Commandaria wine region

The island's flagship appellation and its only one reserved exclusively for sweet wine, made from sun-dried grapes.

Sweet wines only. Historically based on Mavro, with Xynisteri as the principal white component. The must must hold at least 212 g/l of sugar at harvest for Xynisteri and 258 g/l for Mavro, and 390–450 g/l after the grapes have dried in the sun. The wine ferments to at least 10% alcohol (fortification is allowed but optional), and it must age at least two years in oak barrels. Vines must be at least four years old, low-trained goblets, with at least 200 vines per decare (275 if planted before 1969). It is made inside the zone.

In the west, semi-mountainous country with gentle slopes (10° to 30°) at 400–700 m and poor calcareous soils; in the east, a spur of the Troodos with steep volcanic, stony ground above 30° and up to 900 m. The land is terraced so that vines can be planted.

Hot, dry summers; winters mild, but cold in the north above 800 m. The mean daily temperature is about 17.7 °C: 24.3–27 °C in summer and 8.9–10.5 °C in winter, with about 8.4 hours of sunshine a day.