A consultant heart surgeon, female and well-respected in Britain where she works, says that the amount of red wine we should imbibe for the good of our health is three glasses a day, and not the widely-publicized two. She also wryly pointed out that the same applied to sex - all for the good of our hearts. She never made it clear whether it was a week or a day in which all the fun was to be accommodated.
In Cyprus, we are well placed to take advantage of the health-giving aspects of the Mediterranean diet: the olive oil, salads, fish and of course red wine. What a pity so much of the wine is insipid. It need not be so.
The amount of sun should produce intense reds. Look what comes out of the Southern Rhone or even the softer Herault reds…. Even comparing like for like, some of the reds from Greece like Nemea or the big-bodied fella' from Santorini offer a satisfying mouthful.
And leading the way under extreme duress is a gentleman in the Lebanon - Serge Hochar. He produces a magnificent red, complex, aromatic and mouth-filling that rivals some of the big wines from the Rhone or Bordeaux where he trained.
Some years his acclaimed wine, Chateau Mussar, does not declare a vintage. The problems of a vineyard six checkpoints away from the winery in the Bechaar Valley; picking and transporting while shells burst around, defeat even his enthusiasm. But when he makes it, the wine is long-lived and delicious.
Here, winemakers are only just cottoning to the fact that there is more to it than pouring cheap alcohol down holdymakers' throats. Try Keo's Heritage, a vintage wine from rediscovered Cyprus varietals; at the moment limited to 15,000 bottles a year. Another good drink is Kannavera from Vouni Panayia Winery and let's not forget Fikardos' succulent Lefkarda.
You might also keep an eye on some of the wines coming from Kathikas like Vasilikon. Providing these producers don't get inflated ideas on cost, we should all heartily support them. After all it is for the good of our health.
