Cyprus · Other producers

Olympus Wineries

Olympus Wineries in Omodhos links a wine business founded in 1844 with Cypriot grapes including Mavro, Maratheftiko and Xinisteri, alongside international varieties and Commandaria.

The producer

Completed in Omodhos in 1992, Olympus Wineries stands in the foothills of Mount Olympus, surrounded by approximately 70 hectares of privately owned vineyards. The winery connects the Haggipavlu family’s wine business, founded in 1844, with a range that moves from dry Mavro and Maratheftiko reds to Xinisteri-based whites and Commandaria dessert wines. Altitude and cooler nights are credited with preserving aromatic fruit and freshness in the grapes.

Plegma Red 2020 is 100% Mavro. Earlier Plegma Red vintages showed sour cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, herbs, nutmeg and white pepper, with fresh acidity and firm tannin on the finish. Elsewhere in the range, H Maratheftiko brings darker fruit, cacao, dry herbs and more weight in an earlier oak-aged example, while Plegma White joins Xinisteri and Muscat of Alexandria in a citrus-led blend.

Known for

Native Cypriot grapes in mountain-foot vineyard wines: berry-led Mavro, fuller Maratheftiko and Xinisteri-based whites.

Notable facts

The story

The 1947 Split

In 1947, the Haggipavlu wine business was divided into two subsidiaries. ETKO Ltd took responsibility for wine production, while Haggipavlu Co. took responsibility for spirits. The division came more than a century after Christodoulos Haggipavlu founded the wine firm in 1844, and it gave wine and spirits their own company names and duties. ETKO continued as the wine operation in the family’s history. In 1992, Olympus Wineries Ltd was completed at Omodhos, adding a purpose-built winery to the wine side of that longer story.

The 1947 Split

In 1947, the Haggipavlu wine business was divided into two subsidiaries. ETKO Ltd took responsibility for wine production, while Haggipavlu Co. took responsibility for spirits. The division came more than a century after Christodoulos Haggipavlu founded the wine firm in 1844, and it gave wine and spirits their own company names and duties. ETKO continued as the wine operation in the family’s history. In 1992, Olympus Wineries Ltd was completed at Omodhos, adding a purpose-built winery to the wine side of that longer story.

From the atlas

Olympus Wineries

At A Glance

Olympus Wineries is the Omodhos winery identity associated with ETKO and the Haggipavlu family. The range moves between Cypriot grapes—Mavro, Maratheftiko and Xinisteri—and Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Commandaria, so a red such as Plegma Red can be a varietal Mavro while Plegma White joins Xinisteri with Muscat of Alexandria.

The Producer

Christodoulos Haggipavlu created the wine firm in 1844, and ETKO became Cyprus’s first commercial wine company. Olympus Wineries Ltd was completed at Omodhos in 1992; that later winery puts the historic wine business beside vineyards in the Mount Olympus foothills, where the portfolio includes dry reds, dry whites and dessert wines.

Place

Omodhos sits in the foothills of Mount Olympus, and the winery is surrounded by about 70 hectares of privately owned vineyards. Olympus links altitude and cooler nights with retained grape freshness and aroma, a useful frame for the berry-led Plegma Red and the citrus-led white wines made with Xinisteri.

Soil And Site

No soil composition or parcel elevation is established for the current vineyards, but the mountain setting is central to the documented wine character. Cooler nights slow the loss of freshness in the grapes; in the glass, the stated consequence is aromatic fruit and acidity rather than heavy, heat-driven weight.

Story

The Haggipavlu wine business began in 1844 and developed into ETKO, Cyprus’s first commercial wine company. In 1947, wine production became the responsibility of ETKO Ltd while spirits went to Haggipavlu Co.; four decades later, the Omodhos winery was completed. The result is a range in which a 2020 Mavro can sit beside Xinisteri, Maratheftiko and Commandaria under an established wine name.

Vineyards And Cellar

The privately owned vineyards around Omodhos supply the mountain-grown fruit behind Olympus wines, while a 2003 report also recorded new vineyards on Omodhos’s Afames mountain peak and an ecological vineyard at Ayios Amvrosios. Those site details belong to the producer’s vineyard development rather than a claim about every current bottle.

Cellar evidence is clearest in earlier releases. An earlier Plegma White was fermented and matured in used Commandaria barrels, bringing toast and a creamy texture to its Xinisteri-led fruit while acidity kept the palate moving. A 2017 Hadjipavlou Estate Maratheftiko spent 15 months in new and used oak, which matched its dark fruit with cacao, dry herbs, oak spice and integrated tannin. These are vintage-specific records, not instructions to assume the same élevage for later labels.

Wines

Plegma Red 2020 is 100% Mavro, a direct route into a native Cypriot red grape. Earlier Plegma Red tastings showed light ruby colour, medium body and fruit that moved from sour Maraschino cherry toward red berries, raspberry and wild strawberry with air; herbs, nutmeg and white pepper followed, while fresh acidity and tannin gave the finish shape.

H Maratheftiko 2019 is a varietal Maratheftiko and occupies the fuller red end of the documented range. Its earlier estate counterpart combined dark fruit, cacao, dry herbs and oak spice with a full body and settled tannin. For white wine, H Xinisteri 2020 is varietal Xinisteri, while Plegma White 2020 combines 70% Xinisteri with 30% Muscat of Alexandria. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, St. Nicholas Commandaria and Centurion Commandaria extend the range beyond those named dry wines.

In The Glass

The recorded Plegma Red profile begins with tart cherry and red berry fruit, then gains raspberry, wild strawberry, herbs and pepper after air. Its medium body and fresh acidity keep the fruit lively, while tannin firms the persistent finish; those descriptors belong to earlier Plegma Red vintages, not a promise of identical flavour in the 2020 bottle.

Earlier Plegma White showed citrus, mandarin, bergamot and stone fruit, followed by tea leaf, toast and a creamy palate from used Commandaria barrels. The Xinisteri component supplies the acidic line through that oak-derived texture. The oak-aged 2017 Maratheftiko instead worked with dark fruit, cacao and dry herbs, carrying more body and tannin than the Mavro-led red.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Plegma Red 2020, because its composition is clear: 100% Mavro. It introduces a native Cypriot grape through a dry red format, and earlier Plegma Red notes offer a grounded expectation of red cherry, berry fruit, herbs, spice, fresh acidity and tannin. Treat those tasting notes as a guide to the label’s earlier vintages, then use the 2020 bottle to meet Mavro on its own terms.

Anecdote

In 1947, the Haggipavlu business divided its work into two subsidiaries. ETKO Ltd took responsibility for wine production, while Haggipavlu Co. undertook spirits production. The change followed more than a century of wine activity begun by Christodoulos Haggipavlu in 1844, and it put wine and spirits into separately named operations. ETKO remained the wine company in the family story; Olympus Wineries Ltd would later be completed at Omodhos in 1992. The two 1947 company names record the division plainly: one for wine, one for spirits.

Final Word

Olympus Wineries is most useful through its native-grape bottles: Mavro for red-berry fruit and acidity, Maratheftiko for darker fruit and fuller tannin, and Xinisteri for citrus-led white wine. The Omodhos mountain setting supplies the physical link between those grapes and their freshness.

Sources

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