Wine Shopping · Buying Guide
Where to Buy Cypriot Wine in the UK
It’s genuinely hard to find. Here’s exactly where to look, from specialist merchants and online importers to the one afternoon a year when producers pour directly for you.
By CWFexpo Editorial11 min readUpdated April 2026Part of our Cypriot Wine series
Quick answer
Cypriot wine is available in the UK through specialist independent merchants, dedicated Mediterranean wine importers online, Cypriot community shops in London, and by far the most direct route at CWFexpo, London's annual Cypriot Wine Festival, where producers pour direct each June.
You’ve had a glass of Cypriot wine somewhere. Maybe at a family dinner, maybe at a festival, maybe at a restaurant in Limassol that you’ve been thinking about ever since. And now you’re back in the UK, standing in front of a wine shelf, and it simply isn’t there.
This is the Cypriot wine paradox. The wines are good in some cases genuinely exceptional. The winemaking tradition stretches back thousands of years. And yet the average British wine aisle offers no trace of it. No Xynisteri next to the Sauvignon Blanc. No Commandaria beside the Tawny Port. No Maratheftiko anywhere.
That’s changing, but slowly. This guide exists to tell you exactly where to look right now and which options are worth your time.
Why Cypriot Wine Is Hard to Find, and What's Changing
Mediterranean viticulture: extreme sun, indigenous varieties, and a winemaking history unlike anywhere else in Europe
The short explanation is infrastructure. The UK wine market is dominated by regions with deep, long-established import networks – France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand. These relationships were built over decades, and the supermarkets and chains that account for the majority of UK wine sales are naturally drawn to the routes that move the highest volume with the least friction.
Cyprus, by contrast, has relatively few UK importers, and those that exist tend to be small, specialist operations rather than large-scale distributors. Most Cypriot wine moves in relatively modest volumes, which means it rarely makes economic sense for a supermarket buyer to list it, even when the quality is there.
The other factor is reputation. For most of the 20th century, Cyprus was associated fairly with bulk wine of limited distinction. The quality revolution that has reshaped the island’s wine scene over the past 25 years hasn’t fully translated into consumer awareness in the UK. The wines have improved dramatically. The perception hasn’t caught up yet.
That gap, however, is closing. A small but growing number of UK-based Cypriot wine enthusiasts, community organisations, and specialist importers are actively building the market. And events like CyWineFest now in its 44th year play a genuine role in bringing UK consumers face-to-face with the wines and the people behind them. The trajectory is positive. Finding good Cypriot wine in the UK is harder than it should be, but it is no longer impossible if you know what to look for.
Specialist Independent Wine Merchants
The independent wine merchant is your most reliable starting point. Unlike supermarkets and chains, independents are run by buyers who choose their stock based on quality and interest rather than volume and margin targets. These are the shops where you’ll find a shelf of Greek wines, a Cypriot bottle or two, and a member of staff who has actually visited the producers.
The most important thing you can do in an independent merchant is ask. Not “do you have Cypriot wine?”, though that’s a perfectly reasonable opening, but something more specific. Ask for Commandaria by name. Ask for Xynisteri or Maratheftiko. Ask whether they stock wines from Kyperounda, Vouni Panayia, or Zambartas. A good independent merchant who doesn’t currently have these wines will note the interest and often can order them for you. You may have to wait a few weeks, but you’ll get what you’re looking for.
In London, look for merchants with a demonstrated interest in Mediterranean or Southern European wine. The larger independent groups such as Buon Vino, Berry Bros & Rudd, Theatre of Wine, occasionally carry Cypriot bottles, and their staff are usually knowledgeable enough to advise. Outside London, any merchant that imports Greek wine directly is worth approaching about Cypriot wine: the relationship and the distribution channels often overlap.
What to say at the counter: “I’m looking for Cypriot wine, specifically Xynisteri if you have a white, or Commandaria as a sweet wine. Do you stock anything from Kyperounda or Vouni Panayia?” This level of specificity signals genuine interest and usually produces a better result than a general request.
Online Retailers and Importers
Online specialist importers have made Cypriot wine accessible across the UK, but it pays to search specifically rather than broadly.
Online is where the options expand considerably. A search for “Cypriot wine UK” or “Commandaria wine” will surface the specialist importers who have done the work of building direct relationships with Cypriot producers. These are the most reliable sources for quality bottles, because the importers have typically visited the wineries, understand what they’re selling, and can provide meaningful guidance on what to open and when.
When shopping online for Cypriot wine, read the product descriptions carefully. A good importer will describe the grape variety, the region, the winemaking method, and the flavour profile. If a listing says little more than “sweet red wine from Cyprus,” it’s a signal that the importer doesn’t know the wine well. Seek out importers who name the producer, the variety, and the village or region of origin.
Commandaria, being the most internationally recognised Cypriot wine, is the easiest to find online. KEO St John is the most widely distributed label and provides a reliable introduction to the style, though it represents the commercial rather than the artisanal end of Commandaria production. For a fuller picture, look for smaller-batch Commandaria from producers like SODAP or the village cooperatives of the Commandaria zone itself.
For table wines, Xynisteri, Maratheftiko, and the indigenous reds, you’ll need a more dedicated search. A handful of importers specialising in Eastern Mediterranean and Levantine wine have made Cypriot boutique producers a priority. The range available online is smaller than you’d hope for, but it is genuinely growing year on year.
Cypriot Community Shops and Delis
If you live in or near London, particularly in areas with a significant Cypriot diaspora, the community shop is often the most overlooked and most rewarding option. Areas of North London, North-East London (particularly Haringey and Enfield), and parts of South London have Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot delis and grocery shops that stock imported products not found anywhere else in the UK retail landscape.
Commandaria is the most commonly stocked wine in these shops, often in both the KEO St John commercial version and occasionally in less well-known labels brought over directly through community connections. You may also find Cypriot table wine, particularly the larger cooperative brands at reasonable prices.
The knowledge available in a good Cypriot community shop is also worth something. The owner or staff often have direct connections to Cyprus, understand the products personally, and can tell you things about a bottle that no online listing will. It’s a different kind of wine expertise to what you’d find at a specialist merchant, less technical, more personal, and in some ways more useful if you’re new to the wines.
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The best Cypriot wine experience in the UK isn't in a shop at all. It's in a room full of producers pouring direct, with the stories behind every bottle available to anyone who wants to ask.
— CWFexpo, London · Since 1982The Best Place to Taste and Buy: CyWineFest
CyWineFest brings 20+ Cypriot wine producers together under one roof in London each June, the largest single concentration of Cypriot wine available anywhere in the UK
No shop, website, or merchant can replicate what CyWineFest offers: direct access to 20+ Cypriot wine producers, all pouring in the same building, for two days each June.
The practical value of this is hard to overstate. You taste before you buy – properly, from the producer who made the wine, with the context and story that no label can fully communicate. You can work your way through several Xynisteris side by side and understand immediately why one mountain estate produces something so different to a winery fifty kilometres away at lower altitude. You can taste Commandaria from three different producers at the same table and grasp, in a single afternoon, more about the wine’s range than a year of reading about it.
You also buy at producer prices. There is no retail markup, no importer margin layered on top of an already inflated shelf price. The wines at CyWineFest are sold direct, which means the bottles you take home represent genuine value for what’s inside them.
And crucially, you leave with a direct relationship. Business cards are exchanged. Winemakers are asked, and are delighted to be asked how to continue ordering after the festival ends. Several UK-based CyWineFest regulars now order wine directly from Cypriot producers throughout the year, having made the initial connection at the festival. That pipeline doesn’t exist anywhere else in the UK wine scene.
CyWineFest takes place at The Decorium in North London, UK on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June 2026. It is London’s longest-running Cypriot cultural event, now in its 44th year. Tickets are available at cwfexpo.co.uk/tickets
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CWFexpo · June 6 & 7, 2026 · The Decorium, London
Taste Cypriot wine direct from the producers
No markup. No intermediary. Just the wine, the story, and the people who made it. The single best place to discover and buy Cypriot wine in the UK for 44 years running.
Get Tickets →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy Commandaria in UK supermarkets?
Rarely. The KEO St John Commandaria occasionally appears in the specialist or world wine sections of larger Waitrose or Marks & Spencer stores, but it is not a consistent listing in any major UK supermarket chain. Your more reliable options are independent wine merchants, online importers, Cypriot community shops in London, and most directly at CyWineFest itself, where multiple Commandaria producers pour direct each June.
Is there a price difference between buying in a shop versus at CyWineFest?
Yes, typically in favour of CyWineFest. When you buy wine from a producer direct at a festival, you avoid the importer margin and the retailer markup that are layered onto a bottle’s shelf price. A wine that costs £18 in an independent merchant might be available for £13–14 direct from the producer at CWFexpo for the identical bottle, often with a signed label if you ask nicely. The difference becomes more significant as you move into premium bottles.
Can I order Cypriot wine direct from producers in Cyprus?
#Some producers do ship internationally, but direct shipping from Cyprus to the UK involves import duty, VAT, and shipping costs that often make it less economical than it sounds for small orders. The most practical approach is to make contact with producers at CWFexpo or through an importer, and then establish a direct ordering relationship once the relationship exists. Several regular CWFexpo attendees order wine this way throughout the year.
Which Cypriot wine should I try first?
It depends on what you usually drink. For white wine lovers, start with a Xynisteri from Kyperounda, it’s the most immediately impressive and accessible expression of Cypriot white wine at any price point. For red wine lovers, a Yiannoudi from a good producer is more approachable as a starting point than Maratheftiko, which rewards patience and food. For something completely unique to Cyprus, try Commandaria , even if sweet wine isn’t usually your style, the history and the flavour profile make it worth experiencing at least once. For a full breakdown of styles and what to expect, see our complete Cypriot wine guide.
Are there Cypriot wines available as gifts or hampers in the UK?
A small number of online retailers and Cypriot food importers offer gift boxes that combine Cypriot wine with food products, halloumi, olive oil, honey, and traditional biscuits. These make genuinely thoughtful gifts for anyone with a connection to Cyprus or an interest in Mediterranean food and drink. Search for “Cypriot gift hamper UK” or enquire directly with specialist importers. At CWFexpo, mixed case selections and gift purchases are also available direct from producers on the day.
Continue reading - Cypriot Wine Series
