Vingårdene: Karseras winery Cyprus Island.

The winery is located at Doros village in Commandaria region. It is established in 1998 in order to specially produce the most ancient wine in the world...Commandaria. This sweet wine started its trip throughout history from ancient Greek mythology to ancient Cyprus having a stop in the 12th century when in crusaders and knights era it was the famous wine of Nobles and Kings.

Our target is only Commandaria

              A Legendary Wine: Commandaria From Cyprus.

Commandaria, the oldest wine in the world was produced in Limassol in 3500 BC and dominated all the royal tables of Europe.

The commanderia is one of the most characteristic local products of Cyprus. The sweet liqueur is mentioned in Hesiod's writings, but its origin goes much further back than the time of the great poet. Recent research dates it back to 3500 BC making it the oldest wine in the world.

Commandaria was the favourite sweet wine of the Plantagenet Kings of England. The wine merchants of England had great liking for Commandaria and it seems that they made a good profit out of it and so gave a banquet in honour of King Peter I and four other kings at the Vintners Hall in 1362 at which undoubtedly Commandaria was the main means of refreshment.

In course of time the demand for Commandaria gradually increased and its greatest consumption during the reign of Elizabeth I, who gave the monopoly of sweet wines to her favourite, Sir Walter Raleigh.

Outside England Commandaria was exported to the main centres of the civilized world until the occupation of Cyprus by the Turks in 1571. Great quantities of Commandaria were sent to Venice because the “Most Respectable Democracy” waived all duties because it was used as a tonic. In Genoa, at Leghorn, at Trieste, in Constantinople, the Islands of the Archipelago, Smyrna, Syria and Egypt, Commandaria was in great demand among its connoisseurs.

Copies and imitations Many wines tried to imitate the quality and taste of the Cypriot commandery during the Late Middle Ages. More specifically in the 15th century, vines from Cyprus were planted in Madeira, Portugal thus producing the famous Madeira wine which is similar to the Cyprus Commandery. But also the Hungarian Tokay and Marsala seem to be imitations of the Cypriot sweet drink.