive.”

Peter Spencer, senior vice president sales for Constellation Europe, said that Constellation would have to pass the increase onto the consumer. “I believe this duty hike will mean that prices across the wine category will rise substantially, and that it will herald the end of wine at the £3.99 price point, as it is simply unlikely that any wine producer can supply wine at this price.”

South African Wine Council chairman Professor Kader Asmal has announced wide-ranging responsibilities and targets for social transformation in the wine industry. The issues to be tackled include a responsible alcohol use master plan, rural development and poverty alleviation, security of tenure and matters relating to farm evictions, and sectoral determination and employment conditions. Asmal said the improvement in the quality of life of farm workers “as a most vulnerable community in the wine industry” had to be seen as an important development indicator. Asmal said land reform, which was incorporated in the wine charter, was viewed as an “important element of transformation and social stability in the wine-lands”. He said successful social transformation in the industry would be subject to “mutual respect and co-operation of all parties involved”, and would not compromise sustainability or international competitiveness.

Monolithos Monthly News

The growing season is officially underway. Bud-break begins and new spring greenery is easily visible in vineyards. Bud-break is an annual stage in the growing season when vine buds crack open and small shoots emerge. It marks the end of the winter dormancy and the start of the new crop. Springtime sunshine warms up the hill sites and coaxes bud growth on vines. Vineyard owners are mostly engaged in soil management at this time of year. This means the row space between the vines is being machine cultivated or mowed, depending on the vineyard’s soil.

At the winery wine racking, cold stabilisation and bottling of last year’s vintage is in progress. All eight Monolithos premium wines are available for tasting or purchasing, so if at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember the words of Douglas William Jerrold (1803-1857), British Humorist, Playwright:

“Marriage is like wine – it is not to be properly judged until the second glass.”

March 2008

What to do with the remains of a bottle of wine is a persistent dilemma for the single diner, or for the couple who may drink only one glass each during their evening meal. The 750 ml bottle may be the perfect size for two people enjoying a leisurely dinner, but it’s too much wine for many situations. And even novice wine drinkers can tell that the glass of a Cabernet they enjoyed from a fresh bottle rarely tastes as good when poured from a partial bottle several days later.

Naturally, we want to keep the wine for the next few days. A typical wine bottle left open without any special protection may not be drinkable, due to oxidation. Once a bottle has been opened, the air immediately begins to change the wine. At first, it is a good thing because it allows the aromas of the wine to work. Some call it letting the wine “breathe”. And a wine that did not fully open up during the first night of drinking will be better with a night to continue evolving.

However, air alters wine in a major way. As soon as that wine cork is removed, the freshness inside the bottle can never be recovered. Twenty per cent of air is oxygen, and oxygen is the real troublemaker in a partial bottle. Wine exposed to oxygen, (depending on the age of the wine) starts to oxidize in a matter of hours. Acetobacter, the bacteria that can turn wine into vinegar, remains harmless unless oxygen is present. Consequently, although the first effects could be favourable, ultimately, air will begin to change the wine, gradually transforming it into vinegar. Depending on the amount of available oxygen, an opened bottle of wine can start exhibiting eau de vinaigrette in three to five days. Oxygen is also the instigator of oxidation, the process that can eventually make a fresh white wine smell like sherry. Old wines are usually more fragile, and become oxidized faster than young wines.

There are several strategies for saving and preserving an unfinished bottle of wine for as long as possible. Current technology provides many methods for prolonging the life of an opened bottle of wine, but even the best can only hope to slow down degradation.

The simplest and “first aid” solution for saving an opened bottle of wine is to put back the cork and store it in the refrigerator. This slows the oxidation process and prolongs its life for a good 48 hours. You cannot expect old or delicate wines to survive this way, but most young whites and light reds will last a few days. The wine will lose its freshness, and the taste will be flatter, but it will be quite acceptable. The less the wine left in the unfinished bottle, the more air will enter, hence the faster the wine will become oxidized and lose its freshness.

Decanting could also be used for the sake of preserving leftover wine by pouring it from a regular bottle (750 ml) into a half bottles (375 ml) or even 187 ml quarter bottles (the size airline wine comes in), then re-corking and storing it in the refrigerator. This method lessens the amount of oxygen in contact with the wine. It is a simple method but it always works and it preserves the wine for a couple of days. Decanting the wine into a suitable container helps to soften the tannins, and allows the bouquet to develop. Very old wines, however, are much more fragile, and may rapidly collapse, losing much of their character and bouquet within hours of being opened.

One exception to the above is sparkling wine. To try and decant such a wine would be pointless, and would probably result in the loss of more fizz than would be lost as a result of leaving the wine in a half empty bottle. A related method is to add glass marbles to a partial bottle until the wine reaches the top, thus displacing the air with glass.

Since the late eighties, the wine industry has focused on devising ways to preserve unfinished bottles. Most wine-conserving devices use one of two basic philosophies: get rid of the air from the bottle (create vacuum) and/or insert a heavy gas onto the surface of the wine.

Removing oxygen from contact with the wine involves the use of a vacuum device. Specially designed rubber gadgets in the form of a simple pump are inserted into the neck of the bottle, and are used to extract the air. This results in a partial vacuum at best, as it’s quite impossible for such a simple piece of equipment to achieve anything better. Nevertheless, it is easy and practical and the necessary equipment is quite inexpensive and can be found in most wine shops. It is not a solution, however, that is recommend by wine connoisseurs who claim that storing a wine using a vacuum device has a detrimental effect on the wine.

When comparing wines decanted to a half bottle with those that had been vacuumed, the latter seemed flat and dull, and have less aroma on the nose. There are two possible explanations frequently given as a reason for this wine degradation. Firstly, when using the hand pump, it’s quite common to see a steady stream of bubbles rising up to the surface of the wine. This is dissolved gas, most probably carbon dioxide, coming out of solution under the reduced pressure. Such a change in the composition may quite feasibly result in a duller, less interesting wine. Secondly, it may not be just carbon dioxide that is lost. Many of the interesting aromas on the nose of a wine are volatile compounds, and it may be that storing the wine under a partial vacuum causes these to evaporate and disappear. This method can usually add an extra day beyond the decanting method. It is, of course, obvious that vacuum devices should not be used for sparkling wines.

Vacuum corking works for the short term. Another way to protect wine against oxygen from an opened bottle is to put a special gas into the container. Pumping in a gas that is heavier than air will force the oxygen out of the bottle. Nitrogen is too light to use alone, argon is too costly and carbon dioxide – heavier than argon – can impart a perceptible sprits. Consequently, manufacturers usually blend gases. Briefly, once the gas is inside the bottle, the cork is inserted immediately. The replacement gas does not usually alter the taste of the wine. There is some debate about which gases work best (nitrogen or argon). Every modern winery uses this method to preserve its wines after fermentation.

This same amazing technique is available to wine storage in the home. For the serious wine lover, a quick squirt from a cylinder of compressed gas can be employed to protect the wine from oxidation. This seems like the ideal solution, with no reason to suggest loss of volatile compounds, and minimal contact with oxygen as the nitrogen gas settles over the wine. These systems are good in preserving even inexpensive wines for a few days. Some wine enthusiasts, though, comment that the tannins are often softened in the process and the nose may lose some power. It’s also just one more piece of kit to clutter up the kitchen cupboards. Gas cartridges deplete quickly and needs to be refilled. Nevertheless, this method can keep wine fresh for a few weeks.

In summary, the pros and cons of the suggested methods are as follows:

Vacuum preservation

. Pro: pump out air, theoretically slowing oxidation

. Con: loss of esters, the wine’s aromatic compounds

Inert-gas preservation

. Pro: easy to use; displaces some air, theoretically slowing oxidation

. Con: consumer devices merely dilute the oxygen; they don't completely remove it, so oxidation potential remains

Decanting into smaller bottles

. Pro: minimizes headspace; low cost

. Con: decanting introduces oxygen

Freezing

. Pro: easy and inexpensive; dramatically slows oxidation

. Con: inconvenient; precipitates tartrate crystals; extreme cold makes oxygen more soluble

Displacement with marbles

. Pro: inexpensive; does not introduce oxygen

. Con: tedious; must keep marbles clean; subject to ridicule; some oxygen remains in wine

Concluding this short introduction, one can say that with a little care the vast majority of wines can be sealed with the cork, refrigerated and stored safely to be finished within a day or two. Attempting to keep wine any longer than this is not recommended, as the above measures serve only to delay the inevitable deterioration of the wine, not prevent it. There are, however, techniques which go further towards preserving the wine by attempting to lessen the effect of oxygen more directly. At least options do abound for consumers who want to make wine leftovers last. What’s missing is consensus on the best practice. But whatever preservation method you choose, don’t try it on older vintages – say, wines seven years old or more. Be prepared to open and drink these bottles in one sitting. They almost never last until the next day, no matter what precautions you take, as they are already far down the path of oxidation. Another exposure to oxygen tends to put these wines over the edge.

Wine News and Information

Climate change could mean the end of regional wine styles that have been produced for hundreds of years, according to leading experts on the subject. Top viticulturist Dr. Richard Smart has warned wine areas such as Bordeaux that they may need to seek out new grape varieties adapted to rising temperatures, while climatology professor Dr. Greg Jones painted a scenario of Burgundy becoming as warm as Avignon and Rioja becoming like La Mancha. “You may end up making Burgundies somewhere like Denmark,” Jones said.

Despite research showing that average growing season temperatures are likely to carry on rising over the next few decades, affecting the ideal conditions for particular varieties, many producers believe it is impossible to predict the precise impact of climate change. Some producers believe the science does not take the complexities of winemaking into account, with rainfall, drought and micro-climate potentially having a bigger impact than temperature predictions. They also remain optimistic that increased knowledge about canopy management could help them adapt, although those in hot areas were worried about falling acidity and freshness.

A compound found in red wine may eventually treat age-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes. A Massachusetts-based drug company, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, has found that a reformulated version of resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, improved the body’s ability to break down sugar – and prevented mice from becoming obese. In trials, Sirtris’s SRT501 drug showed that those mice taking resveratrol improved their score on an oral glucose tolerance test, which measures the body’s ability to break down and use sugar, a fundamental problem for diabetics.

More recently, the first known human trial to target the genes associated with ageing was concluded in India. The testing lasted 28 days involving 98 diabetes patients and showed similar results. It was done in India because of the availability of people with diabetes who are not being otherwise treated. However, Sirtris spokesman John Lacey stated that people with diabetes or those suffering from obesity should not see red wine as a cure, as resveratrol in wine is “unstable” and not easily absorbed into the blood stream. “You would have to drink 1,000 bottles to get an effect,” he said.

Natural cork, the kind of cork used in wine closures, is a perfect choice for recycling. It’s 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable. There is absolutely no reason natural wine corks should end up as landfill when recycled cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment. Because of a worldwide interest in sustainable agriculture and natural products like cork, an alliance of concerned businesses, individuals, and ecological organisations has been formed to address the opportunities to recycle natural cork closures. Amorim & Irmãos of Portugal, the world’s largest producer of natural cork wine closures (over three billion annually) and their U.S. sales office, Amorim Cork America, have joined forces with Willamette Valley Vineyards and SOLV — an Oregon-based environmental action resource — to launch a national cork recycling programme starting in Oregon. Known as ReCORK America, the programme will begin by providing collection boxes in wineries and select retail locations throughout Oregon. The programme’s goal is to collect one ton of corks by September 2008. It takes approximately 100,000 champagne corks or nearly 300,000 wine corks to yield a ton (2,000 lbs) of cork.

Monolithos Monthly News

The growing season is officially underway. Spring greenery is easily visible in the vineyards of the southern hills of Troodos. Tiny buds are appearing on trees and ornamentals throughout the area. It marks the end of the winter dormancy and the start of the new crop.

At the winery we are engaged in the usual mix of activities, which ranges from tastings to rearranging vats, racking and stabilising to bottling wines. All eight Monolithos premium wines are available for tasting or purchasing, so if at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember the words of Mark Twain:

“My books are water; those of the great geniuses are WINE — everybody drinks water.”