Half the Xynisteri crop may be lost—but your bottle should not cost more

Cyprus’ most widely planted white grape variety, Xynisteri, is under attack from all sides this year. As a result, its price has soared just weeks before the harvest.

The market surrounding the island’s most popular indigenous variety has begun to resemble a stock exchange, with some winemakers and growers even using the word “bloodbath” to describe the scramble for grapes.

Xynisteri could easily be described as the king of the Cypriot vineyard. It accounts for approximately one-third of the island’s vines, but its importance goes well beyond the amount planted.

It gives us some of Cyprus’ finest dry, semi-sweet and sparkling wines, usually light- to medium-bodied. It is also used in dessert wines—most notably Commandaria, either on its own or blended with Mavro—as well as in zivania.

Maria Th. Masoura, a DipWSET wine consultant, educator and journalist, says a typical Xynisteri is reminiscent of springtime in Cyprus.

“It is full of aromas of citrus fruit, white flowers, lemon blossom and stone fruit such as peaches and apricots,” she says. “At times, it can also have a slight salinity, particularly when the vineyard is located somewhere like Kathikas.”

Xynisteri is one of Cyprus’ two main winemaking grape varieties. It accounts for almost 30% of the country’s vineyards, while Mavro, also known as Ampelisimo, ranks first with close to 40%. Foreign varieties and the rest of Cyprus’ indigenous grapes trail far behind.

With so much Xynisteri produced every year across Cyprus’ six winegrowing regions—each with different climates and elevations—the scale of this year’s damage means 2026 is likely to be a difficult year for Cypriot wine.

The variety is grown from the Limassol Wine Villages and Pitsilia to Vouni Panayia-Ambelitis, Laona-Akamas, Nicosia and Larnaca.

Current estimates suggest that Xynisteri production will fall by between 30% and 50%.

The decline is mainly being blamed on downy mildew, a fungal disease that has struck a large share of Cyprus’ wine-producing vineyards. The greatest damage has been reported in Paphos and Limassol, where around 95% of Xynisteri plantings are located.

Hailstorms at the beginning of summer and again in late August have added to the losses, along with the wider effects of climate change.

‘There will be a bloodbath over who gets what’

This year’s weather created ideal conditions for downy mildew to spread, with heavier rainfall and high humidity during the spring and summer.

To understand exactly what has happened, we spoke to one of Cyprus’ leading oenologists, winemaker Sophocles Vlassides of Vlassides Winery in Koilani, in the Limassol Wine Villages.

His winery’s vineyards suffered comparatively limited damage from downy mildew, estimated at between 10% and 15%. Even so, he describes the year as difficult and extreme, because the fungus was not the only problem. Flowering was also poor.

“There is no doubt that Xynisteri production will be low this year,” he says. “I estimate the reduction at around 50%, so I would say there will be a bloodbath—a war—over who manages to get what.”

Another oenologist from the Laona-Akamas region said his winery had made a serious effort to control downy mildew. Nevertheless, it also expects a smaller harvest, while the amount of fruit it receives from other growers is likely to fall as well.

As for prices, he said grape prices had already risen, although not necessarily only compared with last year.

“The increase began two or three years ago,” he said, adding that prices have doubled in some cases.

Vlassides explained that the normal price for Xynisteri ranges from €300 to €500 per tonne. At the time of writing, this year’s price was estimated at €800 per tonne.

“And we are still at an early stage,” he said. “In the coming period, when the real bidding begins, it will certainly reach as much as €1,000 per tonne.”

Yiannis Kyriakides, oenologist and owner of Vouni Panayia Winery in the Vouni Panayia-Ambelitis region, uses the word “stock market” to describe this year’s hunt for grapes and the bidding war that has followed.

Many wineries are now trying to secure enough fruit to meet their needs, either because their own harvest has been reduced or because it has been destroyed entirely.

The perfect storm for Xynisteri

Who, ultimately, is responsible for the failure to control downy mildew in time—a failure that has reduced production and sent grape prices soaring, particularly for Xynisteri?

The reporting reveals an ongoing debate over whether growers could have taken preventive or corrective action to fight the disease, which has hit Cypriot vineyards harder this year than at any other time.

“If this is a properly functioning state, nobody should receive a single cent in compensation for downy mildew,” said one grower who sells his grapes each year to some of Cyprus’ best-known wineries.

He said weather forecasts had warned as early as Christmas that Cyprus would experience mild temperatures and a wet spring, meaning vineyards should have been sprayed as a precaution.

“I sprayed my Xynisteri five times, and even today it is still being affected by downy mildew,” he said. “It is difficult to defeat, but it can certainly be controlled.”

Varnavas Neoptolemou, a vine grower at Aes Ambelis Winery in the Nicosia district, said that heavy rain can sometimes prevent machinery from entering vineyards, as happened this year.

Even then, however, alternatives must be found.

“We have to find a way to get into the vineyard, even on foot, as people did in the past, so that we can spray,” he said.

If the disease attacks the vine during flowering or fruit set—usually from late May to early June—the destruction can be total, he added.

Vlassides expressed a similar view on compensation.

“This is not a natural disaster that suddenly destroys your fruit and leaves you unable to do anything,” he said. “We knew it was going to rain, so we should have sprayed both preventively and afterwards to correct the problem.”

“In Paphos, for example, they know they face this problem repeatedly, even when conditions are good. They should have sprayed preventively. Why do we protect vines from powdery mildew, which is also a fungus, but fail to spray preventively for downy mildew?”

Even so, everyone we spoke to acknowledged that several unpredictable factors made the growers’ job especially difficult this year.

Late rains in May and June made matters worse. Downy mildew spores survive the winter in the soil, and when rain hits the ground, they can splash up onto the vines.

Vlassides said downy mildew normally gives a warning, appearing first as marks and spots on the leaves before spreading to the fruit.

“The strange thing is that this year, in some vineyards, that did not happen,” he said.

In other words, the disease did not provide its usual early warning.

Another factor is the particular sensitivity of indigenous Cypriot varieties, including Xynisteri and Vasilissa, to the disease.

There are also signs that Cyprus’ very high summer temperatures may not, after all, be enough to break the downy mildew cycle. That is the conclusion of one grower and agronomist who has studied both this year’s outbreak and the similar problems experienced in 2023.

Kyriakides of Vouni Panayia also emphasised how difficult the growing season had been.

“From winter until just before the harvest, the conditions were extremely favourable—for the disease,” he said. “It was as though downy mildew had created a pandemic.”

“When conditions are so favourable, it becomes very difficult to stop. It is like a fire: once it starts and spreads, it is extremely hard to bring under control. That applies whether you use organic sprays, as we do, or conventional ones.”

“The climate crisis brings instability. It creates events that did not happen in the past, or did not happen as frequently or on this scale. We need knowledge, training and adaptability if we are to deal with such situations.”

Is it time to rethink subsidies?

Whatever this year has brought—from downy mildew and hail to the wider problems caused by climate change—we remain optimistic that Cyprus will still produce some excellent wines, including some very good Xynisteris.

The Agriculture Ministry has announced compensation covering several regions and wine grape varieties affected by downy mildew and hail.

The selling price of Xynisteri grapes will undoubtedly soar. Winemakers will have to manage with whatever quantities they ultimately receive, but the final price paid by consumers in shops and restaurants is unlikely to change significantly. The wineries are expected to absorb the losses.

If that is the case, however, perhaps another discussion needs to begin—this time about the way compensation is awarded.

Downy mildew was not the only problem this year. It was also a poor year for flowering.

“The Shiraz did not flower at all this year,” Vlassides said. “We subsidise downy mildew, which is something we can control, but we do not subsidise a bad growing year.”

It is a point that deserves further thought and discussion.

“This was a difficult year for Cypriot wine, with very low production,” Vlassides added. “It leaves grape growers wondering whether it is worth continuing to produce, and winemakers wondering whether it makes financial sense to remain in the profession.”

Perhaps it is time for Cyprus to take its wine more seriously—and for us to value our own product more.

“We produce wine in a place without phylloxera. We have old vines, many indigenous varieties and high-altitude vineyards,” Kyriakides said.

“The lowest elevation at which wine grapes are grown in Cyprus is around 300 metres, with vineyards reaching as high as 1,500 metres.”

It is a reminder of the many natural advantages Cyprus possesses as a wine-producing country.