Cyprus has been redeveloping its wine business to make it more competitive with the aggressive New World winemakers. But it has a range of problems to overcome. In particular it has a poor reputation for inconsistent wine at uncompetitive prices. It also faces the difficulty of sheer scale. Once it played a dominant role in the infant UK wine market, now it is difficult to find on supermarket shelves. Last year the island exported £1.5m of its wine to the UK, representing 60% of its total exports. By comparison in the last two months of 2000, ACNielsen valued the take home wine market in this country at £540m. Nevertheless the Cyprus Trade Centre has a £100,000 budget to promote the wine and both Matthew Clark and the Co-op have been working in Cyprus to help create suitable wines. The Co-op now offers an exclusive line from the island. Its Mountain Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Maratheftic from south of the Troodos Mountains. It is made by the Sodap Wine Co-operative and sells in the Co-op at £4.49. Category manager Paul Bastard said: "Our range of Cyprus wines has been very popular. The two wines in our Island Vines range have exceeded our expectations and we have had a lot of inquiries about the Cabernet Sauvignon." Trade counsellor Andreas Georgiades said: "We have found a niche in the Co-op but this is not enough. "We have been trying to upgrade the image of the wines with new blends and improved quality but the British public is not buying them. Even the Cypriot community does not buy them. "The supermarkets want continuity and consistency and it is very difficult for our producers to do this. One of our problems is that very little has been done for Cyprus wines in this market for the past 30 years." {{DRINKS }}

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