Great credit for the continued flourishing of the Islands winemaking industry has to be down to one man. Christodoulos Haggipavlu. Born in 1798, this was a man who had the foresight coupled with a great passion to make his life's work, the creation of a professionally run winery. In 1844 that dream began to blossom as a reality when Haggipavlu founded the ETKO winery, and at the same time he became the first man in Cyprus to introduce commercially made brandy, much to the delight of the indigenous population, with the result ETKO can also lay claim to being the largest distillery on the island.

'Tradition is something we cherish at ETKO, the company has grown to become one of the largest manufacturers of wine on the island and is now a public company, still, that sense of coming from strong roots still pervades everything we do.'

Professional vineyard management, state of the art technology, the importation of foreign wine makers as advisors, and a consistent standard of excellence in the finished product are the key elements which contribute to ETKO's strong National and International reputation.

Currently the intake capacity of the Limassol winery is around 30 million kilos of grapes per harvest. The crushing facility is 1 million kilos of grapes per day.

Storage in turn has to also be substantial and effective to accommodate the 38 plus million litres of wine, using a container mix of stainless steel tanks, oak vats, and glass.

A standard of excellence can only be achieved through a constant process of osmosis and dedication, both in the technological and management areas of the business.

Winemaking in Cyprus is now treated as a worthy contributor to the GNP of the country and ETKO have long been at the forefront of developments to improve the quality of their wines, and to be in a strong position to cope fully with the increasing demand from its export markets.

The introduction of state of the art technology within every stage of wine making process is an investment ETKO see as being invaluable, and will no doubt go to making the company, one that will flourish for another two hundred years.