In 1987, Andreas Kyriakides, after gaining valuable experiences and knowledge at the Department of Viticulture and Oenology of the Ministry of Agriculture, decided to develop his interest in wines to a labor of love. This is when he established the first private regional winery in Cyprus: Vouni Panayia, which took its name after the viticultural region. Vouni Panayia winery, the only winery using exclusively the autocthonous varieties, is a strictly family business set by two brothers and a cousin.

The vision behind the winery was the improvement of the quality of the Cypriot wine, the rescue from extinction of the rare varieties and to give prominence to the unique expressions of the indigenous grapes in the mountainous terroir of our region. The effort started in rudimentary buildings with a production of 8000 bottles in the first year. Within a decade the production reached 200 000 bottles per year.

That’s what we have set as a cap in order to further improve the quality and discover in depth the capabilities of our grapes. At this point started the investment in buying land and planting the native grape varieties. Today the winery owns 25 hectares of vineyards planted with Xynisteri, Spourtiko, Promara and Morokanela from the whites and Mavro, Maratheftiko, Yiannoudi from the reds, situated at an average altitude of 1000 meters above sea level.

The founders passed on their passion to the new generation. After gaining the necessary knowledge in viticulture and oenology from the University of Florence in Italy, the new generation of professionals now has major role complementing the experience of the first generation with its scientific approach.

Tel: +357 26 722 770

Website: vounipanayiawinery.com