This particular culture includes the longstanding tradition of wine-making. How often do we really think about where our bottle of wine actually comes from when we pick up the latest bargain from the supermarket or the off licence? Not very often perhaps? So why not take advantage of the opportunity to fill this gap in your knowledge and get even more satisfaction from your stay in Cyprus?

An excellent induction can be found at the Fikardos Winery which has been making quality wines since 1990. Every year, the enhancement in the style and quality of its wines attracts a greater circle of devotees. Because of its hard work and dedication to quality wine making, it is increasingly respected as one of the leading wineries in Cyprus with a growing international reputation.

The south-western slopes of the Troodos Mountains are the location for some of the finest vineyards in Cyprus. Here, long-established local grapes grow alongside famous international varieties that have been introduced successfully to the island. The combination of soil (The ‘Terroir’), location, altitude and climate provide superb opportunities for the winemaker to demonstrate skills in vinification and blending.

The Fikardos Winery is located at Mesogi village, just north of Paphos town. It is a modern state-of-the-art wine-making plant, settled in an area rich with thousands of years of wine tradition.

The origins of Cyprus’ most prolific indigenous variety of grapes – the red wine grape “Mavro” and the white “Xynisteri” – are lost in the mists of time. Other old varieties, like Opthalmo, Maratheftiko, Spourtiko and Lefkada, have blossomed under the hands of today’s winemakers. The land around the Paphos region hill-villages of Kili, Tsada, Kallepia, Polemi, Stroumbi and Letymbou abound with them.
In the past 20 years these fertile mountain slopes have seen plantings of suitable international varieties, which now produce new-style wines of distinction such as Chardonnay, Sémillon, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Mataro “Mourvèdre”. Fikardos Winery masterfully utilises these varieties to create fresh, young, fruity wines in both varietal and blended styles, as well as wines suited to ageing.

Fikardos Winery makes a range of red, white and rosé local table wines. New French oak barrels are used for maturing some red wines and for the fermentation of Chardonnay Fume Xilogefiro.
Fikardos wines leave the winery in perfect condition, with daily deliveries by the company’s own vehicles for sale in leading supermarkets, wine stores, hotels and restaurants. The company unashamedly regards its customers as friends – and freely encourages the beginning of that friendship through visits to the winery for a tasting – or enjoying the hospitality of the Leonardo Restaurant owned by Mr Theodoros Fikardos.

For further information, visit the website: www.fikardoswines.com.cy

However, while there are hundreds of candidates for each new teaching position, appointments are not made on the basis of merit but on a first-in, first-out fashion according to the date of completion of the candidates’ university studies. While prospective high school teachers for Chemistry (say) are required to have a university degree in Chemistry, a background in education is not expected.

State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private sector institutions. However, the value of a state high school diploma is limited by the fact that it is not obtained after successfully completing a series of centrally administered examinations, such as the British A-Levels, the French Baccalaureat or the German Abitur. While students do need to take some national final exams on certain topics, the grades obtained account for only around 25% of the final grade for each topic, with the remaining 75% assigned by the teacher during the semester, in a minimally transparent way. The resulting grade inflation (partly also due to an effort to artificially minimize the number of high-school drop-outs) as well as inconsistencies in grading practice across teachers and schools, result in high school diplomas being only partly recognised by British universities, with elite universities requiring further evidence of scholastic aptitude, such as A-levels or other solid credentials.

Greek universities and the University of Cyprus ignore high school grades almost entirely for admissions purposes. While a high school diploma is mandatory for university attendance, admissions are decided almost exclusively on the basis of scores at centrally administered university entrance examinations that all university candidates are required to take. Unlike state high school students, most of whom go on to study in Greece, private school students usually study in Britain and the USA.

The main problem faced in public education, where classes end around noon, is the need of extra lessons in the afternoon, typically taken at privately-run institutes or at teachers’ homes. Students in private schools tend to rely less on such extra lessons.

The majority of Cypriots receive their higher education at Greek, British, Turkish, other European and North American universities, while there are also sizeable emigrant communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Private colleges and state-supported universities have been developed by both the Turkish and Greek communities.

According to the 1960 constitution, education is under the control of the two communities (the communal chambers). State education was based on nationalisation of existing community supported schools from the colonial period. Thus following 1974 the Cypriot system follows the Greek system in the area under the Republic’s effective control and the Turkish system in the area not under the Republic’s.

A large number of students after sitting for A-levels study abroad, mainly in English speaking countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States, but also elsewhere in Europe such as France and Germany.