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Cyprus - more than sherry (part 1)

Growing up in Britain in the 50's and 60's the only liquor I was aware of from Cyprus was Cyprus
Sherry. This was much cheaper than the genuine article from Spain and was even cheaper than
Sherry from Australia. Unfortunately the quality was, I believe, not good but, it was cheap. In this
article I am going to show you that there is more to Cyprus liquor than Sherry, although that is still on
sale, together with cheap wine of dubious quality.

First though a note about the major producers. The Cyprus Wineries Association is a Limited Liability
Company which was founded in 2002 by the four largest wine companies, Etko, Keo, Loel and
Sodap. In 2009 the Association membership was expanded to include the large number of regional
wineries and it became the sole representative of the wine industry of Cyprus. The name sometimes
appears on bottles made by Etko (Haggipavlu) and sometimes with no other name on the front label,
making it look like The Cyprus Wineries Association is the producer.

Etko was originally the trade name of Crist. Haggipavlu & Sons, founded in 1844. This company also
used the name House of Haggipavlu. Similarly, Keo was once the trade name of Cyprus Wine &
Spirits (founded 1927). When I refer to a bottle in this article as from Etko or Keo, it may have on one
of the former names.

We will start with Sherries then go onto Vermouths and wine.

Olympus medium Sherry and Eva Cream are both from Etko. The first of these has three names on,
Etko, Cyprus Wineries Association and House of Haggipavlu. The two Loel bottles are much more
straightforward. Golden and Pale Dry are shown but I suspect that these are part of a larger series.
The same applies to Kolossi from Sodap. Lysander Cream (next page) is another Sodap bottle.
The three Cornado Vermouth bottles are from Etko. The first Keo Vermouth is on the cusp of the
change-over from rip-cap to clinched screw cap bottles as I have a photo of the same label on the
more modern bottle. I suspect that the final Keo Vermoth is the most up-to-date.

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