GC: DRINK

NELION WINERY Tel: 25 442445 Address: F616 Pretori, 8630, Pafos. Email: nelion@cytanet.com.cy

In the middle of a blazing summer, there is nothing better than getting out of the city heat and going up the mountains where the air is clear, and the views are spectacular.

We took the famous Paphos - Trodos road up to a village called Pretori which is home of the world famous Nelion Winery, that produces some of the finest wines on the island.

Although it’s fair to say that the Game Changers team will not be becoming sommeliers anytime soon, in fact the last time we drank wine as a unit at the GC Christmas Party, our intrepid GC photographer ended up in accident and emergency after drinking red wine out of carton with a kids curly straw. However, this was not Christmas and we fully intended to be the upstanding citizens of planet Earth that our mothers know us as.

After a stomach lining late breakfast, we assembled on the GC family tour bus and took to the mountains, keen on

sampling Cyprus’s best fermented grapes and hoping to return with so much wine knowledge that we could beat Dionysus in a pub quiz.

First impressions of any vineyard is always defensive as there is a lot of vino based snobbery when it comes to wine tasting. However it was great that Marinos had a real relaxed way about himself, and that there was zero pretentiousness.

The GC team settled for the seated wine tasting which came with a very tasty cheese and salami platter. We sampled a nice mixture of the Nelion wares, where they gave us a really informative guide into each wine. Even for a group of wine luddites like ourselves we came away appreciating what goes into a glass, and how to tell good from bad.

Moreover, Nelion also conducts a bar tasting or the vineyard tour, which by all accounts is great fun and very informative, and needless to say thirst quenching. The feedback from others regarding the tour is very positive, as the views are spectacular being so high up in the mountains.

It is well worth a visit for a fun afternoon out of the city, and a great way to get out of the blazing summer heat. It is best to call a couple of days ahead to make sure that there is space due to huge demand in the summer.