Welcome to today's press conference, on the occasion of the opening of the 13th Cyprus Wine Competition. This competition was held for the first time in 2006 and since then, it has not only established itself as an annual institution, but has managed to become the most important wine event in Cyprus.
The Competition is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, on the basis of approved and recognised international standards. In this year's Competition, 33 local wineries are participating with 178 wine samples in two categories: dry and semi-dry wines and sweet and semi-sweet wines.
The Competition will last four days and will conclude on Friday 6 May with the award ceremony. The Competition is co-organised with the Ministry of Tourism, the Limassol Municipality, the Cyprus Winemakers Association, the Cyprus Association of Graduate Oenologists, the Pancyprian Association of Oenologists, the Cyprus Oenophiles Association, the Oenophiles Group of Onoart and the Famagusta Oenophiles Association. All these organisations are close and long-standing partners of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and we thank them warmly.
Undoubtedly, the members of the jury play a decisive role in the implementation of the Competition. The seven-member jury is made up of people with significant scientific and empirical knowledge in the wine sector. Professor Valeriu Cotea, oenologist, has been appointed chairman of the jury and supervisor of the competition process, with the participation of oenologists: Professor Marin Berovic, Dr. Stamatina Kallithraka, Wolfgang Beiss, Roberto Gaudio and Marinos Demetriou, as well as the oenologist Michalis Georgiou. The procedure of the Competition as well as the composition and functioning of the jury were determined on the basis of a specific model adopted by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the seven internationally renowned judges, whose presence and knowledge will contribute to the full reliability of the results of the Competition and, by extension, to its successful conduct. Of course, in addition to their decisive contribution to the successful conduct of the Competition, the judges will present their experience, knowledge and opinions on the wine sector to the participants of the technical workshop to be held, in the framework of the Competition events, on Wednesday 6 May 2022.
It is obvious that the benefits of organizing such Wine Competitions are multiple, since they contribute significantly to the dissemination of knowledge, the encouragement of production, responsible consumption as part of culture, the promotion and presentation of the quality characteristics of wines to the wider public, as well as to the improvement of the technical and scientific skills of our country's wine producers, and consequently, to the increase in the quality of wines.
Friends,
I would like to take this opportunity to stress that as the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and as the Government, we support every initiative that contributes to the promotion of the quality wines of our country. At the heart of our policy is the effort to highlight the special characteristics of Cyprus wines, characteristics that distinguish them at a global level. The Cypriot vineyard thrives in a Mediterranean climate, has been free of phylloxera over time and includes unique indigenous varieties, growing in arid, poor, eroded and sloping soils, with traditional dry vineyards and continuous sunshine. It is a historic vineyard, which gives wineries the opportunity to produce terroir wines, exuberant, with an excellent concentration of ingredients, different and with a strong local style.
Supporting wine-growing communities, vine-growers and winemakers is one of the main objectives of our agricultural policy. By implementing the National Support Programme for the Vine and Wine Sector, known as the National Support Programme for the Vine and Wine Sector, the relevant government departments are expected to allocate more than 22 million euros to winegrowers and winemakers by the end of the current programming period ending in 2023. In terms of addressing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Green Oak Measure, with a budget of more than €3.5 million, directly relieved vine growers during the 2020-21 biennium, relieved winemakers of excess grapes and excess wine stocks, and ultimately led the wine market to equilibrium as well as price containment. At the same time, the Government granted, in the form of an additional extensification subsidy, financial support of approximately €500,000 to winegrowers who did not participate in the measure, while three special support schemes with a budget of more than €1 million were implemented for winegrowers to help them manage the large wine stocks accumulated due to the pandemic.
In conclusion, I would like to thank again all those involved in the Competition. My special thanks go to my friend the Mayor of Limassol, Mr. Nikos Nicolaides, who supports the Competition in practice by providing the hall of the "Panos Solomonides" Cultural Centre for the Technical Workshop of the Competition and by contributing to the publicity of this beautiful wine event.
Thank you very much for your participation in the Journalists' Conference and your attention.
(NΓ/ΣΧ)
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