|
Commandaria (also called Commanderia and Coumadarka; (ギリシア語:κουμανδαρία), and (ギリシア語:κουμαντάρκα)) is an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus on the foothills of the Troödos mountains. Commandaria is made from sun-dried grapes of the varieties Xynisteri and Mavro. While often a fortified wine, through its production method it often reaches high alcohol levels, around 15%, already before fortification. It represents an ancient wine style documented in Cyprus back to 800 BC and has the distinction of being the world's oldest named wine still in production, with the name Commandaria dating back to the crusades in the 12th century. == History == The wine has a rich history, said to date back to the time of the ancient Greeks, where it was a popular drink at festivals. A dried grape wine from Cyprus was first known to be described in 800 BC by the Greek poet Hesiod and was known, by much later, as the ''Cypriot Manna''.〔 〕 During the crusades, Commandaria was served at the 12th century wedding of King Richard the Lionheart to Berengaria of Navarre, in the town of Limassol; it was during the wedding that King Richard pronounced Commandaria "the wine of kings and the king of wines". Near the end of the century he sold the island to the Knights Templar, who then sold it to Guy de Lusignan, but kept a large feudal estate at Kolossi, close to Limassol, to themselves. This estate was referred to as ''"La Grande Commanderie"''. The word ''Commanderie'' referred to the military headquarters whilst ''Grande'' helped distinguish it from two smaller such command posts on the island, one close to Paphos (Phoenix) and another near Kyrenia (Templos). This area under the control of the Knights Templar (and subsequently the Knights Hospitaller) became known as ''Commandaria''. When the knights began producing large quantities of the wine for export to Europe's royal courts and for supplying pilgrims en route to the holy lands, the wine assumed the name of the region. Thus it has the distinction of being the world's oldest named wine still in production.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 The Oldest Manufactured Wine )〕〔 〕 Although today it is produced and marketed under the name ''Commandaria'', it has been referred to with several similar names and spellings in the past. In 1863, Thomas George Shaw in his book ''Wine, the vine, and the cellar'' refers to this wine as ''Commanderi'' whilst in 1879, Samuel Baker refers to it as ''Commanderia''. In 1833 Cyrus Redding in his book "''A history and description of modern wines''" makes reference to the wine of the "''Commandery''". Legend has it that in the 13th century Philip Augustus of France held the first ever wine tasting competition. The event, branded The Battle of the Wines ''(fr. La Bataille des Vins)'', was recorded in a notable French poem written by Henry d'Andeli in 1224. The competition which included wines from all over Europe and France, was won by a sweet wine from Cyprus widely believed to be Commandaria. The ''Commandery'' region itself fell into the control of his descendant Philip IV in 1307, after the suppression of the Knights Templar. Another legend has it that the Ottoman sultan Selim II invaded the island just to acquire Commandaria; also that the grapes used to make this wine were the same grapes exported to Portugal that eventually became famous as the source of port wine. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Commandaria」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|