Vlassides Winery
Popularity over the year
O atrakcji
Vlassides Winery sits above the village of Kilani at around 750 metres on the southern Troodos. Sophocles Vlassides, US-trained at UC Davis, founded the estate in 1998 and built the present architect-designed gravity-flow cellar in 2014 — a glass-and-steel building set into the hill, with a tasting terrace projecting over the valley and views down to Limassol on a clear day. It is the most modern winery on the island and one of the most ambitious.
The grapes are split between native varieties (Xynisteri, Yiannoudi, Maratheftiko) and selected international (Shiraz especially, also Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc). The house style is bold, oak-conscious, ageworthy reds — a deliberate move away from the light Cypriot mass-market style. The Shiraz is among the best in the eastern Mediterranean; the Maratheftiko is structured and serious; the Yiannoudi (a near-extinct grape rescued in the 2000s) shows what Cyprus can do beyond the famous two reds. The white Sauvignon Blanc and the Xynisteri are vinified as serious wines, not summer pours.
What to do. Tastings by appointment, with a 5-7 wine flight. The cellar tour is genuinely informative about gravity-flow design and modern Cypriot vinification. The terrace at sunset, with Limassol's marina lights coming on in the distance, is a setting people remember.
Insider tips. Book ahead in season; the estate is small and the tastings get full. Ask for the Yiannoudi if available — it is a wine almost no other producer makes well. The estate also makes a fine sweet wine from Xynisteri grapes left to raisin on the vine. Driver: book a taxi from Limassol (around 30-35 EUR each way) so everyone can taste.
Combinations. Pair with Kilani village (5 minutes — old stone houses, the Kilani Folklore Museum, several tavernas), with Omodos wine village (15 minutes), or with Tsiakkas in Pelendri for a comparison day.
Bring. A jacket for the terrace, a designated driver or taxi, cash. When. April-October. Harvest in early September is the most vivid time. Vlassides is the place that proves Cyprus can make red wine that should be on a serious wine list — and that occasionally already is.
